History of Eldorado

This Site:

Home

Photographs

Migrant Mother

Pearl Harbor

My America

States

My Home Town

Contact Us

Links

In the center of Edwards Plateau lies a small community named Eldorado or what I like to call home.  Eldorado is a small town located between San Angelo and Sonora, Texas on Highway 277 in Schleicher County.  While the town may be small in numbers and size, it makes up for it in decades of history.                  

In 1890, a small town of Verand was established.  The town had a store, post office, stage coach station, and a hotel.  The population was made up of about twenty different families.   This small town was located about five miles north of the present site of Eldorado.                

What does this small paragraph have to do with the history of Eldorado?  It has a lot to do  with the start of Eldorado as a town.  The life of Verand was doomed to be very short.  For unknown reasons many residents had trouble obtaining the titles for their lots where their houses were located.  In 1895 a man named W.B Silliman surveyed the land that would later be the town of Eldorado.  W.B. Silliman offered the residents of Verand free lots with land titles if they would move to Eldorado.  Mr. Silliman played a key role in the promotion of Eldorado becoming a town.  In 1901 Mr. Silliman led the organization to make Eldorado a town.  To secure Eldorado’s township Mr. Silliman enlisted the help of Mr. A.T. Wright of Eldorado to circulate a petition.  The petition needed fifty voter’s signatures which were very difficult to find at the time.   After the signatures were collected they were presented to the commissioner’s court of Menard, and shortly after Eldorado was established.                

Eldorado blossomed into quite the town during the early 1900’s. The first old structure in Eldorado was the Schleicher County courthouse. Along with the courthouse the first jail house was built in Schleicher County. Shortly after these buildings were built they decided that we needed a way show what was happening in the town so the Eldorado Success came to be in 1906. Later in 1907 the first school was constructed. Later in 1927 the first high school was built. Also along with all the big booming buildings happening Schleicher County holds home to Fort McKavett as well. Mean while during the growth of Eldorado Main Street was put into the works. Located on Main Street were many different businesses such as the Bank and many more. The first churches that were organized in Eldorado were the First Baptist Church, the Methodist Church, and the Church of Christ.  Eldorado's first public school was built in 1909. In the 1920’s Eldorado began to experience a boom in oil and gas.  The first wells were drilled in 1928 and 1929.  During the same time as the oil boom, the railroads were constructed through Eldorado. Along with oil and gas, Eldorado has been known for its wool industry.  With the sheep came the Eldorado Woolen Mill.  The mill was built in 1939.  The discoveries of oil and gas were important to the economy of Eldorado but cotton has always been a constant in Eldorado.  The first cotton gin was put to use in 1904.    While the mill is not in service anymore, it still stands as great reminder of Eldorado’s History.  In 1939 the first recorded meeting of the Eldorado Volunteer Fire Department took place. In 1940 a bell was erected in the courthouse lawn by the Mias Amigas Club.