West End Park

Duane's take

The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just here to make sure you hear it right. About two hundred yards west of where you're rolling right now, there's a place called West End Park in Smithville. And if you've never heard of the Chitlin' Circuit, well — pull up a chair, because this is one of those stories that deserves the full telling.

The Chitlin' Circuit was a string of performance venues spread across the South. In the era of Jim Crow segregation, African American performers were shut out of white venues, plain and simple. The Circuit was the answer to that — a network of safe and accepting spaces where Black artists could perform, audiences could gather, and nobody was turning anybody away at the door.

The name itself comes from the chitlins and soul food dishes those clubs often sold, though folks also called it the One-Nighter Circuit or the Theatrical Circuit, depending on who you asked. West End Park was one of the last Texas stops on that Circuit. It ran from the early nineteen hundreds all the way into the nineteen sixties, and for the African American community in Smithville — most of whom lived on the south side of the railroad tracks — this park was more than a venue.

It was the center of something. The park was owned by I.T. Harper and his wife, Sis.

Now, I.T. Harper wasn't just a local businessman. He was a former pitcher for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro Leagues.

Think about that for a moment. The man who kept the lights on at this gathering place had thrown fastballs in one of the most storied organizations in the history of the game. And speaking of the game — when West End Park was arranged as a baseball field, it was used for Negro Leagues Baseball.

Long-time residents still recall watching Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson play exhibition games right here against the Smithville team. Satchel Paige. Josh Gibson.

Right here in Bastrop County. On days when there wasn't a game, the same ground became a setting for church picnics, holiday celebrations, and family reunions. The park wore a lot of hats.

But then there were the nights when the music came to town. Renowned jazz and blues artists made their way through West End Park — Lightnin' Hopkins, Etta James, Joe Tex, T-Bone Walker, Roosevelt Thomas Williams — known as the Grey Ghost — and Hannibal Lokumbe, also known as Marvin Peterson. These weren't unknowns passing through.

The Chitlin' Circuit was a significant part of many notable performers' careers, and West End Park was part of that circuit. In 2009, the governor's office issued a proclamation recognizing West End Park's significance to Bastrop County and to Texas. A formal acknowledgment, long in coming, of what the people of Smithville's south side had always known.

Some places hold more history than they let on from the road. Two hundred yards west. Keep that in mind.

What the marker says

West End Park in Smithville, located 200 yards west, was one of the last Texas stops on the "Chitlin" Circuit," a string of performance venues in the south that served as safe and accepting spaces for African American performers. "Chitlin" Circuit" refers to the Chitlins and soul food dishes that clubs often sold, although the clubs were also referred to as the One-Nighter Circuit or the Theatrical Circuit. West End Park was owned by I.T. Harper, a former pitcher for the Kansas City monarchs in the Negro Leagues, and his wife, Sis. In the racially segregated Jim Crow south, this was an important venue from the early 1900s until the 1960s for many African American musicians excluded from white venues. The surrounding park was a location for many events and gatherings in the African American community, the majority of whom mainly lived on the south side of the railroad tracks in Smithville. The baseball field at the park was used for Negro Leagues Baseball, and long-time residents recall watching legendary Negro Leagues players such as Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson in exhibition games against the Smithville team. When not arranged as a baseball field, local families used West End Park as gathering places for church picnics, holiday celebrations, and family reunions for the African American community. As the Chitlin" Circuit was a significant part of many notable performers" careers, renowned jazz and blues artists such as Lightnin" Hopkins, Etta James, Joe Tex, T-Bone Walker, Roosevelt Thomas Williams (aka. The "Grey Ghost"), and Hannibal Lokumbe (Marvin Peterson) played at the local venue. In 2009, the governor's office issued a proclamation recognizing West End Park's significance to Bastrop County and Texas. (2010)