West Texas

West Texas

Located about 19 miles north of Waco, the town of West Texas, along Interstate 35, has a rich history of being the home to a great number of Czechoslovakian immigrants to Texas during the latter 1800's. It was during the 1880's that the immigrants, mostly Czech and German, migrated to this area from Europe and began farming the rich soil. In addition to farming, Czech immigrants were active in opening businesses in West and most of these businesses reflected their European culture.

The Railroad Brought Commerce

Anywhere you may travel throughout the western United States, you'll learn that the single largest catalyst for town building was the railroad. During the latter 1800's, people were migrating west in droves for a variety of reasons. The abundance of land was one of them. Commerce seemed to grow in leaps and bounds wherever the railroad went. The story of the beginnings of West Texas was no different. The rail lines of the Katy Railroad which ran through the town beginning in 1882 was a big boost to the entire area. As a result, the town of West Texas was formally created in 1892. At that time, West was the commercial center of that particular area of central Texas.

Old Katy Railroad Depot, West Texas

Today, the City of West is a thriving community with it's unique Czech heritage being proudly displayed in every way. West, Texas declares itself as being the "Czech Heritage Capital of Texas". Czech Texas is most populous in the area of central Texas north of Waco and south of Dallas
and east of present day Interstate 35.

The Early Settlers

The area around today's West Texas saw it's first settlers as far back as the 1840's. These were farming people from the east who migrated there for the rich soil and for the land sold by the government for the purpose of building Texas schools. Agriculture activities included raising cattle and growing wheat maize and cotton. During the mid 1800's settlers gathered around a site that became known as Bold Springs, so named for the freshwater found there in abundance. By 1860, Bold Springs had a population of about 300 people.


The Railroad and West Texas 

West Texas has all to do with the land that was owned by one Thomas West at the time that the Katy Railroad came through in 1881. West had moved to the area about 1859. The Katy Railroad had already built out between Waco and Hillsboro Texas to the south and was extending it's rail line through land owned by Thomas West. This would have been to the north/northeast of Hillsboro.

Katy Railroad caboose

Thomas West sold land to the railroad for a depot and other parcels along the right of way were sold to merchants and other business people. As far as Thomas West was concerned, he served as the first postmaster for Bold Springs. The post office was located in the Katy train station which is still preserved near the center of today's West. The West Depot is now home for a railroad museum and Information Center.

The Czech Immigration

A very interesting aspect of West Texas is that some of the descendants of the first Czech settlers still reside in the city today and still operate businesses there. The Czech immigrants had the custom of having very large families and they continued that custom in their new Texas home. By the 1920's the Czech European culture became the dominate culture in West Texas.

To give you an idea of the growth of Czech migration to Texas in the 1800's, the online Texas Historical Association states that by the time of the American Civil War there were about 700 Czech immigrants in Texas.

The Crash at Crush

By the same token the Texas Czech people were not involved in the Civil War for really two reasons. They weren't familiar with the concept of slavery as it was not part of their European culture and morals. Mostly because of this they didn't fully understand the reasons behind the North/South conflict. As a result of their non-allegiance in Texas there was some animosity between Czechs and Anglos during the war.

By the year 1900, there were more than 9,000 foreign born Czech immigrants living in the state.  The majority of Texas Czech immigrants came from Moravia and the majority of the Czech language spoken in Texas is characterized by Moravian dialects.

The Crash at Crush

Just about three miles south of West Texas was the site of one of the most spectacular if not strange promotional events ever staged by a railroad. The Misouri Kansas & Texas Railroad, known as the Katy or MKT, attracted some 30,000 spectators to witness the planned head on collision of two locomotives. The staged event of a Texas train crash was touted for months beforehand and  received national attention

The event occurred on September 15th, 1896. Each train was traveling at about 45 MPH when the collision occurred. Although the railroad's mechanics thought that the locomotive boilers would not explode, they indeed did. Spectators were allowed too close to the actual railroad collision point. The result was that two spectators were killed and many injured by flying debris from the explosion. The site where the locomotive collision occurred was nicknamed "Crush Texas" for the man who conceived the idea, passenger agent William Crush of the MKT. This by far was the most strange and never tried again promotional stunt of any railroad in America. The historic sign shown above commemorates the event and is currently located next to the West Texas train depot and museum.

Links to additional Western Trips photo articles about central Texas destinations are Hillsboro Texas, the county sat of Hill County and the historic art community of Salado Texas. Both are excellent stops when your road trip or Texas vacation takes you between Dallas and Austin.

Also, see our Western Trips articles on the Old Spanish Trail Highway that ran from St. Augustine Florida to San Diego California and Historic Lockhart / The Barbecue Capital of Texas.

Visit West Texas

Two must stops during your visit to West Texas are the old Katy Railroad Depot and Museum located in the center of town. In addition to photos of the 1896 MKT locomotive collision, the depot museum exhibits many  photographs that tell the story of the relationship between the railroad and the community of West Texas.

1896 photo of the Crash at Crush

Make certain to stop and pick up a "Kolache" when visiting West. West Texas also declares itself the "Kolache Capital of Texas". A kolache is a pastry that holds fruit rimmed by a puffy pillow of supple dough. In central Texas, the kolache is widespread among Czech Americans and there's some great places in West Texas to pick them up at.  

The Czech Stop and Little Czech Bakery is located at 105 N College Ave. Also, Gerik's Ole Czech Smokehouse and Bakery located at 511 West Oak St. Another is The Village Bakery located at 108 East Oak St., West, TX.

The map below will give you the exact location of West Texas along Interstate 35 between Dallas and Waco.

(Photos from author's collection. Crash at Crush 1896 photo from the public domain) 

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