Explore #35 on November 28, 2021
While driving the backroads between Austin and Wimberley, we came across this delightful 1930s era Texaco gas station in the unincorporated community of Driftwood. Now privately owned, the former gas station is a wonderful reminder of a time long past.
From the Texas State Historical Association Handbook Of Texas:
"Driftwood, seventeen miles northwest of San Marcos in central Hays County, grew up in the 1880s as a supply center for neighboring ranches and farms. Pioneers settled in the area, then known as Liberty Hill, as early as 1850, but most settlers arrived in the early 1880s. The community grew rapidly in that decade, perhaps as a result of its access to the new rail terminals at Kyle and Buda. By 1890 Driftwood had a post office, a school, churches, a cotton gin, and a general store. From a low of ten in 1925, the population grew to nearly 100 during the middle years of the twentieth century, then dwindled to fewer than twenty-five by the 1970s. In 1945 Driftwood became part of the Buda school district. A century after its founding, the community remained a quiet Hill Country crossroads served by a general store and post office."
At the 2020 census, Driftwood had a population of 176. In the coming years the characteristics of this small community is likely to change as a new private golf club and residential community, now under construction, is completed.
Tags: Driftwood Hays County South Central Texas TX Hill Country Rural Small Town Farm To Market Road FM 150 Elder Hill Rd Former Texaco Gas Station Antique Gas Pump Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Explore Explored In Explore