On a bend in the Colorado River where it meanders through the Bay Prairie lies the town of Wharton. Caney and Peach Creeks spill into the river nearby and mark the boundaries of this small community. Stephen F. Austin first brought settlers here in the early 1820s, and the town of Wharton was organized in 1846. Named in memory of two brothers who fought in the Texas Revolution, the town sits astride trade routes that connect larger cities like Houston and San Antonio. Steamboats made their way up the Colorado River, and the railroad bustled through in the 1880s. The town began to grow quickly by 1900, and now, a century later, Wharton honors a diverse cultural heritage passed down for six generations. Today Wharton has more than 9,000 residents who make up a diverse and thriving community, and who still appreciate their special place along the mighty Colorado River.
Author Paul N. Spellman and the Wharton County Historical Museum have joined efforts to tell the story of Wharton with over 200 vintage photographs from the museum archives that bring the historic places and faces of Wharton alive once more.