Bankersmith

Bankersmith, located ten miles southeast of Fredericksburg in extreme southern Gillespie County, was established by Rudolf Habenicht in 1913, when the San Antonio, Fredericksburg and Northern Railroad laid its track between Fredericksburg and Comfort. The train stop was named for Temple Doswell Smith, president of the first bank to be established in Fredericksburg and one of the primary donors for the railroad construction, and town lots were laid out along both sides of the track. Just south of the community was the only railroad tunnel in the state. A local post office was established in September 1914 with Habenicht as postmaster. Bankersmith was located in the vicinity of the Grapetown community. The post office was sometimes listed as being in Kendall County—the Kendall/Gillespie county line runs east to west near the townsite, and the postmaster most likely lived in a farmhouse on the Kendall County side.

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.