In 1853, Moses Hughes built a mill, a log house, and a gin at Sulphur Creek, which was fed by seven mineral springs frequented by local Indians. In 1855 Elizabeth Burleson Scott and George W. Scott laid out the town of Burleson, named for her father, who received the land for his service in the Texas Revolution. The town’s name was changed to Lampasas in 1856 with the establishment of Lampasas County (the Anglicized version of Lampazos, the Spanish name of the river that flows through Lampasas County). During the 1870s Lampasas epitomized the legendary wild west town, with feuds and shootouts until the Texas Rangers gained control. In 1882, the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway extended a spur line to Lampasas. Its station (1902; 207 S. Live Oak Street) is the town’s only railroad-related structure surviving; service ended by 1960, and the Chamber of Commerce took over the building. The railroad and the area’s mineral springs attracted visitors to Hancock Springs (LL36) and Hannah Springs (demolished; see LL35) to try the curative waters. Lampasas advertised itself as the “Saratoga of the South” in the 1880s. The Hannah Bath and Opera House (closed 1900; demolished) hosted the state Democratic convention in 1893. The proximity of Fort Cavazos (formerly Fort Hood), established by the U.S. Army in 1942 as an armor (tanks) training ground, continues to dominate the local economy.
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