Albert, Texas: Difference between revisions
It sold in November 2007 for a little over three million dollars. |
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|publisher=Associated Press, via ''[[The Boston Globe]]'' |
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|date=2007-10-31}}</ref> |
|date=2007-10-31}}</ref> |
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{{coor title dms|30|11|38.00|N|98|36|6.83|W|city}} It sold in [[November 2007]] for |
{{coor title dms|30|11|38.00|N|98|36|6.83|W|city}} It sold in [[November 2007]] for 3.8 million dollars. |
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==Early history== |
==Early history== |
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*[http://www.alberttexas.com/ Town website] |
*[http://www.alberttexas.com/ Town website] |
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*[http://www.worldhistoryblog.com/2007/11/texas-ghost-town-is-sold-on-ebay.html Texas ghost town is sold on eBay] |
*[http://www.worldhistoryblog.com/2007/11/texas-ghost-town-is-sold-on-ebay.html Texas ghost town is sold on eBay] |
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*[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312704,00.html] |
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[[Category:Ghost towns in Texas]] |
[[Category:Ghost towns in Texas]] |
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[[Category:Gillespie County, Texas]] |
[[Category:Gillespie County, Texas]] |
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Revision as of 23:54, 17 December 2007
Albert, originally Martinsburg, is a ghost town 16 miles (25.7 km) southeast of Fredericksburg and 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the Blanco County line in southeastern Gillespie County, Texas.[1] The town was a stop on the Fredericksburg-Blanco stage route[1] and in 1967 became a stop on the President's Ranch Trail.[2]
In late October 2007, the town was put up for sale on the auction website eBay.[3] 30°11′38.00″N 98°36′6.83″W / 30.1938889°N 98.6018972°WInvalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function It sold in November 2007 for 3.8 million dollars.
Early history
The area was first settled by George Cauley, Ben White, Sr., and a man named Jacobs.[1]
Around 1877, blacksmith Fritz Wilke, George Maenius, and John Petri moved from Fredericksburg seeking pasture for their cattle.[1] Wilke bought land from a man named Elmeier, who was robbed and murdered years later.[1]
The Martinsburg post office operated from 1877 to 1886.[1] In 1892, Martinsburg got a new post office and a new name, after Albert Luckenbach sold his store in Luckenbach, and arrived to register a new post office in town, under the name Albert.[1]
A school was established in 1891, and in 1897 postmaster Otto Schumann opened the town's first store. In 1900 a new school building was erected where Lyndon Baines Johnson was briefly enrolled.[1]
A local Lutheran mission, the Lutheran Church of Stonewall, was established in 1902 which LBJ attended.[1]
Population decline
Albert had 50 residents in 1925, only 4 in 1964, and 25 in 1972.[1] By 1985 the store had been torn down, the school converted into a community club, and the dance hall a storage locker, though Albert still had 25 residents and two businesses.[1] The population would stay at 25 through 2000,[1] but by 2007, the town had been all but abandoned.
Since 2004
In 2004, Bobby Cave, at the time an insurance broker, bought Albert—more specifically, property on Ranch Road 1623 between Stonewall and Blanco[4]— for $216,000.[5] Cave then built a tavern (in a style area locals call an icehouse) on the site of the town's former general store; after investing nearly half a million dollars[5], in 2007 he put it up for sale on eBay[4] with a reserve price of $2.5 million.[3]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Kohout, Martin Donell. "The [[Handbook of Texas]] Online: Albert, Texas". Texas State Historical Association.
{{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help) - ^ President's Ranch Trail from the Handbook of Texas Online
- ^ a b White, Elizabeth (2007-10-31). "Texas town for sale on eBay". Associated Press, via The Boston Globe.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b Historic Texas Town for Sale Albert TX on eBay
- ^ a b Owner lists small Hill Country town for sale, a June 2007 article from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram