Paige

Paige is on U.S. Highway 290 forty-four miles east of Austin in northeast Bastrop County. The Old San Antonio Road , now State Highway 21, borders the north side. Paige was established at the site of a railroad water tower on the newly built Houston and Texas Central Railway in 1872 and named for Norman Paige, a civil engineer, who had laid out the route of the railway. In 1874 a post office was established. In 1876 the railway station was moved three miles east to its present location. Fedor Soder arrived in 1877, built a store and a gin, and purchased and sold many town lots to other Germans ; the population is still primarily German. In 1884 Paige reported a population of 350 and several businesses, including seven cotton gins. By 1886 the population had reached 500. The town was a railroad shipping center for cotton, cattle, hogs, cordwood, butter, eggs, potatoes, and other produce. It had a pickle factory, creamery, and broom factory. By 1914 Paige had a bank and telephone service, but the population had decreased to 400. In 1941 Paige had an estimated population of 467 and ten businesses. During World War II the population began to decline again, partially as a result of the decrease in cotton production. In 1952 the town reported eight businesses and a population of 220. In 1981 the Hou-Tex Oil Company drilled for gas near Paige and connected its well to the Giddings-Bastrop pipeline. In 1982 a volunteer fire department was established and the Paige Community Center was incorporated. In 1990 Paige reported four businesses and had a population of 275. The population remained the same in 2000.