The city of Smithville is located in a still-rural section of eastern Bastrop County. Smithville is situated between Houston and Austin along the Highway 71 corridor and within two hours of San Antonio, San Marcos and College Station, making Smithville a very convenient location and an ideal place to live, work, and play.

Smithville offers a wide variety of local attractions and amenities with convenient access to the Colorado River and Buescher State Park. Its downtown historic district contains many eclectic shops and eateries for residents and visitors alike. Smithville was the first Film Friendly Community designated by the Texas Film Commission. Over 100 film productions have been made in this community since 2008. Movie locations from Hope Floats, The Tree of Life, and Bernie can be seen on self-guided tours. Smithville boasts an airport, a recreation center, multiple city parks, and some of the friendliest people on the planet. Smithville was designated a Texas Commission on the Arts Cultural District in 2013 due to its focus on history, culture, arts, entertainment (music and theater), and artisan crafts.

With railroad artifacts dating from 1886, the James H. Long Railroad Park Museum is fun for visitors of all ages. Smithville has a rich music history with many legendary blues musicians—BB King, Etta James, T-Bone Walker, Sonny Rhodes and Hannibal Lokumbe—who played at West End Park, one of the last standing venues on the Texas Chitlin’ Circuit. Satchel Paige of the Kansas City Monarchs pitched a baseball game at this historic site.

Smithville is undergoing an economic resurgence and is poised for explosive growth. More and more people are buying property, renovating, and opening businesses within our downtown historic district. The city helps encourage this growth through an expedited plan review and permitting process for entrepreneurs and developers.