Talk:Williamson County, Texas

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BetacommandBot (talk) 03:23, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

Walburg
No mention of Walburg, Texas (which as of this writing is a red link). I would have thought it is at least a CDP, if not an incorporated place. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 19:56, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

From what I can tell, Walburg, Texas is not a CDP and it is definitely not incorporated. It appears to be merely a populated place with an official federally recognized name. AtxApril (talk) 22:05, 15 February 2009 (UTC)


 * It has some historical importance though, being part of the German settlement of Texas. It should definantely have some mention in the article, if not an article of its own. --Leodmacleod (talk) 20:56, 17 February 2009 (UTC)


 * May I suggest that you start an article on Walburg. It can be really short but you are right - it needs to be in Wikipedia, and could then be used for an internal ref from Williamson County, etc. Let me know if you need help.  You can email me on my talk User page (see user boxes). Austex  •  Talk  14:55, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Taxes in Wilco
I've removed the recently added text about property taxes in Williamson County for the following reasons: If somebody can rewrite the discussion of property tax in Wilco in a way that eliminates the inaccuracies, please feel free to add it back in.AtxApril (talk) 23:42, 22 May 2009 (UTC)
 * 1) The claim that Wilco "has one of the nation's highest property tax rates" is false and is not supported by the cited ref.  In fact, Williamson County has fairly low property tax rates.  The majority of a homeowner's property tax in Williamson County consists of school district and city taxes.  The cited ref was referring to the combination of all property taxes (including school district and city taxes) paid by residents of Williamson County.
 * 2) The sentence about the "Robin Hood plan" has no applicability to the county or to taxes levied by the county as the "Robin Hood plan" applies to school districts, of which there are several in Williamson County.
 * 3) The ref cited regarding the "Robin Hood plan" does not read like an authoritative source, but instead reads as speculative and filled with opinion.
 * 4) The sentence that began "Part of this is due to the Robin Hood plan" does not clearly specify exactly what is "due to" the "Robin Hood plan" (and exhibits incorrect usage of the phrase "due to").
 * 5) It is not surprising that residents of Texas would pay higher property taxes (as a percentage of home value) than residents of many other states since Texas does not have a personal income tax and instead relies on those property taxes to pay for many things that would be paid by income taxes in other states.  In fact, Texans have an overall lower tax burden than do residents of many (if not most) other states.
 * This was nothing more than a purely political statement using innuendo to imply that Williamson County officials had raised taxes higher than similar counties. But Wm Cunty has exerienced unprecedent growth. Even if re-written this does not belongn the article.  This is one of several edits used throughout to espouse a personal political opinion from a single individual.   Austex  •  Talk  19:37, 2 September 2011 (UTC)

Should History Section Be an Article Itself?
This section makes the article look more like a timeline. The section itself looks like it has a sufficient amount of information to sustain its own article. We can also make it just 2 paragraphs instead of a timeline. 99.58.60.128 (talk) 23:42, 1 April 2010 (UTC) (TheAustinMan has forgotten to sign in! :O)

Also in the timeline, it mentions of the fall of the Alamo in 1836, which is not in Williamson County so it has really nothing to do with it. Other examples of un-necessary timeline marks include:


 * Robert E. Lee's surrender of the American Civil War.
 * Governor Sam Houston advises settlers to pull back from frontier. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.58.60.128 (talk) 23:48, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

Are we a global encyclopedia, where some may not have a good grasp of Texas history? Putting a timeline frame around the county's specific history clarifies for readers unfamiliar with Texas history, what events shaped the founding of the county itself. Texas was still being formed by the Civil War itself. The Alamo wasn't in Williamson County, but it was a pertinent part of the shaping of Texas history. Williamson County did not exist in a vacuum. Maile66 (talk) 00:05, 2 April 2010 (UTC) The Sam Houston issue came from Handbook of Texas Online about Williamson County, which was the "frontier" at that time. Maile66 (talk) 00:16, 2 April 2010 (UTC)
 * I wholeheartedly agree with the first comment. The timeline is too detailed, takes up a disproportunate share of the overall article, and shows many references (while useful to establish the flow of history) nevertheless do not relate to Williamson County. The author (or someone else) needs to trim it down by at least half, or better yet re-write it in a narrative form as is more typical in city and counnty articles. See Austin, Texas for example. I have removed the items related to Slavery and put it into it's own section in a condensed format. HOWEVER I think most all of this can be removed as it relates to US and Texas history but not to Williamson County history. Austex  •  Talk  14:49, 17 July 2010 (UTC)
 * If it cannot be re-written then other editors need to help with reducing it to the most salient points. I have moved he section on Slavery into a new "Slavery" section.  Austex  •  Talk  14:49, 17 July 2010 (UTC)


