Maxwell, Texas<\/h3>
\n<\/p>
Maxwell is an unincorporated community in Caldwell County, Texas, United States.[1] According to the Handbook of Texas, it had a population of 500 in 2000. It is located within the Greater Austin metropolitan area.\n<\/p>
The community's original name, New Martindale, was changed to Maxwell in 1887 when the Katy Railroad was built through it. Thomas Maxwell, who received a grant for the land on which the community is located in 1845, was honored by the name change. The majority of Maxwell's early immigrants came from Alabama and other states, but German groups began to migrate there in the 1880s; their impact may still be seen today. Adding a second sizable segment to the local population were Mexican farmworkers. Early Maxwell's social life was dominated by the singing, dancing, and shooting clubs common to German settlements. The Maxwell Social Club was established in 1953 to oversee sporting and leisure activities as well as to support charitable, humanitarian, and other community programs. In 1888, the Maxwell post office was founded. Between 1890 and 1892, the town's population rose from 25 to 100, and it added two general stores, a gristmill, and a gin. Maxwell came dangerously close to being destroyed by fire three times: in 1887, in 1910 (when the town rebuilt its commercial district in brick), and in 1922. In 1914, Maxwell had 225 residents, two churches, two general stores, two cotton gins, and a bank. Later, the town added three cotton gins, a restaurant, a doctor's office, a drug store, and a number of retail stores. The village had 400 residents and eighteen enterprises in 1929. It subsequently declined. The area served as the backdrop for the 1980 filming of Raggedy Man, in which residents had small roles. In 1989, the Union Pacific Railroad acquired the Katy Railroad and added new routes to San Marcos. The post office, nine small enterprises, and 185 people were all present in Maxwell in 1990. 500 people were living there in 2000. The Nagle Manufacturing and Supply Company, the major employer in the area, made coathangers.[2]<\/p><\/div>\n