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History in
a Pecan Shell
First settled in the 1830s, the community was named for early Alabaman
settler Willis I. Roan, who came here in 1841. With the help of slaves,
Roan built a large house and opened a general store.
He also served as the town’s first postmaster when a post office was
granted in 1849. The town was located on the Huntsville-San
Antonio line, so Roan’s Prairie became a stage stop as well.
The International-Great Northern Railroad ran a line through Roan’s
Prairie (from Madisonville) in
1903. Shortly thereafter, the town was organized by the Smith Land
and Improvement Company who renamed the town as Steadmanville, Texas.
But this cumbersome name lacked the romantic sound of the former name
and it was soon known again as Roan’s Prairie.
A quarry was developed just north of town and the railroad ran a spur
to it. Sand, gravel, and rock were hauled out of Grimes County – much
of it going to the then-under-construction Galveston
Seawall.
The estimated population of Roans Prairie in 1915 was 250 but declined
to only 100 during the Great Depression. At the close of WWII
it had grown to 150 (also an estimate) and remained there until the
late 1960s when it was recorded at 56 – the same figure that’s been
used ever since. |
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