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Aug 3, 2026
The Great Taylor Fire of 1879: The Day a Texas Town Changed Forever
The Great Taylor Fire of 1879: The Day a Texas Town Changed Forever
00:00
26:31
Transcript
0:00
Welcome to the Wilco Texas Insider Podcast where we bring you the conversation shaping Williamson County.
0:07
From local leaders and elected officials to business owners, educators, developers, historians, and community change makers, we go beyond the headlines to explore the people, projects, and ideas driving one of the fastest growing regions in Texas.
0:24
Whether you're a lifelong resident or new to the area, this is your inside look at the stories that matter most. I'm Josh Russ and this is the Wilco Texas Insider Podcast.
0:37
[upbeat music] There's something special about the Williamson County Fair and Rodeo.
0:41
It's where neighbors become friends, traditions are passed down, and our community comes together to celebrate the best of Williamson County.
0:50
From exciting rodeo action, to live entertainment, to agriculture, local exhibitors, and family fun, there's something for everyone.
0:58
As a proud official media partner of the Williamson County Fair and Rodeo, Wilco Texas Insider is bringing you exclusive stories, behind-the-scenes access, and everything you need to know leading up to the fair week.
1:13
Join us this fall at the Williamson County Fair and Rodeo, and we'll see you at the fair. Wilco Texas Insider, proud official media partner of the Williamson County Fair and Rodeo.
1:26
[upbeat music] Today we are joined by Tim Crowe, a lifelong Taylor resident, educator, and respected local historian, whose passion for preserving the city's past has helped keep its stories alive for future generations.
1:43
From Taylor's railroad beginnings and historic downtown, to the people and events that shape the community, Tim has spent years researching and sharing the rich history of one of Williamson County's most iconic towns.
1:57
In this episode, we take a deep dive into one of the most devastating events in Taylor's history, the Great Fire of 1879, and explore how a single day forever changed the future of the city.
2:13
Tim, welcome to the Wilco Texas Insider Podcast. Thank you, Josh. It's a pleasure to be here and to talk about Taylor. That's good. That's good. So what, what stories... Uh, I, I know you have many stories to tell.
2:27
One of the biggest things is that I, I know him from was when we were in the school system, he would introduce all the new teachers into Taylor and tell all the great stories of the rich history of what Taylor has to offer.
2:41
And so, um, what story do you have today that you want to talk about? Well, we're gonna go back to the beginning. Okay. Uh, in honor of Taylor's sesquicentennial. Okay. 150 years.
2:52
You know, I can remember in 1976, the country was celebrating the bicentennial. Mm-hmm. Taylor was celebrating its centennial. Wow. And it's hard to believe 50 years have passed since then.
3:06
Um, but, uh, we're gonna go back today to the beginning and learn a little bit about the very early days of Taylor's history, uh, when the town first began.
3:18
And, uh, I, I want to introduce you to someone from those days, one of the pioneers of Taylor, that you've probably never heard of. Nope. And you, uh, you know, you mentioned telling the stories.
3:30
It is so much fun to g- dive into the archives- Yeah... and, and to find these stories. Yeah.
3:35
And I can't tell you how many times I have gone into the archives looking for a particular story, and I get so distracted because three or four other stories I wasn't looking for turn up, and I have to go and pursue those.
3:50
Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And so, uh, my personal archives that I'm building files on continues to grow. Okay. And it's, and just as much now as when I first started this, there are so many stories out there. Oh, I know.
4:04
I just can't wait to see which ones I'll be able to uncover next- Yeah... and then hopefully share out.
4:10
Yeah, and that's one thing that I've kinda started with way back Wilco, was trying to share the h- the history of Williamson County. And I know Taylor, uh, from my understanding, Taylor was the start of a lot of this.
4:24
I mean, there, there were, you know, boom town of Cotton was king here. And, you know, Taylor, Taylor really had that great start to really have what's happening in Williamson County. It did. Yeah.
4:37
It had a wonderful start and fast growth, and there were also some tragedies along the way that, that caused the people of that time to kinda have to take a step back and start over. Mm-hmm. But they did. Yeah.
4:50
And they made it a success. So we're gonna talk about that today. Okay. So the, the pioneering Taylor individual I want to introduce you to today is a lady named Mrs. John S. Kritzer. Okay.
5:04
And she was born in 1858, before Taylor was even a town. Oh, wow. And she was born north, uh, northwest of here. And, uh, so she's been in this ar- she was in this area her whole life. Okay.
