La Grange, Texas

Everything La Grange is known for

8 songs mention this city 1 artist from here

Music in La Grange

Songs About La Grange

truckstop in la grange
dale watson
90%
La Grange
ZZ Top
82%
"About that shack outside La Grange"
La Grange
Black Oak Arkansas
80%
"'Bout that shack outside La Grange"
truckstop in la grange
bastard sons of johnny cash
78%
La Grange
Hank Williams Jr.
77%
"About that shack outside of La Grange"
My Hometown
Charlie Robison
55%
"But La Grange was too damn hot"
Corsicana Lemonade
White Denim
54%
"walk out to La Grange"
Northeast Texas Women
Willis Alan Ramsey
51%
"Down in old La Grange"

Artists From La Grange

T
The Moravians
polka Pop: 7

Rivers & Roads in Song near La Grange

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near La Grange.

Texas Colorado River 6 songs Interstate 10 23 songs US Route 90 6 songs Guadalupe River 9 songs Brazos River 16 songs

Musical Heritage

The Town Behind the Song RoadyGoat

1973

If the name La Grange rings a bell even for people who have never set foot in Texas, you can thank a two-minute boogie classic. The little Texas blues-rock trio behind the song borrowed the town's name for a growling, foot-stomping single called simply La Grange, from their 1973 album Tres Hombres. The song winked at a long-standing local landmark out on the edge of town that everybody knew about and nobody talked about openly, a country house quietly tolerated for generations through an understanding with local authorities. The arrangement ran until a Houston television reporter named Marvin Zindler put it on the evening news in 1973 and the publicity forced it to close that same year. The story did not fade. It went on to inspire a hit Broadway musical and then a Hollywood film, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, starring Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds. Not bad for a quiet courthouse town: a rock anthem, a Broadway show, and a movie, all pointing back here.

History of La Grange

La Grange, TX RoadyGoat

La Grange might seem like a sleepy little town, a place where the biggest excitement is watching the cattle graze in the fields along the Colorado River. And in many ways, that's true. The double-arched bridge still standing near the courthouse hints at a time when this spot was a vital crossing, a reason for the town's very existence. But La Grange has also produced some genuine star power.

The Texas Capital That Almost Was RoadyGoat

1838

La Grange came within one signature of changing the map of Texas. In 1838, when the young Republic of Texas was hunting for a permanent capital, a site commission rode out and picked a tract on the Colorado River right next to La Grange, and the Texas Congress passed a bill to put the seat of government here. Then it landed on the desk of President Sam Houston, and he vetoed it. When Mirabeau Lamar took over as president, the search started fresh, and the commission settled instead on a little riverside hamlet called Waterloo, further up the Colorado. Waterloo was renamed Austin and became the capital in early 1839. So stand in La Grange and consider this: if Sam Houston had simply signed his name in 1838, the marble dome and the whole machinery of Texas government might be sitting here instead of an hour up the road. The town that got the capital and the town that just missed it were both betting on the very same river.

La Grange, TX RoadyGoat

La Grange owes its existence to the Colorado River. Before highways and bridges, river crossings were vital, and La Grange sprang up where the ferry cut across the water. That strategic location made it a natural trading hub for the surrounding agricultural lands. Even today, you can feel that connection to the land. Cattle ranching remains a cornerstone of the economy, and while neighboring Columbus might be a bit bigger, La Grange retains that slower, more deliberate pace. The town's history is etched into its landscape, both in the rolling fields where the Battle of Plum Creek unfolded and in the more tangible form of that rare double-arched bridge near the courthouse. It's a structure that reminds you of a different era. What draws folks here now is that same sense of stepping back in time, a relaxed escape from the city.

The Black Bean Incident — Monument Hill, La Grange

1842

In 1842-1843, 17 Texian prisoners of war drew black beans from a clay pot and were executed by firing squad in Mexico — punishment ordered by Santa Anna for an escape attempt after the Battle of Mier. Their remains, along with those of the Dawson Massacre, were reinterred at Monument Hill in La Grange in 1848.

