Framed or unframed, desk size to sofa size, printed by us in Arizona and Alabama since 2007. Explore now.
Shorpy is funded by you. Patreon contributors get an ad-free experience.
Learn more.
November 1939. "Scene in the business section of Gonzales, Texas." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
A quick pan across the surnames on the storefronts reminds us about the role of German immigrants in settling Texas ... ach du lieber!
(Interesting irony: today, more conservative northern Germans refer to the flamboyant southern state of Bavaria as "the Texas of Germany" -- everything is bigger, bolder, louder, etc.)
Today that sign would read "DUKE & AYRES 98¢ to $19.55 STORE"
The buildings all seem to be there and intact. None of the businesses are the same, although the barber shop today is only two doors down from the 1939 shop.
If you turned to your right, you would see what was named Confederate Square. As of 2021, it is now named Independence Square. The 40 foot statue of a rebel soldier remains, however.
Much of my wife's family came to Houston from Gonzalez. We've visited many times. Interstate 10 split the difference between Hwy 90 (the old main drive westward) and Alt 90 where Gonzalez is located. It's located far enough away from I-10 that it misses nearly all the "Let's get off and get something to eat" traffic that Luling to the north gets. This part of town hasn't changed much. These buildings are still there.
On Shorpy:
Today’s Top 5