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History in a Pecan
Shell
The community was developed prior to the 1920s and was named
for landowner James F. Ray. The town prospered along with the cotton
boom and suffered when prices dropped. Both a Methodist and Lutheran church were
built in the mid-1920s and the town opened its first school.
In 1940 an
electrical co-op was formed to bring electricity to the region, but after WWII,
the towns decline was obvious. The school merged with those in Three
Rivers
and the Methodist Church closed its doors. The Lutheran Church started holding
it’s services in Three Rivers
and Ray Point disappeared from most maps.
Uranium was discovered in the
late 1960s and mining the mineral provided some jobs, although the town never
developed. The old Ray Point school became the town’s community center. The 1990
population of 75 had increased to 200 for the 2000 Census.
Photographer's
Note:
Ray Point
Texas is located on FM 1358 in mid-eastern Live Oak County about 5 miles ENE of
Three Rivers, Texas. This community has always
been active and evidenced by the building of a new Community Center. Mostly a
ranching community with scattered residences. - Will
Beauchamp, April 26, 2009 |
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The Bridges
Photographer's
Note:
The Ray Point
community is set to lose part of it's history as two local bridges are in the
works to be replaced. I happened upon this bridge already taken out just off HWY
72 and I was told it was for sale. Luckily the 2nd bridge nearest Ray Point is
still intact. I was able to capture a few pic's before it's time comes to an end.
A nearby resident told me the bridges did have wood boards to drive across.
When they began to rot the local County commission replaced the boards with piping.
It was said they gave him a hard time about the bridges when the freezing wet
temperatures came and ice kept anyone from driving across them. The problem was
solved when the pipe had beads welded across the pipe to make the ice break up
when driven across. - Will
Beauchamp, April 25, 2009 | |
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