Shiner

Shiner is at the intersection of U.S. Highway 90A and State Highway 95, fourteen miles west of Hallettsville in western Lavaca County. In 1885 a post office called Half Moon was opened at a trading post near the present site of Shiner. When the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway came to the area in 1887 it bypassed Half Moon and built through land owned by Henry B. Shiner. Shiner donated 250 acres for a right-of-way and depot, and a town soon grew around the new transportation facilities. At first the community was called New Half Moon, but in 1888 its name was changed to Shiner. Shiner was incorporated in 1890, and L. P. Amsler was elected the first mayor. Czech and German immigrants soon became the dominant ethnic groups, and Shiner developed a cohesive Czech community through social organizations such as the National Sokol Society and the Slavonic Benevolent Order of the State of Texas. The population was reported at 2,074 in 1990 and 2,070 in 2000. The town supports a weekly newspaper, the Gazette, which was established in 1892. The most important agricultural products are dairy and beef cattle, cotton, and corn. Shiner has industries that manufacture wire, racks, dye, and tool plating. In 2002 the Spoetzl brewery, the sole producer of Shiner Beer, distributed their products in Texas and in twenty-two other states.

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.