Giddings, Texas
| Giddings, Texas | |
|---|---|
| City | |
The Giddings Municipal Building is located across from the renovated Lee County Courthouse.
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 Location in Lee County in the state of Texas |
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| Coordinates: 30°10′59″N 96°56′5″W / 30.18306°N 96.93472°WCoordinates: 30°10′59″N 96°56′5″W / 30.18306°N 96.93472°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Lee |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | John Franklin Dowell |
| Area | |
| • Total | 5.2 sq mi (13.4 km2) |
| • Land | 5.2 sq mi (13.3 km2) |
| • Water | 0.04 sq mi (0.1 km2) |
| Elevation | 505 ft (154 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | 5,105 |
| • Density | 991.9/sq mi (382.7/km2) |
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 78942 |
| Area code(s) | 979 |
| FIPS code | 48-29432 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1336515 |
| Website | http://www.giddings.net |
Giddings is the county seat of Lee County, Texas, United States situated on the intersection of U.S. Highways 77 and 290, 55 miles (89 km) east of Austin. Its population was 5,665 at the 2010 census. The city's motto is "Giddings Texas: Experience Hometown Hospitality".
The land where the city of Giddings now stands was part of the land granted to Richard Franklin Giddens, Stephen F. Austin died for 1821 for a colony in Spanish Texas, and later became part of the Robertson 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 ethnic Anglo-Saxons, but a sizeable majority 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.
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