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Grazing
in a Pecan Grove
TE photo, April 2010 |
History
in a Pecan ShellFirst
settled in the 1830s, Elisha Barton and Edward Jenkins are credited with being
the area’s first settlers. In 1833 a man by the name of John Gilmer McGehee visited
the region and left – returning two years later with 140 people from Georgia and
Alabama.
Edward Jenkins had since died and his widow sold substantial
acreage to Abram Wylie Hill. The settlement was thereafter referred to as Hill’s
Prairie.
A private school was constructed and in 1843, the community
had a cotton gin – constructed by Wylie Hill himself.
In 1877 a post office
was granted and seven years later the population was reported as 30 residents.
In
the late 1880s the name of the post office changed to McDonald's Store,
but two years later Sarah Hill became postmistress and the name reverted to Hill’s
Prairie.
Hill’s Prairie found itself with a railroad connection in
the 1880s when an extension of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad arrived.
In the mid 1890s the population had risen to 50 and town businesses included a
drugstore as well as a general store.
1914 found Hill’s Prairie with a
population of 75, but for some reason, the 1925 figure was given as 6. The proximity
to Bastrop
had to have been a factor, but the town closed its school in 1928 and by 1930
the post office closed its doors. There was a slight rise in the population as
the Great Depression wound down, and although it rose to 62 by the late 1960s,
a decline again set in and the 1990 census reported 35 residents. It has since
risen to 50 for the 2000 count.
Where to Stay: Smithville
Hotels | Bastrop Hotels |
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Hill's
Prairie Baptist Church
TE photo, April 2010 |
Rip
shops for a church
TE photo, April 2010 |
Mailboxes
by the Pecan Grove
TE photo, April 2010 |
Exotic
Livestock
TE photo, April 2010 |
Spring
TE
photo, April 2010 |
Not
your everyday tree
TE photo, April 2010 |
The
Hill in Hill's Prairie?
TE photo, April 2010 | |
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