Spicewood is an unincorporated community in Burnet County, Texas, United States. According to the Texas Almanac, the community had an estimated population of 2,000 in 2000.[1]
The community was formerly the home of BJ Cafe, which claims to have been an occasional favorite of Willie Nelson. The Cafe closed sometime in the 1990s.
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Spicewood is located at (30.4754724, -98.1564068). It is situated one mile north of State Highway 71 in southeastern Burnet County, approximately nine miles southeast of Marble Falls.[1] The nearest major city is Austin, located 22 miles southeast of Spicewood.[2]
Spicewood was established in the late 19th century, although many residents claim direct lineage from settlers in the early 19th century, many land deeds originating from "script" issued by the Republic of Texas and derived from Spanish land grants. The name possibly came from the Spicewood (Sassafras) timber that grew along nearby Little Cypress Creek.[2] A post office opened in 1899 with James B. Pangle as its postmaster. The Spicewood post office itself moved (2000) from its original location in Spicewood, one mile south to Hollingsworth Corner, and now serves a 100 mi² area in three counties, Burnet, Blanco, and Travis, leading many served to incorrectly believe they actually "live in" old Spicewood-proper. As surrounding communities began to decline (early 20th century), many of their residents turned to Spicewood as the focus of local community life. A Baptist Church was organized in 1908. In 1919, Spicewood replaced Rockvale as the official name of the local school district. The population was approximately 100 during the mid-1920s and rose to 125 by 1933. Local businesses prospered when Farm Road 93 (present-day State Highway 71) was built through the area during the 1940s. In 1949, the school in nearby Haynie Flat consolidated with Spicewood's school district. Three years later, Spicewood became part of the Marble Falls Independent School District. The population, which stood at around 100 in the 1970s, had grown to an estimated 2,000 by 2000.[1]
Although it is unincorporated, Spicewood has a post office, with the ZIP code of 78669.[3]
The local magneto-driven Spicewood Telephone exchange was taken over by GTE in the early 1970s and the area is now served by Verizon and cellular phone services.
Except for Naumann Feed and Ranch Supply (1 mile NW), the majority of local businesses are 1 mi. S, at nearby "Hollingsworth Corner" (often misunderstood to be Spicewood-proper) and include a general store serving gasoline, hardware, snack foods/beverages, Marine/Boat Service, Used Car Lot, Real Estate, insurance, and Bar-B-Que restaurant. A favorite outdoor-destination is nearby Krause Springs, formerly known as Tiger ("tigger") Springs, a spring-fed pond, swimming pool, and picnic/camping concession. The Spicewood area has four privately-owned airports, one of them, the old "Austin Air Ranch" or "Windermere", FAA-identifier "88R", welcoming to public use, with fuel, hangar, and light-maintenance available, daytime-VFR use only. The other three airports, Flying X River Ranch (8TA3), Lakeside Beach (0XS6), and Fall Creek Air Ranch (52TS) (not depicted on charts), are "Prior-Permission Required/At-Risk" only.
During September 2011, wildfires hit the Spicewood area hard, 67 structures were lost or damaged, and five subdivisions were involved. The majority of the homes in those subdivisions were destroyed, with 22 homes were destroyed in one subdivision alone. 17 state agencies and 150 firefighters worked to control the blaze. It affected a minimum of 10 square miles, or 6,400 acres.
Public education in the community of Spicewood is provided by the Marble Falls Independent School District. Zoned campuses include Spicewood Elementary School (grades K-5; located in Spicewood), Marble Falls Middle School (grades 6-8), and Marble Falls High School [1] (grades 9-12).
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