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Post Oak Priarie
Not all settlements in
Caldwell County developed as towns with businesses and a post office.
Nevertheless, clusters of houses, churches, schools, and a sense of community
prevailed in small villages scattered between the larger towns. One such was
Post Oak Prairie, settled by immigrants from Tennessee and located about 13
miles northeast of Lockhart near the line of Caldwell and Bastrop counties.
Among the first settlers were Copelands, Lovells, Kilpatricks and Miears. The
crops raised in the surrounding territory consisted chiefly of cotton, corn,
cane and vegetables. Soon after the community was established, a congregation of
the Church of Christ was organized, and it was still in existence in 1923.
Farmers all over the country,
particularly in the southern states, sometimes
joined organizations such as the Grange that sought to promote more economic
stability for those who raised livestock and crops. One of these groups, called
the Farmers’ Alliance, had enthusiastic members in Post Oak Prairie and Delhi.
Less active chapters could also be found at Martindale, Prairie Lea, Mineral
Springs, Luling, McNeal [sic], Hall, Sandy Fork (possibly in the area between
Hall and Delhi), Elm Grove, Lone Star, Lytton Springs, Rest (near Mendoza),
Glenvoir, Reglar Hill [sic – perhaps Koegler Hill near Maxwell], Lockhart, and
Live Oak (Uhland). A meeting at Post Oak Prairie in the latter part of 1889 was
described as having a large crowd of Alliance veterans who listened to a lecture
and enjoyed an “excellent dinner for all on the ground”.
The first school in the
Post Oak community was built in 1883. The school house was an old store
building, 16 by 20 feet, which was bought for the sum of twenty dollars and was
hauled in with a yoke of oxen. In 1904, the Post Oak School was consolidated
with the Dale school, but because of the great travel distance, many of the
children were able to attend only part of the time and some never attended. The
school was moved back to Post Oak in 1912. Funds for a new building were
obtained by donations from the people of the community, and the men of the
community erected the building. A newspaper article in 1914 mentioned that the
“rural schools at Union Grove, Tilman, Oakland and Post Oak Prairie have closed
for the year after most successful terms. The rural schools are in a prosperous
condition as most of them have consolidated districts which are proving
beneficial in many ways.” The Post Oak Prairie building later had more rooms
added and other improvements made; it was also used as a community center in
later years.
Sources –
1. “Good Will Meeting At Post Oak Prairie”, Lockhart
Post-Register, Lockhart, Texas, 25 June 1931
2. “History of the Schools of
Caldwell County to 1900”, Master’s Thesis prepared by Carroll L. Mullins,
August, 1929, pages 55-56 and 117
3. “Lockhart Schools to Close”, San Antonio
Express, San Antonio, Texas, 08 May 1914
4. “Post Oak Prairie”, The Broadcaster,
Caldwell County, Lockhart, Texas, 01 May 1923
5. “Texas Farmers’ Alliance
Advocate”, The Southern Mercury, Dallas, Texas, 31 October 1889, 07 November
1889, 21 November 1889, 12 December 1889, 2 January 1890.
The Plum Creek Almanac is a project of
The Genealogical and Historical Society of Caldwell County.
 The Genealogical and Historical Society
of Caldwell County Copyright © 1963
Updated
10/15/2019
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