5:18
And I found, uh, two interviews with her that were done in 1940.
5:24
And thank goodness there were some young reporters from the high school newspaper who knew about her and saw the need to go and get her story while she was still here to tell that story. Mm-hmm.
5:38
And those interviews are recorded. And so I stumbled across those and found where she was telling some stories about Taylor's early days, and she lived through it. Oh, wow.
5:52
And that's different from reading a historical record- Yeah... where you get the facts, but you don't get the, the real story behind the scenes. Exactly, exactly, yeah. Well, Mrs.
6:02
Kritzer tells the story from her own experience of having lived it, which is so much, uh, more enriching than just reading a historical record. Yeah.
6:12
And she tells a lot of stories in those two different interviews, and I'm gonna share one of those with you today. Okay. But before we get into her story- And what she has to tell.
6:24
It might be good to do just a little background- Okay... on Taylor's beginnings. Yes, let's talk about that.
6:30
So in, in 1876, the railroad came to Central Texas, and that's what put Taylor on the map as a stop along that, that rail line. Mm-hmm. And, uh, lots were sold, and the town began to grow.
6:47
Uh, in the very beginning, it was often referred to as Taylor Station. Uh, but the official first name that was decided on was Taylorsville. Okay. And so you hear about Taylorsville- Yeah... from those early days.
7:03
And then in 1892 it was shortened to Taylor. Taylor. And so we've been known as Taylor ever since.
7:10
Um, and it was named after Edward Moses Taylor, who was associated with the railroad, and I've read where he was considered to be one of the wealthiest men in the country. Mm.
7:22
And so he is the reason that we ended up with the name Taylorsville- Yeah... and then, and then Taylor. Um, in those early days, Taylor grew pretty rapidly, so buildings went up quickly.
7:38
Uh, unfortunately, they also went up cheaply. Oh. And- Did not know that. [laughs] Yeah. And most of them were wood structures. Yeah. Which, uh, in, in today's story we're gonna see why that wasn't such a good idea.
7:51
Mm-hmm. Uh, but it got the town started, and it was a strong start, and, and it grew pretty rapidly. And Taylor became a shipping point for cattle, first of all, and then cotton and grain. Mm-hmm.
8:06
And so, uh, it was quickly earning its place on the map. By 1878, just two years after it started, uh, the population was reported to be 1,000 with 32 businesses. Oh, wow.
8:21
And so in two years' time, it, it had grown quite a bit. I wanna call your attention to one of those businesses, because it's gonna come up in our story today from Mrs. Kritzer, and that is the Camp Hotel. Okay.
8:35
Uh, it had a couple of other names in its early days, uh, but she, she refers to it as the Camp Hotel. That's how she remembered it. And, uh, it was down by the railroad tracks at the corner of First and Main. Okay.
8:51
And that building is still there today. Um, it was one of the few to s- to survive a, a big fire that we're gonna talk about in a few- Mm... minutes. Um, but the, the Camp Hotel, um,
9:03
at First and Main later was purchased, uh, I believe in the 1940s, by a man named Vencil Moores. Okay. And he opened a barbecue restaurant there, and many people remember it. Um, the official name, uh, was Taylor Café.
9:21
Okay. [laughs] But it's referred to as Vencil's. Oh, okay. And so it's- Is it still there? Is it- It's... The building is still there. The... Okay, the building's still there. The building is still there.
9:28
It's, like, right there under that bridge, right? It is. Okay. Okay. It is. And, and it looks like it's been there for a while. Oh, it... [laughs] And it is one of Taylor's oldest buildings.
9:37
And so you might think about that the next time you drive by that area. But that's gonna be, um, an important, uh, part of today's story from Mrs. Kritzer we're gonna get to in just a minute.
9:49
When you read about Taylor's early days, there are certain names that come up a lot, names of people who really worked hard and contributed a lot to the building of Taylor, uh, the actual buildings, the businesses, and really got Taylor off to a strong start.
10:10
So you're gonna see names in the historical record like, uh, Moody. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Uh, like Molasky. Doak- Yeah... is an important name. Uh, there's lots of stories to tell on all of those. Yeah.
10:23
Um, but one you've probably never heard of before is Mrs. John S. Kritzer. I've not. And that's who we're gonna talk about today.
