The Granbury Project

[Rick Waldroup]

In 2003, my wife and I moved from the Dallas metro area to Granbury, Texas, a small town approximately 75 miles southwest of Dallas. In 2008, I started a project to document the many historical buildings and homes in the city. Life got in the way, and I put the project on the back burner until recently. I am completely retired now and decided to start the project again.

In 2008 I was shooting with a four thirds Lumix L1 with the Leica 14-50 zoom lens, which I sold shortly after starting this project. Incredibly, I have come full circle and purchased another L1 last year and just recently acquired a four thirds Olympus E-1, which will be the main camera for this project.


From 2008

Granbury is the county seat of Hood County. It started out as a trading post in 1854 and was officially established in 1860. The city is named after General Hiram B. Granbury. The small city of 15,000 is rich with old, historical buildings and homes, many of them located in and around the town square and surrounding area. Many of those homes and buildings are now registered historical landmarks.


This sign greets visitors as they enter the city. It is located on HWY 377 which is the main thoroughfare through the city.





Early Morning - Hood County Courthouse in Granbury

Built in 1891, it replaced the original log cabin courthouse.





General Hiram B. Granbury



Lumix L1 with a Leica 14-50 zoom

 

[Rick Waldroup]

June 19, 2025

The Walker-Morris-Peveler House

Also known as the "Honeymoon Cottage", it was built in 1895 by Dr. W.S. Walker.



Olympus E-1 with a Sigma 10-20 zoom

 

[splitimageview]

Haven't spent much time there but Granbury is definitely photogenic!

 

[Rick Waldroup]

Haven't spent much time there but Granbury is definitely photogenic!

Yes, there is certainly no shortage of interesting historical sites to photograph. This should be a fun, interesting, and educational project, especially now that I have plenty of time to work on it.

Here is another one

June 30, 2025

The "Sheriff's House"

Built in 1873 by Sheriff A.J. Wright, it is considered to be the oldest house in Hood County. Interestingly enough, two more Granbury sheriffs lived in the house after the death of Sheriff Wright. The city eventually sold the house in 2023, and it is currently occupied.



Olympus E-1 with a Sigma 10-20 zoom

 

[Dogman]

Good stuff, Rick. Looks like an interesting place. And quite lovely.

Keep those photos comin'.


...........................

 

[tortellini_man]

i went to stephenville a while back (7ish years maybe?) and passed through Granbury

i remember the town square and the county jail museum - interesting place! didn't realize it was named after a confederate though

 

[Guth]

I spent more than two decades living in various Texas cities. One thing that saddened me was just how quick developers were to tear down any sort of historical building so that they could replace it with something newer and “better”. It’s appears that these older buildings are faring better in the small towns such as Granbury. I think that it is commendable that you are documenting them. Perhaps you’ll wind up with enough images to produce a book — something that could be presented to the town or for placement in the local library for example.

 

[Larry H-L]

A Buckeye here, I was in Granbury this past November to help out with a program at your nature center there. Some birding friends live out on the Pecan Plantation and volunteer at the nature center. Went over to Stephenville for bbq.

Nice photos, keep going!

 

[peterm1]

Well done. I think that this kind of project to be a very worthwhile thing, documenting as it does, a time and a place which may one day not still be there, at least in its present form.

Here in South Australia, I have been exploring similar archives of photos taken by notable historical photographers documenting landscapes, buildings, events and people here in Adelaide in the late 19th century and early 20th. (Their scope was a bit wider than yours as can be seen). Many were made by two interesting characters. Captain Samuel Sweet who gave up the ocean-going life for photography and Arthur Searcy who through his career managed to combine his day job (President of the Marine and Harbours Board plus other senior roles) with his passion for photography. What is it about the sea and marine pursuits that motivated these to become photographers? 😳Many examples of their work are to be found in collections in the State Library of SA and are a rich source of information about colonial S.A. As yours may well be one day with regard to Granbury's built environment.

https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/find/Searcy+Collection/

https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/find/Sweet%2C+Samuel+White%2C+1825-1886

One of the first such projects to come to my attention was that of James Ravilious in Devon in Britain. James, who passed some 25 years ago, made it his life's work to document a rural part of Britain that was still redolent of the olden days in a world that was increasingly becoming one of sterile mechanized farms and eventually the internet and satellite communications (though not quite yet in his day - the 1970's). It was fascinating, and I vaguely relate to it due to my life growing up in rural South Australia (similar mainly British derived culture, - just with Aussie accents). A different emphasis from your project to be sure, but it was still moved by the same worthy impulse. His work is preserved in what is now known as "The Beaford Archive".

His father, Eric Ravious, was a well known WW2 water colour artist who documented British life during that conflict.

(I love the way in this following video, that some people hardly seem to have three teeth shared between a family of six, while others have dentistry that looks like an ill maintained picket fence.) 🤣 Different times! 😆 The phrase "salt of the earth" springs to mind.

Here is a short video on James' work.

ALL ARTS Documentary Selects | James Ravilious: A World in Photographs | Season 2024

This documentary returns to key persons photographed by James Ravilious in rural post-war England.

www.pbs.org

 

[Rick Waldroup]

i went to stephenville a while back (7ish years maybe?) and passed through Granbury

i remember the town square and the county jail museum - interesting place! didn't realize it was named after a confederate though

Yes, and unfortunately, he was a slave owner as well. According to the 1860 census, General Granbury listed that he owned one slave.

I plan on taking some new photos of the old county jail, courthouse, and town square in the near future.

 

[Rick Waldroup]

July 22, 2025

S. Jones Street

Built in 1908 by local banker, C. Cogdell, the house was owned by the family for decades. Over the years, it has been bought and sold for residential and commercial purposes. It is currently occupied by a local law firm. The large front porch was a very prominent feature on houses back in those days. People actually sat on the front porch enjoying a cool evening breeze, conversing.



Olympus E-1 with a Sigma 10-20 zoom