Railroad Produce Warehouse
Georgetown, Williamson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Built in 1904 by William Pearce to provide storage space for a wholesale grocery company, this building was part of a larger industrial complex. A number of buildings were constructed along nearby railroad lines, including an ice plant and bottling works, grist and planing mills, and a passenger and freight depot. Thick stone walls and spring water channeled through the basement of the structure helped to cool produce. This site is a reminder of the role industry and the railroad played in the economic development of Georgetown. (1997) Incise on base: Preserved for the future by Karalei Nunn and Tom Nichols
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built in 1904 by William Pearce, this thick-walled stone warehouse stored goods for a wholesale grocer within a bustling industrial complex strung along Georgetown's railroad lines. Spring water channeled through its basement kept produce cool in the Texas heat, alongside an ice plant, bottling works, mills, and a depot. The building survives as a witness to the town's rail-driven commercial heyday.
Why it matters
It illustrates how the railroad and the warehousing it enabled turned county-seat towns like Georgetown into regional hubs of trade in the early 20th century.
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Related people
- · William Pearce
Themes & tags
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