TexasEscapes.com HOME Welcome to Texas Escapes
A magazine written by Texas
Custom Search
New   |   Texas Towns   |   Ghost Towns   |   Counties   |   Trips   |   Features   |   Columns   |   Architecture   |   Images   |   Archives   |   Site Map

Grimes County TX
Grimes County

Texas Towns
A - Z

Navasota Hotels

More Hotels

RETREAT, TEXAS

Texas Ghost Town
Grimes County, Central Texas South

FM 362 and FM 2
S of Anderson the county seat
About 11 Miles SE of Navasota
Population: Unknown

Book Hotel Here › Navasota Hotels
Retreat, Texas, Grimes County 1850s postmark
Retreat, Texas, Grimes County 1850s postmark
Cover cancelled with Retreat, Texas 1850s postmark
Courtesy The John J. Germann Collection

History in a Pecan Shell

The community began life in 1851 as a stage stop between Houston and Anderson. It took its name from Groces's Retreat, the plantation once owned by Jared E. Groce, a member of Austin's Colony who is said to have brought in the first crop of cotton in Austin's Colony in 1822. Retreat used the nearby town of Courtney for its rail connection on the Houston and Texas Railroad.

After the Civil War, many Black families moved in and began farming. Storekeeper Joseph Clark was the town's postmaster in the mid 1880s when Retreat counted seventy-five residents.

The town had its own gin and gristmill as well as a school and church. The population dropped to just 50 in the 1890s. Black residents built Pleasant Hill Baptist church in the first years of the 20th Century and the town remained a farming community. Retreat's nearness to Navasota curtailed it's growth and over the years, the population drifted away. The last population estimate in the 1980s reported two families residing in Retreat, but there was no count after that.
Grimes County TX 1882 Map
Grimes County 1882 map showing Retreat
near Washington
and Waller County line
Courtesy Texas General Land Office
Connections

See Goforth and Retreat, Towns as Oxymoron

Take a road trip

Retreat, Texas Nearby Towns:
Anderson the county seat
Navasota

Hempstead
Brenham
See
Grimes County | Washington County | Waller County

Central Texas South


Book Hotel Here:
Navasota Hotels | More Hotels

Texas Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories, landmarks and vintage/historic photos, please contact us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Texas Towns A - Z Texas Regions:
Gulf Texas Gulf Coast East East Texas North Central Texas North Central Woutn Central Texas South Panhandle Texas Panhandle
South South Texas Hill Texas Hill Country West West Texas Ghost Texas Ghost Towns counties Texas Counties

Texas Escapes Online Magazine »   Archive Issues » Home »
TEXAS TOWNS & COUNTIES TEXAS LANDMARKS & IMAGES TEXAS HISTORY & CULTURE TEXAS OUTDOORS MORE
Texas Counties
Texas Towns A-Z
Texas Ghost Towns

TEXAS REGIONS:
Central Texas North
Central Texas South
Texas Gulf Coast
Texas Panhandle
Texas Hill Country
East Texas
South Texas
West Texas

Courthouses
Jails
Churches
Schoolhouses
Bridges
Theaters
Depots
Rooms with a Past
Monuments
Statues

Gas Stations
Post Offices
Museums
Water Towers
Grain Elevators
Lodges
Stores
Banks

Vintage Photos
Historic Trees
Cemeteries
Old Neon
Ghost Signs
Signs
Murals
Gargoyles
Pitted Dates
Cornerstones
Then & Now

Columns: History/Opinion
Texas History
Small Town Sagas
Black History
WWII
Texas Centennial
Ghosts
People
Animals
Food
Music
Art

Books
Texas Railroads

Texas Trips
Texas Drives
Texas State Parks
Texas Rivers
Texas Lakes
Texas Forts
Texas Trails
Texas Maps
USA
MEXICO
HOTELS

Site Map
About Us
Privacy Statement
Disclaimer
Contributors
Staff
Contact Us

 
Website Content Copyright Texas Escapes LLC. All Rights Reserved