Just off Ranch Road 1623 near the town of Stonewall, nestled among ancient oaks and pecan tress, is one of the Texas Hill Country’s best kept secrets: the town of Albert. Like its predecessor and neighbor Luckenbach, Albert is a tiny blip on the map, but it’s one that you don’t want to miss. A few ramshackle buildings and a lot of history make up a big portion of Albert’s attraction, but the real story is the people. From German ranchers to biker enthusiasts and to families and kids, there’s a little bit of everyone to be found on any given day in Albert.

Dating back to 1877, Albert came from humble beginnings. Originally purchased as grazing land for cattle ranchers and called Martinsburg, Albert and Minnie Luckenbach changed the name in 1892 when they moved their post office there. With a general store opening in 1897 and a new school building established in 1900, the very same school President Lyndon B. Johnson would later attend, Albert began its tiny trek from ranchland to township. Over the next two decades, a Lutheran mission and a German dance hall were included in Albert’s attractions. The following twenty years proved to be a busy time for the little town. But by the 1980s, many of Albert’s businesses were either closed or torn down. An Austin businessman purchased the town in 2003 and updated the icehouse, opening Albert back up for business. The Easley family purchased it in 2009, breathing new life into Albert’s popular icehouse and neglected dance hall.

Albert’s town manager, Brandon Easley, describes his pride and joy as a “melting pot.” Locals, tourists, and Winter Texans all manage to find their way to a bar stool in the little icehouse or a shady spot out in the beer garden for a cold drink, good company and live entertainment. Easley claims it’s Albert’s “park-like setting” that really draws people.

“The thing that captivates everyone is the trees,” Easley says. “We have thousands of shaded square feet out back and it’s rumored that Lyndon B. Johnson even climbed our old oak trees when he was going to school next door as a boy.”

Open four days a week, Thursday through Sunday, Albert offers an icehouse with big screen HDTV and live music weekly, a patio beer garden furnished with giant picnic tables, catered food from Riley’s Bar-B-Q, a recently renovated dance hall with monthly events and concerts, a stone fire pit for small gatherings around the campfire, and 13 acres of shaded grassland for picnics and outdoor fun. Horseshoes, dominoes and washers are always up for grabs. Additionally, Albert’s covered pavilion with tables and outdoor stage, as well as its 85-year-old dance hall are both available as rented venues.

There’s always something happening at Albert and an updated calendar of events can be viewed online at www.alberttexas.com.

Easley invites readers to come down and see the recently branded bar in the old dance hall, where local ranchers brought their family’s cattle brands to leave their mark on this piece of Texas history, or join the Albert family in June for a line-up of music and entertainment, including the ROT Biker Ralley in nearby Austin June 10-13, which is expected to bring thousands of motorcycle riders through the town, and a dance with the Sam Bentley Band on June 19.

“We strive to incorporate the local flavor in all we do here,” Easley says and it’s evident they’ve succeeded.

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