10:31
She was born in 1858, uh, northwest of here, uh, on the Easley-Sloane property. There's a family cemetery there- Okay... still today. Um, and that was dear to Jonah.
10:47
And so her whole life, she wasn't too far from Taylor. Yeah. And then she married John S. Kritzer in 1878, and that seems to be when she actually came into Taylor and they started their life together here.
11:03
Uh, they had six children. The first one died in infancy, and they buried that child back at the family cemetery over close to Jonah.
11:14
The other children that grew up here and stayed here through their lives are buried in the Taylor City Cemetery, as are Mr. and Mrs. Kritzer. Okay.
11:24
And so this was their home, and this is where they built their life together. Um, I mentioned that I had found a couple of interviews with her from 1940, the year 1940.
11:35
She was in her 80s, and she's telling stories firsthand about Taylor's early days.
11:43
And one of the stories that she tells, which I'm gonna share with y'all today, is about a notorious fire that swept through Taylor in 1879 and destroyed much of the town.
11:57
And so it was, it was a devastating fire, but I'm also gonna share what she tells about how the community came together and supported each other to recover from those damages and to move forward. Okay.
12:13
And so I think that's an important part of the story. But 29 of the 32 businesses were destroyed- Oh, wow... in that, in that fire. And so, uh, w- That's what we're gonna talk about today. Sounds good.
12:25
Uh, sounds like a lot of rich stories of the past. Um, I mean, you've, you've mentioned some names.
12:32
I know you've kinda talked about Moody, and I know this is probably another, another story that we can sit down and talk. There's a series. [laughs] Oh, I'm sure.
12:40
Uh, just curious, you know, I, I'm actually from the Galveston area, and I don't know if he is actually tied to, uh, one of the Moodys there 'cause I... They do have a Moody mansion there, but I, I don't know.
12:51
I'd have to look into it. But it's just interesting how things are connected and how everything has kinda started back in the 1800s and, and where we... where things lead t- for to, to today, so. That's true.
13:04
That's true. Um, so yeah, go ahead. Go ahead. All right.
13:06
So, uh, one of the several stories that she tells from Taylor's early days is about this fire that you'll hear about from time to time that just destroyed the downtown.
13:18
And because it is, it is such a treat to read her accounts of what happened in Taylor, I wanna read what she said in her words rather than me retelling- Okay... what she said. Yeah.
13:31
Uh, because I wanna get as close to her telling- The story... this story as possible. So I'm gonna read, uh, just a, a couple of things from her interview where she talks about the fire of 1879. All right. So she says...
13:45
And this is a quote from her interview. She said, "During the last of February 1879, there was a large fire that swept over all of Taylor, destroying almost everything in its path.
14:01
It started when a high south wind blew some clothes onto a hot stove in a small house behind the Camp Hotel." Oh, wow. So it sounds like it was probably a laundry room- Yeah, yeah... at the, at the back of the hotel.
14:18
And of course, it says that the wind blew some clothes onto a hot stove. Well, back in that day, the hot stove wouldn't have been electrical or gas. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it was- And, and-...
14:31
most likely a wood burning stove... wood burning. Yes. And so that's how the fire got started, of 1879.
14:40
She also says, "Having no water works, we could not stop the fire as it quickly spread from the hotel up the west side of the street to as far as Taylor went in those days." Wow. Wow.
14:57
So just imagine being there and watching this happen. Yeah. Watching your town go up in flames. Yeah. Um, and she said, "Suddenly, the wind changed to the west, blowing the fire to the other side of the street.
15:12
And upon the arrival of a norther, practically the whole town was burned." Wow. So in the historical record, you read about the fire of- Yeah... 1879 and how it destroyed most of the downtown businesses. Yeah.
15:28
But you don't quite get the full story like Mrs. Kritzer- No, you don't... tells it in this interview. I mean, this... And this is, this almost points back to...
15:36
It's like, you know, now modern day you would've had the fire o- you know, the fire, uh, station out there and putting that out. Right. And, and all the emergency... It would've been put out pretty quick. Pretty quickly.
15:47
And back then, they didn't have any of this stuff, so. No. There were no fire hydrants- Yeah, yeah, yeah... along the way. [laughs] So, so this...
15:53
I mean, I could not imagine sitting there and watching, you know, st- from, go from a small fire to an enlarged fire that- Right... basically burns most of the town up. I mean.
16:05
And even though the fire started at the Camp Hotel- Yeah... that was one of the few buildings that survived it. Jeez. Yes. Jeez. Yes. That is... That's, that's pretty intense. And of course, they were wood structures.