 * Note to (talk), please sign-in before editing so we can continue the commentary  Austex •  Talk  14:51, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

Williamson County Article Status as of July 2010
Friends of Williamson County:


 * This article needs much help in order to whip it into shape as far as Wipedia standards, but more importantly into an article we can all be proud of. There are many, many sources for info on the county that are useful both for content and for references. Let's all pitch in and help.' Austex •  Talk  15:42, 17 July 2010 (UTC)


 * It appears that here has been very little editing on the article lately. Things I see that need work include (but are not limited to):

marker. Simply remove it and add a reference.
 * Re-organization of sections (I have done some of this this week), but it needs to flow logically; Feel free to make organizational changes if you feel really strongly about it.
 * The history section in bullet form seems wat too long. Would be better in narratove  form as onthe Austin, Texad history page or like many other articles
 * Addition of many, many basic facts -- such as county government for example;or Agriculture.
 * Removal of opinion WP:POV versus facts.  Especially re politics. Wikipedia is not a place to editorialize or to express one's personal point of view.
 * Significant numbers of additional of refrences are critically needed. I have marked many of these with the
 * Some sections have been written with no references at all. Citations for all facts are required by Wikipedia. See Wikipedia Help on how to write citations.  There is also a "citation engine" that you input the data you have (even if limited data) and it will create a citation for you
 * For examples and help with citations go to HERE
 * For the automatic citation generator go HERE

Please note that this is all a cooperative effort, so please feel uninhibited and completely free to jump in at any time. A poorly written citation, for example, is better than no citation at all. They can be cleaned up later by other editors. Editors also please welcome newbies and make them feel at home as well. They are our future. If needed, gently make edit changes and fix citations and explain why, so that they may learn from it constructively. Thanks for helping out with Williamson County, Texas.  Austex •  Talk  15:42, 17 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Feel free to add to this list of needs


 * If you have comments or questions on the above, post them below for others to answer. There are no stupid questions.   Austex  •  Talk  15:42, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

New items related to Williamson County, Texas
Place here:

Slavery Issues re Williamson County
I took out all the slavery issues in the timeline and created its own sub-section on Slavery, then created it verbatum but in narrative form (so its unfortunately not well written). With the exception on two items, the remainder does relate nort relate to Williamson County. Personaly I think the rest needs to be removed, to the section delted entirely. But I will leave that to other editors to decide.  Austex •  Talk  14:05, 19 July 2010 (UTC)


 * Re: Slavery Issues. I agree that the entry regarding slavery issues seems out of place since it lacks any direct references to Wilco.  New at WP; who has the final say on whether the slavery entry is removed?  HSHansen (talk) 22:25, 20 July 2010 (UTC)


 * It's entirely up to a consensus of editors who are working on the article at the time, which right now appear to be you and me and maybe the new editor User:Iluvrr who only recently mde some edits. It does have a small tie-in to Williamson county, especially re Dan Moody, but only a little bit. I don't see an easy way to integrate it (no pun intended) into the history timeline, which I am not fond of to begin with. So I am sort of thinking take it out.  But that's just me.   Wonder if anyone could write up a VERY brief history of slavery in the county in a narrative form? Also someone needs to write a narrative section on Modern History anyway which could perhaps start with Gov Dan Moody and the KKK (and make a short mention of slavery there as well)  Austex  •  Talk  23:00, 27 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Let me go back and see if i can find who wrote it and if they are still around Let's give it a day or two or three. Austex  •  Talk  23:00, 27 July 2010 (UTC)

