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SLIDELL, TEXAS
Wise
County, Central
Texas North
33° 21' 35" N, 97° 23' 30" W (33.359722, -97.391667)
FM 455 near the Intersection with FM 51
About 20 Miles NE of Decatur
the county seat
Population: 175 Est. (2000, 1990)
Slidell, Texas Area Hotels Decatur
Hotels |
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History in
a Pecan Shell
Slidell didn’t
develop until the 1880s although it had been surveyed and sold prior
to the Civil War. The land was raw and the threat of Indian raids
continued into the 1880s. It was on the Chisholm
Trail and it is said that the area around present-day Slidell
was used as a hideout for outlaw Sam
Bass.
The region was refered to as Hackberry Grove until a post office
was granted in the 1880s. The name submitted (and accepted) was to
honor Confederate diplomat John Slidell. Although the population never
broke 300 residents, Slidell had all the amenities of a small town
– including a newspaper. The community suffered a fire in 1911 and
although it only destroyed two businesses, the town was already in
decline due to other forces at work. The people who remained have
kept the town alive over the decades and the population remains just
short of 200 residents. |
Historical
Marker
SLIDELL
Named for John
Slidell, one of the Confederate diplomats in the "Trent Affair" (1861),
this community was established to supply goods and services to nearby
farmers. The post office was started in 1884. Garrett Fletcher, donor
of land for a cemetery and church, gave lots to nearby businesses
that moved here in 1885, including twenty-two-year-old Dr. Drury Young
Stem's medical office and drugstore. George W. Durham gave land (1893)
for the public square and the first school building, and Nathaniel
Pruett began (1895) the telephone system. Today Slidell serves a farm
and ranch area.
(1974) |
Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
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