Luckenbach, Population 0: How struggling town was bought by three friends for $30,000 in 1970 and became a music venue that attracts tourists from across the globe even though no one lives there
Luckenbach, Texas, was first established as a trading post by German immigrants in 1849, making it one of the oldest settlements in Gillespie County
At one time Luckenbach’s growing population supported a post office, school, dance hall, general store, blacksmith shop and steam-powered cotton gin
When the county improved the roads, most of the farmers around Luckenbach began shopping in nearby Fredericksburg, leaving the tiny town to wither away
This Texas Hill Country town was purchased in 1970 by Hondo Crouch, Guich Kook and Kathy Morgan because they wanted the dance hall to stay open later
It achieved legendary proportions in 1977 when Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson released the hit song Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)
By Jordan Gass-Poore for Dailymail.com
Published: 09:59 EDT, 27 July 2017 | Updated: 15:44 EDT, 27 July 2017
As the unofficial town motto goes, 'Everybody's somebody' in Luckenbach. But in this tiny Texas Hill Country town there isn’t anybody. At least not full time. Despite the ‘Population 3’ sign, Luckenbach is actually population zero and is more of a near deserted cul-de-sac with a few disused buildings than an obvious tourist destination.
The general store and dance hall in a clearing among the trees hint at a more prosperous past. It takes about five minutes to fully explore the entirety of the town – 10 minutes if you stop to get acquainted with Doc, Miss Kitty and Smokey, the stray cats that roam the grounds.
Settled as a trading post in 1849 by a family of German immigrants to serve nearby farmers and establish trade with the Comanche tribe, the town’s population peaked at 492 in 1904 when it supported a post office, school dance hall, general store, and a blacksmith shop. But by 1964 the school closed because there weren’t enough children to justify keeping it open and those who lived near the town were sent the 13 miles to Fredericksburg for their education. With the improvement of rural roads in Gillespie County, most of the farmers around Luckenbach began shopping in Fredericksburg too, leaving the tiny town to wither away.
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Topic: Luckenbach, Population 0: How struggling town was bought by three friends for $30,000 in 1970 and became a music venue that attracts tourists from across the globe even though no one lives there (Read 2229 times)
