Flatonia Map
Flatonia is a town in southwestern Fayette County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 10 and the Southern Pacific Railroad, twelve miles west of Schulenburg. The population was 1,377 at the 2000 census. It was incorporated in 1875 and is known for its German and Eastern European heritage and the local "Czhilispiel" festival; the festival, named after Czech people who like to eat chili, receives visitors from a large area in Central Texas.
Flatonia opened on April 8, 1874 on land that the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway acquired from William Alexander Faries (the family name is also spelled Ferris and Farris). The community, originally made up of Anglo American settlers, was named after F. W. Flato. Residents placed their homes in the former Flatonia settlement, one mile southeast of the current Flatonia, and Oso, Texas, three miles northeast, on wagons and moved to the new location. The post office, established in the former Flatonia in 1870, moved to the new Flatonia with the same name. Flatonia incorporated on November 10, 1875 and held its first election on December 6 of that year. In 1878 the town had 800 residents and an economy dependent on cattle and cotton.
The location of the railway and inexpensive real estate led to the arrival of Arab, Bohemian, German, Greek, and Italian immigrants in several waves. The north-south line of the Waco branch of the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway opened in the mid-1880s, leading to new settlements of Muldoon and Moulton. Competition from the settlements, respectively north and south of Flatonia, and an agricultural depression damaged Flatonia's economy. By 1900 Flatonia had a significant population decrease.
Nearby cities include Waelder, Schulenburg, Shiner, Hallettsville, Weimar.
In Flatonia
Wine Haus Rhinestone Angel Subway