A short history of Marble Falls
Marble Falls was founded in 1887 by Adam Rankin "Stovepipe" Johnson, a former Indian fighter and Confederate general. Johnson had visited the natural marble falls during his pre-war days as a Burnet County surveyor, and wanted to build an industrial city powered by the Colorado River. Johnson facilitated the construction of a railroad to nearby Granite Mountain in 1884, and helped plat the Marble Falls townsite. The sale of lots began in 1887, and Johnson built a home, a college, and a factory near the falls. The town grew to a population of 1,800 within ten years.
In 1917, Marble Falls elected Ophelia Crosby "Birdie" Harwood as the first woman mayor in Texas, three years before women were allowed to vote.
When the Max Starcke Dam was completed in 1951, the marble falls which had given the town its name were submerged under the new Lake Marble Falls. The town's economy declined through the drought of the 1950s, and prospered as a tourism and retirement location, beginning in the 1970s. Beginning in the 1980s, Marble Falls has grown into the retail and entertainment center for the Highland Lakes area.
Adapted (trimmed) from the Wikipedia article Marble Falls, Texas, revision 1377041251 by its contributors, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.