Historical Account →

Chicken Ranch

1844

The "Chicken Ranch" in La Grange, Fayette County, made famous by the Broadway musical and movie The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas , was perhaps the oldest continuously running brothel in the nation. Institutionalized prostitution in La Grange can be traced back to 1844, when a widow, "Mrs. Swine," brought three young women from New Orleans and settled in a small hotel near the saloon. Mrs. Swine became the first madam and began a tradition of interaction with the community and local lawmen that lasted almost 130 years. She and the girls and women who worked for her carried on a lucrative business, using the hotel lobby for entertaining and a room upstairs for services, until the Civil War , when she and a faithful prostitute named Tillie were run out of town as Yankees and traitors. After the war prostitution continued to operate in conjunction with the saloons in La Grange, but no official records were kept. By the end of the nineteenth century, prostitution had moved out of the hotels and into a red-light district on the banks of the Colorado River. There Miss Jessie Williams (born Faye Stewart) bought a small house soon after her arrival from Waco in 1905. She continued the custom set by her predecessor of good relations with the law and ran the only respectable house on the banks of the Colorado River; she admitted politicians and lawmen but excluded drunkards. Through her connections she learned of an impending crusade against the red-light district, sold the house she owned in Waco, and bought two dwellings and eleven acres outside of the city limits of La Grange and two blocks from the road to Houston. This became the location of the Chicken Ranch. In 1917 two sisters arrived at the house and were taken in and promoted to "middle-management" positions by Miss Jessie. They were in charge of public relations and sent packages and letters to local boys fighting in World War I . One of the sisters eventually married an older, wealthy customer and moved to San Antonio, where she became, as one author says, "a beloved benefactor and patron of the arts." The other sister stayed in her middle-management position until her death. As the war ended and America entered the twenties, automobiles made the establishment accessible to many more customers. New prostitutes came and necessitated more rooms and new furniture. The rooms were simply built onto the main house in a haphazard fashion as needed, a style that continued until the closing of the place. Miss Jessie stayed on good terms with the sheriff, Will Lossein, who visited every evening to pick up gossip and get information on criminals who had visited the whorehouse and bragged of their exploits. Many crimes in La Grange were solved in this way. While the sheriff kept a tight grip on criminals, Miss Jessie ruled the house with a firm hand. Nothing exotic was allowed, and none of the bedroom doors had locks on them. Miss Jessie would walk the halls, and if she heard a customer giving one of her girls a hard time she would chase him out of the room and house with an iron rod and perhaps never admit him again. As the Great Depression hit and the economy fell, Miss Jessie was forced to lower her prices. Though initially she still had plenty of clients, as times grew harder, customers were not so plentiful and the girls grew hungry. Miss Jessie therefore began the "poultry standard" of charging "one chicken for one screw." Soon chickens were everywhere, and the establishment became known as the Chicken Ranch. The girls were never hungry. Miss Jessie supplemented the income by selling surplus chickens and eggs. The economy began to turn around as the Civilian Conservation Corps began construction of Camp Swift near La Grange, and the shortage of men and money declined. The establishment used the same public-relations tactics in World War II as in the First World War, and the ranch began an economic recovery from the depression. As the war ended, Miss Jessie was confined to a whee

Tsha Handbook →

Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

1974

In 1974 Texas writer Larry L. King wrote an article about the notorious " Chicken Ranch ," an illegal but tolerated brothel in La Grange, Fayette County, Texas. The establishment operated from 1905 until 1973, when consumer-affairs reporter Marvin Zindler from KTRK-TV in Houston, ran an exposé on the ranch, which resulted in authorities closing it down. King and Texas-born singer and songwriter Carol Hall met by chance at the Cellar Door in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., where King was based at the time. The idea for a musical was born at this meeting, and in 1976 another Texan, Peter Masterson, an experienced Broadway actor, was brought in, and the idea was further developed. King and Masterson wrote the book, and Hall wrote the songs. The musical was performed as a workshop project at the Actors Studio in New York in October 1977. The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas was subsequently produced at the Entermedia Theatre, New York, in April 1978. This production was directed by Peter Masterson and fellow Texan Tommy Tune, with choreography by Tune, and featured Carlin Glynn as "Miss Mona" and Henderson Forsythe as "Sheriff Ed Earl Dodd." In June 1978 the musical moved to the 46th Street Theatre on Broadway. Over 3,000 hopefuls auditioned for the production, which ran for 1, 584 performances before closing in March 1982. Larry L. King made his first and last Broadway appearance when he took the stage, playing Sheriff Dodd for a two-week stint during the Broadway run. The show was described as "reasonably good, if raunchy..." and "offered the added attraction of a country-and-western style score" according to the Oxford Companion to American Theatre , while The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas was a success "thanks to earthy Texan dialogue, skillfully etched characters" and "songs that combined Nashville with Broadway," stated Andrew Lamb in his book 150 Years of Popular Musical Theatre . The show won a number of awards: Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical-Henderson Forsythe (1979); Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical-Carlin Glynn (1979); Theatre World Award-Carlin Glynn (1978-79); Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical-Peter Masterson and Tommy Tune (1978); Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics-Carol Hall (1978); and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music-Carol Hall (1978). The "Aggie Song" was performed on the Tony Awards broadcast but was heavily censored because of the saucy nature of the lyrics and choreography. In 1979 The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas opened in Houston at the Tower and was the first Broadway musical to have an open-ended season in Texas. In 1982 Glynn and Hall were cast in "a return engagement." After nine previews, this production opened on May 31 at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre and ran for sixty-three performances. The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public , a short-lived sequel, was staged on Broadway in 1994. Ann-Margret starred in a national touring production in 2001. In 1982 a movie version of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas , filmed in Austin, was released by Universal, with a cast that included Dolly Parton, Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Charles Durning, Jim Nabors, Lois Nettleton, Noah Beery, Jr., and Barry Corbin. The movie was directed by Colin Higgins. Dolly Parton was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy), and the movie was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy). Charles Durning was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Tsha Handbook →

