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History
in a Pecan Shell
The site Geneva is on the Old San Antonio Road and considered to be
the oldest continuously occupied town in East
Texas, although there were times when it looked as if it might
be abandoned.
In the mid-1700s Antonio Gil Ibarvo established a ranch he called
El Lobanillo. In 1773 when the Spanish enforced an evacuation, the
old and infirm remained at Ibarvo's ranch. One Juan Ignacio Pifermo
applied for the land in 1794. It was confirmed in 1810, and was passed
to his heirs who lived in the area into the 1840s. A historical marker
commemorates the El Lobanillo Ranch. In the 1850s, a community called
Shawnee Village developed. It was latter called Jimtown,
after early settlers Jim Halbert and Jim Willis. A post office was
granted in 1884 under the name Geneva and by 1890 the population
was 150. By 1925 the population had fallen to 100, a figure the town
is evidently comfortable with since it's been reported at that level
since 1933. |
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