|
|
SHERIDAN, TEXAS
Colorado County,
Central Texas S
Highway 90-A
24 miles W of Columbus
via Hwy 71
15 miles E of Hallettsville
Population:
225 (2000) same figure since 1986
|
|
|
"H.
E. Griffith, in wheel barrow, being pushed from Sheridan to Rock
Island by Oscar Houchins, August 24, 1942. Houchins had lost a
bet to Griffith on the governor's race. Large crowds gathered in Sheridan
and Rock Island to see the departure and the arrival. The photograph,
taken at Sheridan just before the two men departed, ran in the Colorado
County Citizen of August 27, 1942" - from the Nesbitt Memorial Library
#01083 |
|
History
in a Pecan Shell
In
1908 Hugh Sheridan sold land to a loan company who in turn partnered
with the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway. The plan was
to subdivide the acreage into small farms and town lots. The town
was granted a post office that opened in September of 1908 and early
the following year a plat was filed and a hotel opened in anticipation
of potential buyers. Advertisements were placed in various newspapers
across the midwest and soon the town was thriving with future fig
farmers who thought the "tropical" climate was heaven compared to
their frozen farms up north. Sheridan was soon a fig capital - if
there ever was such a thing - and trainloads of figs were shipped
out to wherever figs were shipped back then. In 1914 the town had
a population of 150 and all essential businesses. |
|
|
The
Rock Island Gas Plant Explodes in the mid-1950s
Photo Courtesy Nesbitt Memorial Library # 00652 |
|
|
The
Shell Oil Company drilled a well in 1940 which brought in the Sheridan
oil and gas field. Farms declined as wells were drilled and soon a
plant was built which exploded in the mid-1950s. |
|
|
Sheridan's
Water Tower
Photo by John Troesser February 2006 |
|
The
railroad stopped running after WWII. Today the Sheridan water tower
proclaims the town to be the "Deer Hunting Capital of Texas." Small
cattle ranches have replaced the farms and the oil and gas field is
still producing. There is no evidence of a "downtown" since over the
years the Sheridan's businesses have migrated over to the highway.
Nearby Destinations
Colorado
County Towns |
|
|
