West End Park in Smithville, located 200 yards west, was one of the last Texas stops on the Chitlin’ Circuit, a string of performance venues in the South that served as safe and accepting spaces for African American performers. The name Chitlin’ Circuit referred to the chitlins and soul food dishes that clubs often sold, though the clubs were also called the One-Nighter Circuit or the Theatrical Circuit. Owned by I.T. Harper, a former pitcher for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro Leagues, and his wife, Sis, West End Park was an important venue from the early 1900s until the 1960s in the racially segregated Jim Crow South for many African American musicians excluded from white venues. The surrounding park also hosted many events and gatherings in Smithville’s African American community, most of whom mainly lived on the south side of the railroad tracks. Its baseball field was used for Negro Leagues Baseball, and long-time residents recalled watching Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson play exhibition games against the Smithville team. When not arranged as a baseball field, local families used West End Park for church picnics, holiday celebrations, and family reunions. As the Chitlin’ Circuit was a significant part of many notable performers’ careers, jazz and blues artists including Lightnin’ Hopkins, Etta James, Joe Tex, T-Bone Walker, Roosevelt Thomas Williams, also known as the Grey Ghost, and Hannibal Lokumbe, Marvin Peterson, played there. In 2009, the governor’s office issued a proclamation recognizing West End Park’s significance to Bastrop County and Texas.