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Paige Railway Watertower LbNA #69471

Owner:Baby Bear
Plant date:Dec 4, 2015
Location: Dixon Prairie Cemetery
City:Paige
County:Bastrop
State:Texas
Boxes:1
Found by: JUST 2 NUTS
Last found:Apr 14, 2023
Status:FFFF
Last edited:Dec 5, 2015
Difficulty: Easy (but dirt road, so if raining may be hard)
Distance to Letterbox: 25 yards

This box is located in Dixon Prairie Cemetery, a small German Cemetery just north of Paige. I met guy who has family buried here from 1850's, and he was planting new oak trees. The box is for the history of Paige, which is below from the Texas Online History:

PAIGE, TEXAS. Paige is on U.S. Highway 290 forty-four miles east of Austin in northeast Bastrop County. The Old San Antonio Road, now State Highway 21, borders the north side. Paige was established at the site of a railroad water tower on the newly built Houston and Texas Central Railway in 1872 and named for Norman Paige, a civil engineer, who had laid out the route of the railway. In 1874 a post office was established. In 1876 the railway station was moved three miles east to its present location. Fedor Soder arrived in 1877, built a store and a gin, and purchased and sold many town lots to other Germans; the population is still primarily German. In 1884 Paige reported a population of 350 and several businesses, including seven cotton gins. By 1886 the population had reached 500. The town was a railroad shipping center for cotton, cattle, hogs, cordwood, butter, eggs, potatoes, and other produce. It had a pickle factory, creamery, and broom factory. By 1914 Paige had a bank and telephone service, but the population had decreased to 400. In 1941 Paige had an estimated population of 467 and ten businesses. During World War II the population began to decline again, partially as a result of the decrease in cotton production. In 1952 the town reported eight businesses and a population of 220. In 1981 the Hou-Tex Oil Company drilled for gas near Paige and connected its well to the Giddings-Bastrop pipeline. In 1982 a volunteer fire department was established and the Paige Community Center was incorporated. In 1990 Paige reported four businesses and had a population of 275. The population remained the same in 2000.

Directions:
From Paige, go west on Hwy 290 toward Austin. Turn left on Hwy 21 and go a few miles. Look for sign for Dixon Prairie rd and Cemetery, and turn left onto dirt road. Go about 1/2 mile and cemetery will be on the right. Park near Outhouse.

To the letterbox:
From outhouse, go right to covered area. Go left along edge to back side and find largest oak tree. Box at back base under flat rock. Once done, go look around cemetery.

Hike length: 0.1 miles