MuseumSmithville Railroad Historical Park & Museum
Smithville · Bastrop County · Dedicated 1989 · THC Atlas #4200000399
Texas history, up close and curated.
About this site
Smithville Railroad Historical Park & Museum is a museum in Smithville, Bastrop County, dedicated in 1989. It is one of 2 museums documented in Bastrop County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 306 historic sites cataloged across the county.
The site sits at 30.0067, -97.1609 near Smithville. The nearest cataloged historic site is Chancellor House (historical marker), about 0.1 miles away. Others within a short drive include Smithville, Yerger-Hill Family Home, and First Methodist Church of Smithville.
This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #4200000399. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
History
Now the James H. Long Railroad Park and Museum, this Smithville attraction commemorates the town's history as a major hub on the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (M-K-T) railroad. The Taylor, Bastrop, and Houston Railroad reached Smithville in 1886-87, and the MK&T established a terminal and, by 1894, a large repair shop, making the town a key turnaround point until the mid-1950s. The museum displays railroad artifacts dating from 1886 and a replica of the town's first depot, with two cabooses flanking a park playground.
Sources: smithvillerailroadpark.orgexplorebastropcounty.comtexastimetravel.com
