Weimar was founded in 1873 when T. W. Peirce, president of the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railroad, built a depot here on property of D. W. Jackson (1829-1904). Peirce and Jackson shared the profits from sale of town lots. Before the coming of the railroad, transportation had posed a major problem for this area. Named for a German town that Peirce admired, Weimar quickly became a leading trade center. The first depot was replaced in 1925 by the present structure. In 1972 the Southern Pacific Railroad donated the building for use as the Weimar Public Library.