: There is no official name for it. No one person or organization
runs it. In fact, it just grew, and it just happens. What is it?
It's Round Top.
Round Top happens twice each year, and March 27 to April 4 was
one such extended week. There are four little towns about half
the way between Houston and Austin - Shelby, Carmine, Warrenton
and, of course, Round Top - that have had antiques shops for many
years. More than 20 years ago, there began several small antiques
shows. The first took place in Carmine. The hall was so small it
accommodated fewer than 20 dealers, so it was moved to an old
clubhouse called The Rifle Hall in the adjacent town of Round
Top. Very quickly there developed a variety of tailgating shows,
or simply fields of merchandise, much like Brimfield, Mass.
This twice-each-year week now stretches among the four towns,
with at least 20 different shows, markets or fields. Some of the
week's events are antiques shows, others are tented outdoor
bazaars, and, in a few cases, others look like a few friends have
gathered in the front yard. Round Top has been scheduled for the
week ending with the first weekend of April. Most of the events
are on a 15-mile stretch of a two-lane road, Texas Route 237,
which goes from LaGrange to Burton, between the four-lane
highways of State Highway 71 and US Route 290. Approaching from
LaGrange, Round Top begins inauspiciously, just some multifamily
yard sales.
Within a mile of Warrenton (population under 200) there are
suddenly signs inviting visitors to "park all day $4" - next it
is $5, then $10. Just as surprising, the yard sales become a sea
of tents. Hundreds of acres of gently rolling hills are covered
with the small tents that have become the look of outdoor
antiques shows.
Hurtas Historics, Houston.
There are so many fields, generally with boundaries that are
not clearly delineated from one another, that it is difficult to
count exactly how many there are. On the other hand, some of the
promoters make their events very identifiable, with big circus
tents, clear signs and well-designated parking on their fields.
Traveling north on Route 237, there are also directional signs
inviting visitors to travel onto side roads to some of the other
shows, including Shelby and the old Rifle Hall.
The biggest show of the week was Marburger Farm, owned and
operated by Tyler, Texas, native John Sauls (See separate
review). But these other smaller shows are good, too.
Tents filled with a wide array of antiques and vintage
collectibles invite visitors to come in. Antiques in Texas are
generally from later periods than those found in the Northeast,
but then Texas was formed in the Nineteenth Century. The
materials available were generally softwoods, such as pine and
cypress for furniture and red and yellow clays for ceramics.
These materials give Texas antiques a unique look, and the
colors, like the climate, were hot. Bright shades of
yellow, red, blue and green are the norm and frequently seen
coverings in all native early articles.
Carol Schmidt and her husband from nearby Burton, Texas, started
La Bahia 11 years ago in a small collection of old buildings,
stores and houses. It is just a wide spot in the road the rest of
the year; during Round Top it is the center for 70 dealers inside
an old meeting hall, with more scattered around the immediate
area. Dealers pay fairly high rents for their spaces but there is
no charge for customers to enter or for parking. This show had
several dealers of Flow Blue dishes and high-end Nineteenth
Century furniture. Outside, dealers offered linens and painted
furniture. The Schmidts can be reached at 979-289-2684 or .
La Bahia Antiques is inside and outside at Round Top.
Carmine (locals pronounce it car-meen) had a
collection of events. County Line is the name on one, a collection
of buildings at a crossroads, kind of that "middle of nowhere"
thing to those of us not familiar with the area, but the joint was
jumping on Monday morning with antiques and visitors. As with many
of the week's events, there was little management and there did not
seem to be much need for it. Carmine is also where one of the
original shows happened on the weekend.
At one of the Warrenton fields, there was a tent approximately 40
by 100 feet filled with regency and Victorian furniture,
including at least five sets of chairs in excellent condition. In
the Northeast, these chairs might have been covered in white
muslin, but this dealer had all the sets reupholstered in strong
colored and patterned fabrics. This seemed to be fairly typical
in all the week's offerings, the shows had large amounts of
decorating materials ready to go into the home.
The fall edition of Round Top is first weekend of October. If you
rent a car, elect the "no mileage" or the lowest mileage options.
Texas is big, and 50-75 miles can easily be the ride to your
hotel or to a good restaurant.
