Early is building a lakeside town center
Changes are underway in Early, as the Northwest Texas city is creating a walkable town center on what was a cow pasture and pecan groves. When the project finishes in fall 2025, residents will be able to stroll a lakeside boardwalk lined with shops and restaurants. “The idea is when there’s a restaurant on the boardwalk, you’ll be able to grab a coffee and sit out on the lake and enjoy it,” says Sydney Turner, executive assistant for the city of Early. The town center will create a gathering spot for Early, something new for the farming community that wasn’t even incorporated until the 1950s. The development will give residents more to do and attract job-creating businesses to the town of 3,000 people, says Turner, who grew up in the county and graduated from Early High School. “To see where [Early] is now compared to where it has been, I never thought it would grow as much as it has today.”
Compact subdivisions and outlying farms
Small subdivisions of ranch-style homes and Tudor-inspired New Traditional houses branch off U.S. Route 377. As one heads farther north and south of the highway, trimmed lawns and picket fences are replaced by pastures and barbed wire fences. Houses on an acre or less sell between $135,000 and $490,000, but properties with multiple acres can cost up to $1 million.
Early’s CAP Index Crime Score is 2 out of 10, lower than the national average of 4.
High Niche grades for schools in the Early Independent School District
Four campuses make up the school district. Kindergartners through second graders can attend Early Primary School, while Early Elementary School teaches third through fifth graders. Both schools get A-minus grades from Niche. Older students may take classes at A-rated Early Middle School and Early High School, scored an A-minus. The district runs a chapter of the National FFA Organization, formally known as Future Farmers of America, and the chapter’s Ag Mechanics team is particularly successful in local and state competitions.
Town Center Park is the community’s newest green space
The city recently developed Town Center Park next to where the town center will open. In this green space along the Pecan Bayou, walking trails connect to fishing piers, batting cages and a 52-foot-long sundial. The city plans to add more amenities, including a butterfly garden and dog park, Turner says. Town Center Park is where the city often hosts events, such as the annual Kids Fishing Tournament, which is free to enter and includes a free rod, reel and bait for the first 150 children. “We pride ourselves on hosting events that are free or extremely affordable,” Turner says. “We try and keep that family aspect of our community.”
Early City Park’s baseball and softball fields host Little League games, and a canopy shades a sound garden at McDonald Park. Locals can head roughly 25 miles away to Lake Brownwood State Park to launch a kayak, boat or Jet Ski into the 7,300-acre lake. Six miles of trails wind along the lakeshore, passing the park’s campsites and cabins.
Businesses on Route 377 grill steaks, sell livestock feed
U.S. Route 377 forms the community’s commercial corridor. Along the road, Early Donuts sells doughnuts and kolaches, while Humphrey Pete’s serves steaks in a restaurant decorated with vintage auto shop signs and taxidermied steer. At one end of the highway, Atwoods carries animal feed, and Heartland Mall is located at the other end. Most of the mall’s storefronts are empty, but Hobby Lobby, Bath & Body Works and Regal Heartland movie theater remain. Churches such as Early First Baptist Church and Grace Baptist Church also dot Route 377. The highway leads to the neighboring city of Brownwood. There, shoppers can visit Walmart, The Home Depot and Aldi, and Hendrick Medical Center Brownwood provides 24/7 emergency care.
At the intersection of Routes 183, 377
U.S. Route 183 extends north and southeast from Early, while U.S. Route 377 goes northeast to southwest. Planes fly to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport from Abilene Regional Airport, 75 miles away. From Dallas, travelers can fly directly to more than 200 destinations.
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Alex Soderstrom
