Welcome

Welcome, on Farm Road 109 and the banks of Pecan Creek in northwest Austin County, was originally settled by Anglo-American immigrants in the late 1820s. It was still nameless in 1852, when rapid German immigration into the area commenced. One of the leaders of the German influx, former Oldenburg, Germany, schoolmaster J. F. Schmidt, christened the town Welcome in honor of the congenial aspect of the countryside and the hospitality of local residents. Schmidt organized a singing society, and a school was soon built on the right bank of Pecan Creek near the center of the settlement. A post office was established in the town in 1871. In 1936 Welcome had four businesses and an estimated population of 200. After World War II the town's fortunes declined; by 1950 the population had fallen to an estimated sixty, and two businesses were in operation. During the 1960s the community revived, and the 1965 population was an estimated 175. In 1990 Welcome had a population estimated at 150. The population remained the same in 2000.