Then there was John Wilkes Booth, Abraham Lincoln's assassin. Like Carrie Nation, he evidently spent a lot of time in Granbury's saloons. And like Jesse James, Booth evidently assumed an alias. Old-timers claim the fugitive changed his name to John St. Helen before moving to Granbury in the 1870's to bartend. St. Helen confessed on his deathbed to being Lincoln's assassin and has, with time, emerged as a Lone Star Legend.

But such is only a smattering of the colorful characters that make Granbury so intriguing. Its history unfolds like an episode from Ripley's; and just like Jesse James, visitors to Granbury fall head over heels with its Texas charm. So they return again and again....and again.

Features

Most come to visit Granbury's Victorian town square. Established in 1871, it became the first in Texas to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and readers of Texas Highways magazine recently voted it the "best town square in Texas."

The Granbury Opera House, a town square fixture, was built in 1886 and restored in the early 1970's. It features musicals, plays, and melodrama year-round. Most of the town square, though, is lined with art galleries, antique shops, and fine restaurants with menus featuring everything from country vittles to gourmet fare.

Granbury also attracts visitors with its natural beauty. A sparkling Lake Granbury, created when the Brazos River was dammed in 1969, features a 103-mile shoreline and is home to many of Granbury's historic buildings. Visitors can tour the buildings on their own or with the assistance of a guide. Elan River Cruises' sight-seeing excursions on Lake Granbury offer yet another option for those wanting a peek into yesteryear. The cruise line packages everything from dinner cruises to murder mystery trips.

Granbury's appreciation for history also extends to a still-operating drive-in movie theater and The Great Race Hall of Fame and Auto Museum.

For the recreational enthusiast, there are two public golf courses in the Granbury area, several first-rate tennis facilities, a bowling alley, a skating rink, and a Texas-size miniature golf course. The area boasts several catfish ponds, and Lake Granbury is ideal for fishermen, swimmers, and boat lovers alike.

Kids can't wait to get to the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center and Dinosaur Valley State Park, located in nearby Glen Rose. And neighboring Somervell County is home to Squaw Park's crystal-clear lake and to the Texas Amphitheater, which annually stages "The Promise" passion play, a theatrical portrayal of Jesus Christ's life.

Bottom line is there's always something going on in Granbury. The famous Bean Cook-Off is held in March, the Harvest Moon Festival in October, and the Christmas Candlelight Tour of Historic Homes in December. November and December bring four weekends full of The Enchanted Forest -- a stroll through an indoor Fantasyland. There also is a moving Civil War reenactment in September, a spectacular Fourth of July celebration with fireworks over Lake Granbury and an annual birthday bash for General Hiram B. Granbury, the leader of the Confederate Army's Texas Brigade and the town's namesake.

With everyone flocking to Granbury, one might think that finding a place to stay might be a problem. But that's rarely the case thanks to more than 450 hotel/motel rooms and nine bed and breakfast inns. And once folks visit, they usually come back for more...Just like Jesse James.

Written by Gary Hancock