No name change for Middlebuster Road

Those hoping to have Middlebuster Road renamed Fort Waul Road as an obvious nod to the historic fort that was previously located nearby need to learn to embrace the thoroughfare’s current name.

The Gonzales City Council chose to take no action Tuesday night at its monthly meeting after the renaming proposal was presented by city manager Allen Barnes for discussion.

Middlebuster Road, which is less than ½ mile long, connects U.S. Highway 183 Business diagonally with U.S. Highway 183. The most prominent address on Middlebuster Road belongs to the Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites.

Barnes told the council that nobody seems to know how the Middlebuster name originated.

But Mayor Bobby Logan provided an explanation that indicates the street name has its own historic legacy.

“Middlebuster is a plow that digs up potatoes,” Logan told the council. “It’s in a triangular shape which doesn’t cut the potato – it throws it up on top of the ground without it being cut. That used to be potato fields out in that area, so they called it Middlebuster Road.”

Barnes informed the Council that there is already a Fort Waul Street, an east-west street about two blocks north of Sarah DeWitt Drive that intersects Business 183. The Council admitted that changing Middlebuster Road to Fort Waul Road could add confusion for 9-1-1 emergency responders dealing with two thoroughfares with similar names.

The Council’s decision not to act upon the discussion item means no change will be pursued at this time.