HISTORICAL CALDWELL, TEXAS - Explore the history of

CALDWELL, THE COUNTY SEAT OF BURLESON COUNTY, IS AT THE INTERSECTION OF STATE HIGHWAYS 21 AND 36, IN THE CENTER OF THE COUNTY

Texas Congress annexed to Milam County all of Washington County north of Yegua Creek and west of the Brazos River in 1840 and, at that time, Caldwell was designated as the county seat of this new Milam County, that would come to be known as Burleson County. The town of Caldwell, named for Mathew Caldwell, was laid out along Old San Antonio Road, west of Davidson Creek. This site encompassed a settlement founded by Lewis L. Chiles. Until Burleson County was formed in 1846, Caldwell served as the county seat of Milam County.

By 1856, the population of the town was 300, and the Caldwell House, known as one of the finest hotels in Texas, was the temporary destination for many travelers along the Old San Antonio Road. Caldwell also had a post office, male and female academies housed in the Masonic building, Baptist and Methodist churches, seven general stores, a saloon, a blacksmith shop, a livery stable, and a courthouse. By 1878, Caldwell published their own newspaper, known then as the Caldwell Register. The town also boasted a bottling works and an ice house.

Caldwell was incorporated in 1891 with a mayor and city council form of government, that continues today. The city maintains a library that was established in 1976, a municipal airport that came along in 1968, five parks, and equipment and housing for a Volunteer Fire Department that was originally organized in 1886. The first school of record was a Male and Female Academy established in 1844.

During the Reconstruction period, a company of State Police was ordered and stationed in Caldwell. A company of the Texas National Guard was also headquartered in Caldwell from 1898 through 1940. Caldwell was the smallest town in Texas at that time to have a full infantry company. The soldiers were volunteers from Caldwell, Somerville, and rural parts of the county. Many of these men were captured by the Germans at Salerno, Italy, in 1943 and were prisoners of war until the Germans surrendered in 1945.

Burleson County Historical Society, Astride the Old San Antonio Road: A History of Burleson County, Texas (Dallas: Taylor, 1980). Catherine G. Alford, “Caldwell, TX,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed May 19, 2021, <https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/caldwell-tx>. CALDWELL, TEXAS | 4