Crime Scene & Biohazard Cleanup Near Downtown Flatonia Flatonia, TX

Flatonia is a town in southwestern Fayette County, Texas, on Interstate 10, U.S. Highway 90, and the Union Pacific Railroad's main line, about 12 miles west of Schulenburg on the route between Houston and San Antonio.

Flatonia was established on April 8, 1874, on land acquired from William Alexander Faries by the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway, and it was named for pioneer merchant F. W. Flato.

Flatonia was incorporated on November 10, 1875, and held its first municipal election a few weeks later, on December 6, 1875.

By 1878 Flatonia already had 800 residents and an economy based equally on cattle ranching and cotton farming.

A second railroad, the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway, arrived in 1887 and made Flatonia a genuine two-railroad crossing town, a heritage still celebrated at its Central Texas Rail History Center and Flatonia Rail Park.

Flatonia's population stayed between 1,000 and 1,500 people throughout the 20th century - it had 1,024 people and 40 businesses in 1950 - and completion of Interstate 10 in the 1970s shifted its tourist trade about a mile north from old Highway 90.

The 2020 census counted 1,308 people, 496 households, and 412 families in Flatonia.

Flatonia has a strong Czech and German immigrant heritage that it celebrates each October at Czhilispiel, a weekend festival whose name blends 'Czech' with 'chili' and which draws thousands of visitors for its chili cook-off, live music, and dancing.

Flatonia is home to the E. A. Arnim Archives and Museum, established in 1988, which preserves the town's railroad, military, and pioneer history.

Flatonia students attend the Flatonia Independent School District, home of the Bulldogs.