Monument Hill - Black Bean Episode

1842

Tomb at La Grange holding the remains of Texan soldiers killed by Mexican forces during the 1842 Dawson Massacre and the Mier Expedition's Black Bean Lottery of 1843.

La Grange - Czech Heritage and the Chicken Ranch

1831

Fayette County seat with deep Czech heritage and the dubious distinction of hosting the Chicken Ranch, the infamous brothel that inspired 'The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.'

Black Bean Episode

1843

The Black Bean Episode, an aftermath of the Mier Expedition , resulted from an attempted escape of the captured Texans as they were being marched from Mier to Mexico City. After an escape at Salado, Tamaulipas, on February 11, 1843, some 176 of the men were recaptured within about a week. A decree that all who participated in the break were to be executed was modified to an order to kill every tenth man. Col. Domingo Huerta was to be in charge of the decimation. The victims were chosen by lottery, each man drawing a bean from an earthen jar containing 176 beans, seventeen black beans being the tokens signifying death. Commissioned officers were ordered to draw first; then the enlisted men were called as their names appeared on the muster rolls. William A. A. (Bigfoot) Wallace , standing close to the scene of the drawing, decided that the black beans were the larger and fingered the tokens successfully to draw a white bean. Observers of the drawing later described the dignity, the firmness, the light temper, and general courage of the men who drew the beans of death. Some left messages for their families with their companions; a few had time to write letters home. The doomed men were unshackled from their companions, placed in a separate courtyard, and shot at dusk on March 25, 1843. The seventeen victims of the lottery were James Decatur Cocke , William Mosby Eastland , Patrick Mahan , James M. Ogden , James N. Torrey , Martin Carroll Wing , John L. Cash, Robert Holmes Dunham, Edward E. Este, Robert Harris, Thomas L. Jones, Christopher Roberts, William N. Rowan, James L. Shepherd, J. N. M. Thompson, James Turnbull, and Henry Walling. Shepherd survived the firing squad by pretending to be dead. The guards left him for dead in the courtyard, and he escaped in the night but was recaptured and shot. In 1848 the bodies were returned from Mexico to be buried at Monument Hill , near La Grange, Fayette County.

Tsha Handbook →

Things to Do in La Grange

historical 24.8 mi away
The Fire That Nearly Took the Lost Pines

On September 4 2011 strong winds from a nearby tropical storm snapped trees onto power lines east of Bastrop. Three separate fires merged into the most…
quirky 0.4 mi away
The Chicken Ranch

A brothel outside La Grange operated continuously from the 1840s until Houston television reporter Marvin Zindler exposed it in 1973 -- one of the…
food 15.5 mi away
Royers Round Top Cafe

Bud Royer's pie-mecca on the Round Top square — buttermilk, pecan, and a daily rotation of about ten flavors. Statewide-famous and the anchor of the…
music 16.2 mi away
Festival Institute

Festival Hill: a 210-acre classical-music campus on Jaster Road hosting summer concerts, recitals, and a renowned festival in its grand concert hall.
food 11.2 mi away
Hruska's Bakery & Store

Family-run Czech bakery on Highway 71 in Ellinger since 1912. Kolaches, klobasniky, and a roadside-store side hustle for travelers between Houston and Austin.
food 15.4 mi away
Round Top Brewing

Nanobrewery and kitchen on the square pouring house-made craft beer.
food 15.4 mi away
Il Cuculo

Italian restaurant and cocktail bar inside Hotel Lulu, just off the square on Mill Street.
historical 15.4 mi away
Henkel Square Market

A restored village of 1800s German-Texan buildings on the square, now home to boutique shops, makers, and a market hall.

Everything Near La Grange

353 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

Explore La Grange on the Map
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