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Bridge
crossing the Colorado near Altair
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, July 2005 |
History
in a Pecan Shell
Altair
had its beginnings in the 1880s and was granted a post office in 1888.
The town had originally been named Stafford's Ranch after the prosperous
and influential Stafford family of Columbus.
But to avoid postal confusion with Stafford, Texas (in nearby Fort
Bend County), it was renamed Altair in 1890. |
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| "Andy
Griffith, Marvin Tyler, and Sam Snead (professional golfer), goose
hunting near Altair, 1970. The hunt was filmed and broadcast as an
episode of the television series "'American Sportsman.'" Photo Courtesy
Nesbitt Memorial Library #01952 |
| The
Texas and New Orleans Railroad arrived in 1890 but Altair never fully
developed due to the proximity to the county seat of Columbus
- just 9 miles north. Altair had a mere 200 people in the 1960s which
declined to only 80 in the 1980s. |
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| Altair's
most noticable structures. Photos by John Troesser, July 2004 |
In the 1990s a rice-drying facility and some short-lived businesses
occupied the site, but the population has been estimated at 30 since
1990.
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