16:18
Mm-hmm. And, uh, they went up pretty fast. Pretty, yeah. They caught pretty quickly and, and went up pretty fast. Yeah. I could... Yeah, definitely. And like you said, it's just one of those things.
16:28
It's like, it's almo- it's like almost every town has a major, uh, storm or something that comes in and, and destroys it, and then it's interesting how that destruction comes back and they rebuild into what is- Bigger and better than before.
16:43
E- exactly, exactly. [laughs] And I think one of the lessons they learned from that was that wood structures are not the way to go. Yeah, yeah. And so when they rebuilt, uh, most of the buildings were made of brick.
16:54
Oh, okay. And so, and some of those buildings are still with us today. Yeah. And so, um, you know, it, it wasn't a good thing, but it led to rebuilding- Mm-hmm... for the long term. Yeah.
17:05
Now, something else that I have not seen in any of the historical records that just list the facts about this event was the recovery. Okay. Uh, all I've seen really in the historical account is that the town rebuilt.
17:21
Mm-hmm. And, and I have read where, you know, instead of wood they did use the brick. But Mrs. Kritzer tells a little bit more about the heart of the story and how people supported each other in rebuilding.
17:36
So I'd like to share a couple of sentences. L- let's talk about that too. Yeah. So in her interview, she said, "Long wooden shelters were erected until the homes and stores could be built again.
17:51
And the people whose homes were not damaged by the fire took the homeless people in." Mm. So those who had homes that survived the fire took in those who lost their homes- Yeah...
18:06
and let them live with them until they could rebuild. And she says as far as-... their household, she says, "We took 18 people in, and beds were put on the floor for everyone." Oh, wow.
18:23
So, rising to the occasion- Yeah... and working together to rebuild after that tragedy. Yeah. Yeah. And I think that's a big part of Taylor's success.
18:32
And you know, you still see that kind of spirit alive in Taylor today. Yeah. I mean, look at how many foundations there are to help with- Oh, yeah... certain situations- Yeah... and needs.
18:42
Uh, whenever there's a particular need, there's always an effort to come to the, to whatever needs to be done. Yeah. And so I think we still see that, that pioneering spirit today. Oh, I, I agree.
18:54
I mean, I, I think that's something that is gonna continue to go on, and it's just... Unfortunately, it takes tragedies to kinda bring some of that stuff back into the picture.
19:03
I mean, you know, we don't see it as much because it's just not out there marketed like this story.
19:11
Um, you know, when there's tragedy that's, it's now everybody's helping hand, and it's one of those things that it takes in order to, for a town to rebuild. I mean, ultimately, that's, that's the thing.
19:24
I mean, when t- the towns get destroyed, people come together and they, they wanna rebuild it into something better. That's right.
19:32
And, and it's like the lesson learned there, well, hey, you know, stick buildings, wood buildings may not be the best, but let's go back to brick. They go on to the next step. Exactly, exactly. To help you out.
19:41
That's right. So. You have to look at the benefits- Yeah... and overcome the challenges- Yeah... and move forward. Yeah. Yeah. So. Move forward. But that is definitely interesting.
19:50
I did not know that there was a major fire that destroyed most of the, the city. Uh- Well, I would've loved to have met Mrs. Kritzer. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I would've loved to have interviewed her- Yeah, yeah...
20:00
and listened to her tell these stories. But thank goodness there were people who did interview her and- Yeah... recorded those stories.
20:08
Now, one thing that I noticed immediately was that she was known by her husband's name. Mm. She was known as Mrs. John S. Kritzer. Yeah.
20:20
And so after I read her stories and her account of the early days, I wanted to know a little bit more about her, like what was her first name. Yeah, yeah.
20:28
And so I started doing a little research, and in that research, I found out that her first name was Martha. Okay. Martha Elizabeth. And her maiden name was Sloan. Yeah. Um, and Martha Elizabeth Sloan Kritzer. Mm.
20:44
And her mother was an Easley. And you know, to show how stories are kinda connected- Yeah...
20:51
several years ago, I just stumbled across a story of a teacher, uh, here in Taylor named Miss Elizabeth Easley, Miss Elizabeth Easley. Oh, okay. And she started teaching in Taylor in 1892. Mm.
