What is Gingerbread Town?

What is Gingerbread Town? I daresay most people in Waxahachie, Texas, know what is meant when Waxahachie is referred to as a Gingerbread Town. Waxahachie has an abundance of Victorian homes decorated with the gingerbread trim that was especially popular in the 1830s to the 1840s. Waxahachie is known all over Texas as the Gingerbread Town or Gingerbread City. We celebrate Gingerbread Trail , a three day festival of crafts, food, home tours, and antiquing, every June; Christmas on the Square in December in conjunction with  Bethlehem Revisited; many businesses are referred to with the word gingerbread sneaking into the title somewhere; a Gingerbread Man is the "unofficial" mascot of the town. Gingerbread is literally everywhere!!!!!

Gingerbread trim is the North American interpretation of  Europe's Gothic Revival architectural style, only in wood. You will find this lacy cut out trim in the form of brackets, decor under eaves, in braced arches, in frieze boards, and just about anywhere on the outside of the Victorian homes to make them fancy. 

 Waxahachie is famous for its many streets lined with Victorian home after Victorian home decorated in gingerbread trim. These homes have been standing since the early to mid 19th century. The Waxahachie Historical Society works tirelessly to preserve these buildings by placing them on the state historical register and restoring them to their former glory.

People who live in Waxahachie are justifiably proud of their town. For myself, a trip into town is a visit to the past.......there's just nothing like it. If one visits Waxahachie during one of its many festivals he might see people milling around the town square in Victorian clothes, ladies and gentlement taking a lesiurely ride in a white horse drawn carriage, classic cars from a Model T to a 1960's Mustang driving about. Visitors and residents alike love to spend the afternoon shopping for antiques, having lunch at the Dove's Nest or the haunted Catfish Plantation, and then staying overnight at the famous Rogers Hotel or one of the many Victorian bed and breakfasts.

So, the next time you hear a place referred to as a Gingerbread town or city, it might bring to mind beautiful Victorian houses ornately decorated with Gingerbread trim.........or, if you want to take a nostalgic trip back to a simpler time, you could just come visit us in Waxahachie, Texas. You definitely will not be disappointed!!