Bastrop, Texas: a picturesque community of modest size located at the edge of the Lost Pines Forest in Central Texas. Yet, from its vantage point on the banks of the Colorado River, this town boasts 131 sites listed in the National Register of Historic Places, qualifying the community for its label: “Most Historic Small Town in Texas.”
In Historic Homes of Bastrop, Texas, local historians and researchers Robbie Moore Sanders and Sandra Chipley have collected the stories behind nearly a hundred of the city’s most historic dwellings, most built between 1835 and 1950. Copiously illustrated and engaging, the book begins with a quick historical overview of the community that incorporates period photographs, historic floorplans and maps, and engaging stories about the people who built and lived in the homes. In addition, the authors have provided beautiful, full-color photographs of the buildings as they exist today.
From the simple dwelling of a community activist to the ornate Victorian mansions of the wealthy, Sanders and Chipley trace the narrative of this culturally rich community through the remarkably varied lives of its people and the houses they built. Readers with an interest in local history and culture and historic preservation as well as visitors to this popular tourist locale—recognized as a “Distinctive Destination” by the National Trust for Historic Preservation—will thoroughly enjoy Historic Homes of Bastrop, Texas.
