People of Stephenville - a question (or two) (San Antonio, Fort Worth: skateboarding, rental)

[Beetlemama]

Hi there, we are looking at a house in Stephenville, the house is lovely but as the wife, I am also interested in what is actually there in the town and I can't seem to find info anywhere.

I keep getting redirected to rodeo stuff and all that chamber of commerce sites - but what is actually *in* Stephenville please?

I'm looking for day-to-day stuff, like what kinds of shops do you have and how many.

And what is there for a family to do? we have a five year old son, so what parks and places to see are there that we can just wander round for an hour or so on an ordinary day?

Nothing you have to drive to, and pay for like theme parks, we're not worried about those, we'll be right next to the big city when we want to go exploring, but what about a Sunday afternoon? or a Thursday evening? are there parks with swings and such? kids karate club? a swimming pool? cinema? you know, just ordinary "People who live here, do this..." kinds of things.

Can you help?

Many thanks in advance.

Sue.

[Runum]

Hi. Stephenville is a fairly small town that has a major presence with Tarleton State University. As such, there are a lot of college related people there. There is a major emphasis on ranching, farming, and dairies. They do have really nice city parks and lots of nice places in and around the university. The shopping has been limited but it is growing.

The population is even growing down there now that they spotted UFO's down there this week. I expect to se the aliens moving in any minute now.

Overall, nice quiet place to live. Occasional small trouble from crazy college kids but certainly that trouble does not dominate the city. Good luck.

Greg

[beowulf7]

^ I was just going to say no one heard of Stephenville until the UFO incident.

[nsumner]

About 6 years ago I helped some people buy land in Stephenville and they were able to get it for $800 an acre!!!!!! There was lots and lots of land and nothing else around it. Had to drive to Granbury for the closest big shopping area or dining area for that matter.

[KD5NRH]

It all depends on what you want to do; for most general merchandise, there are stores locally. For more specific items or chain stores, Granbury is about a half-hour drive, or in an hour you can be in Fort Worth.

The city park is fairly large, and actually not a terrible place to fish. It has two playgrounds with swings and slides, etc.

For those Sunday afternoons, there's a 6-screen Cinemark theater, a bowling alley, Hastings Books, Starbucks and a few historic buildings that are worth a close look.

During the summer, the park also tends to host three or four free weekend concerts. This could be anything from bluegrass to a symphony orchestra with accompanying fireworks. Informal and semi-formal tractor pulls happen on the other side of the park from time to time.

[Beetlemama]

Wow, thank you that's great information, just what we were looking for. I just don't want to move to a town where I have to get in the car everything little one and I want to do something. We're big walkers just now and it's nice to know there's someplace to go

[CMDallas]

parks with swings and such?
yes
kids karate club?
yes
a swimming pool?
yes
cinema?
yes but it is small...
As for malls...well there is a amount of boutiques near the Theater... nothing much... You're 5 year old should be fine.
There is a nice selection of restaurants...and There are several video rental places... its a small city...

[LovinStephenville]

There is much to do in Stephenville...Because of Tarleton State University, the largest regional University of the A & M System, we enjoy great plays, musicals, jazz concerts, etc.

Every year in June Stephenville is host to Dairyfest, a free festival featuring all kinds of family fun featuring dairy products (the area formerly housed a lot of dairies). 10,000 people attend each year.

Every 4th of July there is a parade and fireworks in the local City Park, where there are lots of baseball fields, a couple of playgrounds, a small skateboarding area, a pool, picnic areas, tennis courts and an outdoor amphitheater.

There is also Jaycee Park at the other end of town, which features a walking track (there's one at City Park, but for some reason we all use Jaycee Park's!), a playground, bball courts, and picnic areas.

There's a bowling alley and a skating rink and McDonalds, Arbys, Starbucks, Coldstone Creamery, Chili's, Pizza Hut, Dominos (2 of those), 2 Subways, a Quiznos, Sonic (yes, 2 drive-ins...they still exist), and a plethora of other eateries to keep you happy. There is a Beall's Department store, a Penney's, a small Sears, Wally World Supercenter, Staples, a 6 theater movie theater that is about to be renovated, several grocery stores, etc.

I'm a suburban mall rat and I can live here just fine...the people are friendly and caring; the schools are good for the size of the town, costs are low, crime is low and most people are reasonably intelligent. We have lived all over the country and have chosen to stay in Sville for 15 years, even though we probably should have moved for my husband's job long ago.

I know you posted this a long time ago, but if you still want to live here, I say, "What are you waiting for???" Just load up that truck and get here...We'll roll out the welcome mat for you, bring you dinner, and help you unload...it's that kind of town.

[loves2read]

there is a lovely quilt shop/lunchroom in the square in Stepheville that we have eaten in several times when driving the back way to the Hill county Fredericksburg/San Antonio

wonderful chicken salad and very nice ladies that work there
Jewel the singer used to live around there--shared a ranch with her rodeo boyfriend but don't know about now...

[MarguriteHenry]

Originally Posted by loves2read

there is a lovely quilt shop/lunchroom in the square in Stepheville that we have eaten in several times when driving the back way to the Hill county Fredericksburg/San Antonio

wonderful chicken salad and very nice ladies that work there
Jewel the singer used to live around there--shared a ranch with her rodeo boyfriend but don't know about now...

Oh cool to know that place is still there! I used to have lunch there occasionally when I was in college, but that's been almost 20 years ago now!

For non-chain stuff there is Jake and Dorthy's - they have the best chicken fries and waffle fries; Montana's - all their food is pretty good, but the loaded cheddar fries and peach margaritas are the best.

One thing I don't know if you realize and I didn't notice it if someone else mentioned it, but Stephenville is dry, which means to buy beer, wine or liquor you have to drive to Granbury, Glen Rose or Proctor. It's not the biggest issue in the world, but it can be kind of a pain.