21:07
And she taught elementary school, and one of her little students that she had in her class was little Dan Moody. [laughs] Oh. [laughs] And so I know that that Miss Easley was related to Mrs. Kritzer. Yeah.
21:22
I just haven't figured out exactly how they're related. Yeah. But they both came from the same property over close to Jonah. Yeah.
21:31
And so I know that's the same Easley family as Miss Kritzer's mother, so I wanna find out that connection at some point.
21:39
And that's the thing, it, it's funny how there's so many different connections that, you know, build upon each other and, you know, it's interesting to go back in time, and that's one of the things that I'm, I'm trying to bring to Wilco Texas Insider is the deep-rooted history so that people understand, you know, w- where these towns came from, and, and how they were built, and what they were in the past, and now what are we transitioning into today.
22:04
How did we get to where we are today? E- exactly, exactly. Yeah. I think that's important. So. That's a, that's a good thing to do. Yeah. So as I was looking up information about Mrs. John S.
22:15
Kritzer, I also stumbled across some information about Mister- Oh, okay... John S. Kritzer. Um, and I found, um, I found an article where he talked about his, um, participation in the Civil War.
22:30
He fought in the Civil War, uh, fought on the Confederate side. And I'll just share, uh, a sentence that, that I found in there, uh, talking about being on the battle ground at that time in history. Mm-hmm.
22:45
Uh, he says, "We were poorly clad and poorly fed, living for days on parched corn and drinking swamp water from bayous full of snakes and rotting leaves." Mm.
22:57
He said he was never seriously wounded, uh, though he had three horses that were killed, and his clothing was shot several times. I don't know exactly what that means. [laughs] That his clothing was shot and he wasn't.
23:12
Yeah, yeah. I don't know. But, uh- Oh... but anyway, that was just kind of a little window into that time period- Yeah... uh, of the Civil War time.
23:20
And that, that sounds like, you know, it's like you think you have a bad day. [laughs] Right. You go back into history and- It... Oh, yeah... some of these people- Uh, it was hard times... it could always be worse.
23:30
I mean- You know?... even aside from wartime, it was just- Yeah... hard times a lot of time. Yeah, yeah. Uh, so in closing- Okay... uh, with this Mrs.
23:39
Kritzer story, uh, her interviews that I've referred to several times were done in 1940. Mm-hmm. One was done in March, and one was done in October. She passed away in January of 1941,
23:54
and so she did not live very long after those interviews. Yeah. And I'm just so thankful that somebody went and interviewed her and got her story while she was here to tell it. Yeah.
24:08
And you know, one thing I have enjoyed doing is interviewing people in their 90s. The oldest one was 100. Yeah. And to find out about a time before I was even born. Yeah.
24:20
And but even so- Today, someone who's 100 years old goes back 100 years, which is significant. Yeah. But then there was history before that. Yeah.
24:33
And so it's a real treat to find these interviews where older people, like in 1940, were interviewed and those stories were recorded. So I think it's a lesson for all of us. Go talk to those grandparents. Yeah.
24:47
Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. Talk to your elderly friends- Yeah... at church, in the neighborhood, uh, anybody that you know, and get those stories- Yeah... while they're here to tell them- Yeah...
24:56
so that we don't lose those. Well, I can tell you right now, like, if there's anybody out there that wants to tell their story, w- Mr. Tim Crow, man, would love to sit down with you and talk to you about that.
25:06
And I write some of these up, and I have a column in the Taylor Press- That's right, yeah... called Our Town. Okay. And those are all stories of a historical nature. Okay.
25:15
And so I started those, uh, right after I retired from the school a year ago. Yeah. And so I, I write a column about once a month. Yeah. And so, uh, if...
25:26
look for that in the Taylor Press and you'll see some more stories of historical Taylor. Yeah, definitely. Um, gotta keep the stories alive, so if you're out there, again, come out and tell your story because
25:40
we just wanna make sure that it's known for sure. Right. So all right, Tim, well, it's been great having you on the show. Hopefully you come back and, I mean, there's so much more to t- talk about.
25:50
Um, and you know, we'll see what's next on the historic line of topics. There's a lot to tell. Thanks for joining us on the Wilco Texas Insider podcast.
26:01
If you enjoyed today's conversation, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who cares about Williamson County.
26:09
Follow Wilco Texas Insider on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, and wherever you get your podcasts for more local news, stories, and conversations. Until next time, I'm Josh Roos.
26:24
Thanks for listening, and we'll see you on the next episode. [outro music]
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