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  Texas : Towns A-Z / Hill Country : Kyle

KYLE, TEXAS

Hays County, Texas Hill Country
I-35 and FM 150
South of Buda
23 miles South of Austin
7 miles South of Buda
10 miles North of San Marcos
26 miles North of New Braunfels
60 miles North of San Antonio
Population: 5,314 (2000) 2,225 (1990)

Kyle Area Hotels - Book Here & Save
San Marcos Hotels

Kyle watertower from downtown
Kyle watertower
Kyle's distinctive red, white and blue water tower
can be seen from any part of the town and has a way of including itself in nearly every photograph of Kyle.
TE photo
Kyle is Hays County's second city.

History in a Pecan Shell
:

Jay Gould, the 19th Century railroad magnate decided that his International-Great Northern Railroad needed a station between Austin and San Marcos. He made a deal with property owners David Moore and Fergus Kyle and 200 acres of their former land was auctioned off in 1880 under the Kyle Auction Oak.
The Kyle hanging tree
The Kyle Hanging Tree
TE photo

Famous Trees of Kyle

Kyle has two famous trees: The Auction Oak and The Kyle Hanging Tree ( Click on the names for their images and short histories. )
  • The Auction Oak is located inside Kyle on Sledge Street, about two blocks south of Center Street. Since there seem to be two distinct trunks, it is sometimes referred to as The Auction Oaks.
  • The Kyle Hanging Tree is a few miles down Old Post Road on your left.
  • By 1881, Kyle had four saloons and a newspaper (The Kyle Nutshell) so that the saloon patrons had something to read between drinks. Many anecdotal stories of Kyle's first years are included in Richard Zelade's Hill County, Lone Star Books (Gulf Publishing) 1999.

    A Town so Nice - They Incorporated Twice

    In 1895 the city incorporated the first time. Two years later they decided it was a bad idea. The second incorporation in 1906 held.

    Kyle City Hall
    Kyle City Hall
    TE photo
    Kyle fire truck
    Old Fire Equipment
    TE photo
    Kyle suffered several fires in its history, which accounts for the missing buildings. Surviving buildings date back to the 1890s.
    The old Kyle Creamery
    The Old Kyle Creamery
    TE photo
    Kyle's oldest stone building was recently razed by its owner. Across the street from the bare spot is another stone building next to the Kyle Police Station. This is the former Creamery.

    While photographing the building, we met The Kyle Creamery Cat
    The Tombstone of Fergus Kyle
    TE photo

    More Kyle Attractions

  • The Claiborne Kyle Log Cabin
    CR 136 SW of Kyle (just S. of the Kyle Cemetery) When John Claiborne and Lucy Kyle built their home on the banks of the Blanco River they had 9 children with them. This large cedar-built dog trot cabin is an excellent example of its type - and the only surviving one in Texas. The Cemetery has many stones inscribed with the Kyle name.
  • Kyle City Jail
  • The Katherine Ann Porter Museum
  • The Kyle Creamery Cat
  • Kyle: Growing with Thought by Veranda Mansard
    "With all that's going wrong in the world of development - it's nice to know that something is going right."

    San Marcos Hotels > Book Your Hotel Here & Save
  • Kyle City Offices
    512 268-5341
    Website: www.cityofkyle.com
    Kyle Texas Forum
  • Here are two pictures of the Kyle City Jail. This was moved from Kyle some years ago and added to the western town attractions at Aquarena Springs in San Marcos. They have since closed that part of the park and offered the City of Kyle the opportunity to come get their jail. The structure was in bad shape and the City did not have a good place to put it so they declined. But we have pictures none-the-less.

    Also, the old Kyle train depot has been donated to the City and moved from private property back to a location fronting the UP line in downtown Kyle. It is currently sitting on a flatbed waiting to be put into place. Once it is in position I will send along some pictures of that as well.- Peter French, President, Kyle Area Chamber of Commerce, January 30, 2004

  • "I was amused to see that good old Jay Gould had participated in the founding of Sierra Blanca, as he also participated in the founding the town in which I live, Kyle. Thank you for your work, I enjoy your site very much." - Peter French

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    This page last modified: November 6, 2006