Slavery
Here is the text that was removed the slavery timeeline and I am pasting it here with great reservations (versus deleting it entirely). Do not put it back a second time. But if you wish you can possibly integrate pieces of it into the overall timeline. The item about Dan Moody, for example, has been added there. The entire timeline would be much better as a written narrative and not a bulleted timeline. And items that refer to Texas statehood or the Spanish explorers, for example,hould be ommitted unless they have a SPECIFIC documented and cited relationship to Williamson County.  Austex •  Talk  04:15, 2 September 2011 (UTC)
 * '''REMOVED SECTION:
 * '''REMOVED SECTION:

'''
 * Important dates relating to slavery in Texas and Wiliamson County:


 * 1829: Mexican President Vicente Ramon Guerrero, himself an ex-slave of Spanish, African and Native American descent, emancipates all slaves within the Republic of Mexico which includes the Mexican areas of Texas, including Williamson County.   In doing so Slavery is abolished in the republic.
 * 1860: Williamson County Population of 3,638 whites and 891 slaves
 * 1861: Williamson County rejects secession from the Union. Some churches continue affiliations with Northern rather than Southern denominations until 1985.
 * 1862:  The Emancipation Proclamation is issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War freeing most slaves in the United States.
 * 1865: (June 19)Major General Gordon Granger arrives in Galveston to announce and enforce the emancipation of all slaves. It has take six months for this news to reach Texas and is the first time African Americans in Texas know of the Emancipation. The date becomes celebrated annually in Texas as Juneteenth, and later as an official state holiday known as Emancipation Day.  On December 6 the The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits slavery.
 * 1880: Date of the first known marked grave of a slave at Slave Burial Ground in Round Rock.
 * 1922: Future Governor of Texas Dan Moody, (born in Taylor 1893 - died 1966) the then district attorney of the 26th Judicial District in Williamson County, won state-wide notice by prosecuting a group for criminal activities allegedly connected with the Ku Klux Klan.  In the 1990s a book and then later a stage play were written by Williamson County District Attorney Ken Anderson called "You Can't Do That, Dan Moody" depicting the highly charged trial.


 * Does this timeline section really belong here? Is it used in other county pages?  This takes up a heck of a lot of the article and is of relatively minor importance compared to it's length.  Plus I think it takes away from the important sections before and after.  I'd like to hear what other people say about it, one way or another.   Could it be done in a narrative form instead?  I'm sure someone put a lot of time into it so I am reluctant to delete it without a second opinion.  Thoughts?  Opinions?  Austex  •  Talk  18:11, 2 September 2011 (UTC)

Notable residents and movies sections
The article needs more notable residents (there are only three listed so far) and numerous movies were filmed all or at least partially in Williamson county. Please help with additions here if possible. Thanks  Austex •  Talk  19:26, 2 September 2011 (UTC)

Presidential elections review

 * Why do we have this section? I have not seen it in any other county article, and it takes a lot of room. Can it be done in a narrative fashion, or perhaps just summarized?  Is each yearly result all that important...or is the importance the change from Democratic to Republucan voters over time as the county has grown?  What about citing the influence of Sun City voters in the county?  Etc.   In short: Can it just be deleted?  Austex  •  Talk  19:26, 2 September 2011 (UTC)


 * NOTICE: See Peer Review Request on this issue at Peer review/Williamson County, Texas/archive1.  All opinions are welcome.


 * The chart of presidential elections should go. If there's a trend or an important takeaway it can be identified in the prose. If it has to stay, there are more efficient ways of representing all that information. I don't know why each election needs an entire table when you're just presenting three pieces of information (year, D %, R %) for each one.
 * Also I agree that the timeline should be in a narrative form. And the information about Texas in general is out-of-scope for the article. (There can always be a See also: History of Texas or something.) But I don't think it should be deleted if it includes things that aren't written elsewhere. —User:Designate (talk) 14:40, 5 September 2011 (UTC)


 * I agree that the chart of presidential election be removed. Too little information for such a large use of space. If the author wants to keep the information, a large chart is not needed or desired. Just put each election year on a single line with the vote totals by candidate (one line for each year).  Has the same info in 1/10th of the space. And/or add to the summary.


