Originially I posted a virtual visit to this site in 2020. The information and photos from that post are here, followed by our in person visit July 2022. The photo above is how the lodge looks today. The photo below was the original building.
Post from August 2020. Due to COVID-19, we can’t dance on or visit halls right now. I decided this is a good time to contact those halls who are event oriented and see if they would give me photos, history and information for a virtual visit.
SPJST Beyersville Lodge 48, 10450 FM 619 S, Taylor, TX 76574. Their phone number is 512-739-9324. They are a non-profit business, open only for events.
According to information in Stephen Dean’s notes when he was compiling information for his book Historic Dance Halls of East Central Texas, the property was purchased in 1928. The church on the property was torn down and a building was erected in 1929 and modernized in 1963. Taylor SOKAL used the building from 1931-1939. During a remodel in 1962, 200 square feet were added, including a bar, siding, walls and ceiling.
Here are more photos Stephen took.
The building underwent renovations in 2019. They were just completed when they experienced a fire on July 16, 2019. Firefighters from Thrall, Coupland, Taylor, Weir, Hutto, Round Rock, Pflugerville, Georgetown, Leander, Bartlett VFDs, FDs and Wilco EMS were called to take care of the blaze. Ridge boards were completely burned, the fire burned out the attic, rafters collapsed and fell into the north wall. Photo from Thrall Fire Department.
Post from July 23, 2022.
Our visit today was in the renovated building. It was a stop on our personal dance tour today, which included Taylor Knights of Columbus, Granger SPJST, Thorndale VFW and the Fireman’s Recreation hall, and Holland SPJST. We’ll end the day with a dance at Coupland.
We were happy to discover they were hosting a 75th family reunion, so the doors were open. We ventured inside, introduced ourselves and asked if we might take photos of the building. They were very cordial and allowed us to roam unattended. Several family members were kind enough to share their memories of the area and other dance floors (which surprisingly were not on any lists we’ve compiled.) We’ve added them to our list and jokingly said we needed to hire them to be our tour guide!
This building was completely remodeled a few years ago. Just as it was nearly completion, a fire broke out and it had to be rebuilt – again. They’ve done a beautiful job. The painted concrete floor is smooth and wonderful for dancing. Fans and air conditioning keep it comfortable for your event. A kitchen area is available and there is ample grass parking out front. Here’s a video on the process and some fascinating history. Make sure you watch!
We were so excited to talk with people and learn about more dance floors that we totally forgot to dance. How can that happen? We were a few blocks away when we remembered, so we turned around and went back to have a quick spin in the corner! The floor was just as fun to dance on as anticipated, so we were happy we went back.
Dancing Across Texas 