return to website

McNeil ~ ca 1831 The McNeil community was settled on the James and Gerron Hinds survey in 1831, located approximately five miles northeast of present-day Luling. The name McNeil came from the McNeil Creek that flowed along the southern borders of the settlement. To the north was the Soda Springs settlement. Along FM 1322 that currently bisects the community was the business area with homes and farms dotting the countryside. Three cotton gins, several grocery and merchandise stores, and at least two blacksmith shops provided for the needs of local families. In 1881 a school was organized and listed in the County Treasurer’s school records as McNeal. That same year, a post office was opened. The community had a population of some 200 by the 1890s, with several businesses and a hotel. A Baptist church was founded on 30 June 1888 by members of the San Marcos Baptist Association and is still active. The congregation met for several years in the local schoolhouse until they were able to complete a permanent building on land donated by Samuel McCarley in 1896. Some years later, a large tabernacle was added to provide space for Sunday school and revivals. The original church structure was eventually removed and a new building was completed in 1947. The McNeil Cemetery is located on land that was donated about 1867 by Margaret Smith Hinds to the Soda Springs Methodist Church. The cemetery, inventoried in 1997, is the final resting place of many of the early settlers. Today, descendants of those families still live in Caldwell County. Sources: Sources – 1. Caldwell County Kin: The First 150 Years published by the Genealogical and Historical Society of Caldwell County, November 2000, C-29 2. Historical Caldwell County: where roots intertwine, originally published by The Mark Withers Trail Drive Museum, Caldwell County, Texas, 1984, page 190 3. Plum Creek Almanac, Vol. 16, No. 1, Spring 1998 4. www.caldwellcountyhistoricalcommission.org/statehistoricalmarkersincaldwellcounty 5. www.texasescapes.com 6. www.wikipedia.org The Plum Creek Almanac is a project of  The Genealogical and Historical Society of Caldwell County. Please send us your comments. The Genealogical and Historical Society of Caldwell County Copyright © 1963 Updated 11/13/2018