Giddings

History

The land where the city of Giddings now stands was part of the land granted to Stephen F. Austin in 1821 for a colony in Spanish Texas, and later became part of the Robertson's Colony. The city itself was founded in 1871 when the Houston and Texas Central Railway came to the area. It probably took its name from local magnate Jabez Deming Giddings, who was instrumental in bringing the railway to the area. He had come to the area from Pennsylvania in 1838 to claim the land bounty of his brother Giles A. Giddings, killed at the Battle of San Jacinto. Another theory is that the city was named after Jabez's brother Dewitt Clinton Giddings. Early settlers in the new town were mostly pioneers from the surrounding communities, such as Old Evergreen and Shady Grove. The majority of these people were ethnically British Isles natives, but a sizable minority were Wendish families from the Serbin area. They would later establish the German-language newspaper Deutsches Volksblatt. A syndicate headed by William Marsh Rice owned the whole townsite and sold property to settlers. Later, Rice Institute (now Rice University) in Houston had control and sold the lots. Wide streets were a distinguishing characteristic of the town; the two main thoroughfares (Main and Austin Streets) were 100 feet (30 m) wide, and other streets were 80 feet (24 m) wide. The town's first church, established in 1871, was Methodist. J. D. Giddings Masonic Lodge, chartered in Evergreen in 1865, moved to Giddings, and early churches and a public school met in its building. Soon after the Civil War, freed slaves from farms and plantations settled in Giddings. Classes for more than 50 black students were held in a church in 1883, and the first black public school was built in 1887. Giddings became the county…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which (0.58%) is covered by water. The climate in this area is characterized by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. The Köppen climate classification describes the weather as humid subtropical, Cfa.

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  528
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  428
• Black Vulture

  Coragyps atratus (Bechstein, 1793) · Aves
  427
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  381
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  348
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  324
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  293
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  286

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2024-04-02
  4 km SSW of Round Top, Texas
• M 2.6 — 2021-08-24
  3 km NNW of Hallettsville, Texas
• M 2.9 — 2017-10-20
  5 km W of Flatonia, Texas
• M 3.1 — 2015-02-19
  3 km N of Hallettsville, Texas
• M 2.7 — 2007-09-15
  11 km ENE of Milano, Texas