 * The timeline is being removed too. Only parts of it relate to Williamson county.  The other information in it is well covered in many Texas History and event articles. I will remove the entire timeline but paste it below for reference while I or someone else does a written summary.
 * Please note that both of these sections were removed once before and were reverted (I presume by the authors). Please make note of the "three revert rule."  Austex  •  Talk  20:40, 5 September 2011 (UTC)

History timeline
'''This section was removed. It needs to be written by someone into a narrative form and include only Williamson county events.''' I will try to give it a start when I have time (between earning a living!)


 * 9000 BCE Archeological evidence identifies the Paleolithic inhabitants known as the Clovis lived in Central Texas including numerous Williamson County sites.
 * 4500 BCE Early native American inhabitants include Tonkawa, Lipan Apache, Kiowa, Comanche, Yojuane, Tawakoni, and Mayeye.
 * 1519-1685 Hernando Cortez and Alonso Álvarez de Pineda claim Texas for Spain
 * 1528 Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca expedition to Texas on behalf of Spain
 * 1685-1690 France plants its flag on Texas soil, but departs after only five years.
 * 1686-1689 Alonso De León expeditions for Spain.
 * 1716 Louis Juchereau de St. Denis and Domingo Ramón, Spanish expedition name Brushy Creek “Rio de San Xavier” and the San Gabriel River “Arroyo de las Bendítas Ánimas”.
 * 1746-1755 San Xavier Missions - San Francisco Xavier de Horcasitas, San Ildefonso, and Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, founded by Franciscan monks of Mexico to serve Central Texas Indians.
 * 1821 Mexico claims its independence from Spain. Anglos from the north  settle in Texas and claim Mexican citizenship.
 * 1836: March 2 - Texas Declaration of Independence from Mexico establishes the Republic of Texas.
 * 1836:March 6 - Battle of the Alamo.
 * 1886: April 21–22 - Battle of San Jacinto, Antonio López de Santa Anna captured.
 * 1886: May 14 - Santa Anna signs the Treaties of Velasco.
 * 1838 Dr. Thomas Kenney establishes first civilian settlement named Kenney's Fort, on Brushy Creek.
 * 1839 Battle of Brushy Creek, last major Indian battle in Williamson County.
 * 1845, December 29 - Texas Annexation  by the United States
 * 1846, May 13 - The United States Congress officially declares war on Mexico.
 * 1848: February 2 - Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially ends the Mexican-American War  March 31 - Texas legislature establishes Williamson County, named for Robert McAlpin Williamson. Georgetown is the county seat.
 * 1861: County votes against secession from the Union. The issue of secession divides the county for the duration of the War. February 1, Texas secedes from the Union.  March 2, Texas joins the Confederate States of America.
 * 1870, March 30 -  The United States Congress readmits Texas into the Union
 * 1880’s-1890’s Migration to the county by Scandinavians, Germans, Czechs, Wends, and Austrians.
 * 1911 Williamson County brick and stone courthouse built in Georgetown. Beaux-arts style. Architect Charles H. Page
 * 1918 Suffragette Jessie Daniel Ames of Georgetown leads a registration drive the adds 3,300 Williamson County women in time for the first primary in which they are eligible to vote.
 * 1922 26th Judicial District in Williamson County, won state-wide notice by prosecuting a group for criminal activities allegedly connected with the Ku Klux Klan. In the 1990s a book and then later a stage play were written by Williamson County District Attorney Ken Anderson called "You Can't Do That, Dan Moody" depicting the highly charged trial.
 * -- Need to bring up to date to 2011

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News (county religious hiring test)

 * Texas lawyer exposes religious hiring test for peace officers: County only wanted Baptist constables, rawstory.com
 * Lawyer claims WilCo Commissioners want Baptist employees only, KVUE tv

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