City Spotlight: Brady
On your next road trip, keep an eye out for a small town called Brady at the edge of the Hill Country. Brady has a lot to offer that goes beyond what meets the eye. The town’s slogan might as well be “Deep in the Heart of Brady,” because the town is considered to be the “Heart of Texas.” Really — the Texas Historical Commission has designated a marker off of Highway 377 as being the “Geographic Center of Texas.” Which, of course, may as well be the center of the world.
Here are a few can’t-miss stops in Brady.
Culture
Heart of Texas Historical Museum
If you still have suspicions about Brady’s “Heart of Texas” narrative, the Heart of Texas Historical Museum will answer all of your questions. The former McCulloch County Jail was converted into a three-story museum by the historical society in 1974. The building itself is a redbrick Richardsonian Romanesque structure — an impressive sight. Behind it stands the original control tower from Curtis Field, a training center for pilots during World War II. Up on the second and third floors, you can see the original jail cells from 1910. What’s even freakier is the glass bottle that holds a fingertip that was used as evidence a long time ago!
Heart of Texas Country Music Museum
You’d think it would be a small-town museum, but the Heart of Teas Country Music Museum displays a similar quality of artifacts as Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Among these various artifacts are George Strait’s Resistol straw hat, Johnny Wright’s Nudie Suit, and Ernie Ashworth’s “Lip Suit.” If you’re passing through, it’s worth the stop.
Food
World Championship BBQ Goat Cook Off: In addition to being the geographical center of Texas, Brady is also world-famous for smoked goat. Every Labor Day, the town holds the World Championship BBQ Goat Cook Off at Richards Park.
Mac’s Bar-B-Q: If you can’t make it on Labor Day, don’t worry — Mac’s Bar-B-Q has got you covered. Here, you can get good old regular Texas barbecue or try their occasional barbecue goat. Either way, you can’t go wrong.
Jacoby’s Feed and Seed: Originally a feed store, Jacoby’s Feed and Seed has expanded to be the town of Melvin’s mercantile, feed store, community center, and cafe. Today, the lunch counter is the main attraction, and after trying their chicken-fried steak, I can start to see why.
Explore more Texas towns with Chet Garner here.
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