Lometa, Texas
HISTORY
Welcome to Lometa, Texas
Lometa Means Little Mountain.
Lometa, Texas is located in Lampasas County at the intersection of US Highway 183 & FM 581. Lometa was created by the railroad in 1885 and was initially called Montvale. In 1886 an entire town 2 1/2 miles away that known for being rowdy picked up and moved to Montvale so they wouldn’t miss out on the benefits that the railroad had brought to town. In an effort to protect their new town from becoming unruly, prominent citizens all vowed never to open a saloon. When Montvale tried to open a post office, they had to choose a new name because there already was a Montvale, Texas, some 180 miles away. The story goes that 2 Hispanic men had gone into the grocery store, and they were asked what the Spanish word for “little mountain” was. So the town renamed itself Lometa, and the post office opened.
PHOTOS
Sights Around Lometa, Texas
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Henry Stallings & Co. Hardware
Henry Stallings was a prominent businessman in Lometa, Texas, who had dealings buying and selling farm products, and he owned the town’s hardware store.
Did you know that Lometa’s only stoplight was installed in 2003?
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Main Street, Lometa, Texas
In the 1920s, the closest building in this photograph of Main Street in Lometa, Texas was home to Kirby & Sons Drug Store, Hunts Drug Store, and Henry Stallings & Co Hardware.
Can you imagine two drugs stores right next door to each other today?
CANON EOS 3 & ILFORD HP5+
For Sale For Sale For Sale
In the late 1950s, trains became less important for the economy. For Lometa, Texas that meant that mail was now delivered by trucks, and passengers now traveled by buses. Also, at the same time, there was a drought and an end to a federal incentive program that reduced the population of livestock predators.
Agriculture’s dominance as the driving force behind the local economy was over. Eventually, many farms and ranches were subdivided into smaller plots and were offered up to people looking for recreation and weekend escapes.
Lometa still celebrates its agricultural heritage and remains a shipping point for wool in Texas.
Have you ever thought about owning a gas station?
CANON EOS 3 & ILFORD HP5+
Gilbarco Trimline Gas Pumps
Gilbarco Trimline gas pumps, introduced in the early-1960s, remained popular through the mid-1980s, and you can still find many in use today.
These pumps are out-front of the For Sale For Sale For Sale gas station in Lometa, Texas.
Do you know much about your favorite old gas pumps?
