Since I was already out taking pictures yesterday, I decided to take some pictures of the downtown square area of Waxahachie. Waxahachie is a little town south of me, but one I have been visiting more often lately.
Here is the beautiful courthouse, already decorated for Christmas.
Waxahachie is an Indian word meaning "cow" or "buffalo". There are many traces of this early heritage around town, from names of streets to the mascot of the Waxahachie High School, the Waxahachie Indians. The town was formed in 1850 on land donated by Emory Rogers. The current court house sits on a square with the Rogers Hotel across the street. This court house was built in 1897 and recently renovated. There is an interesting legend behind the construction that the German master stone carver fell in love with the daughter of the boarding house owner where he lived while working on the court house. He was so in love that he began carving her face into the exterior of the court house. But she didn't return his love, and as his feelings changed from love, to dispair, to anger, his carvings of her face changed too, from angelic to grotesque. While it's doubtful one man carved all the faces on the courthouse, it is a great story and a wonderful courthouse.
There are other faces carved into the stone also.
The court house looks large, but the interior is really pretty small, and a few buildings on the south side of the square have been taken over as court house annexes. The rest of the square has shops and restaurants that stay busy, although businesses come and go. Until just a few years ago, there was a drug store on the corner with a soda fountain just like the one where I worked as a teenager. Yesterday, several businesses were having sidewalk sales although those pictures didn't turn out well enough to post.
So here is a walk around the square (you can see Happy's Furniture in one of the pictures).
Just off the main square itself is Rogers Street with the Rogers Hotel. The hotel was closed for years with a few efforts now and then to restore it. That has finally been done, with a coffee shop at street level, and a salon on the second floor (if you look, you can see a woman getting hair coloring).
And across the street:
I wouldn't mind living in Waxahachie; it is a nice town where there is always something to do. Next time I'll show you some of the historic places. Waxahachie was once a prosperous cotton town and there are many beautifully restored Victorian homes.
Until next time, may you have blessings and hometown memories,
Marti
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