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Victoria County TX
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RAISIN, TEXAS

Victoria County, Texas Gulf Coast

Highway 59
8 miles SW of Victoria
Population: 50 (1990)

Raisin, Texas Area Hotels › Victoria Hotels
Raisin TX Coleto Creek Joseph Kobitz Family, 1900s  vintage photo
Joseph Kobitz Family near Coleto Creek
Photo courtesy Frank Richard Brown
More "Families of Raisin, 1900s"

History in a Pecan Shell

A brief time line of significant events in Raisin's history:

1889
: established as a stop on the Gulf, Western Texas and Pacific Railroad from Victoria to Beeville.

1892: The town gets a post office. The railroad called the station Lucy, but the postal authorities rejected it - wanting something more distinctive. The name Raisin was chosen to honor a local rancher (J. K. Reeves) who had tried to grow grapes. Judging by the name - it wasn't a successful venture.

(See 1907 Victoria County postal map)

The nearby German settlement of Coletoville took an interest in Raisin - probably due to the depot. C. T. Friedrichs, built a gin, and a man named Kohl built a store. Frederichs was the first postmaster and Kohl the second - serving from 1901 until 1914

1914: Post office closes

1930: The American Railway Express office, closes and Southern Pacific discontinues passenger service - a result of a drop in passengers from the opening of highway 59.

The population of the Raisin-Coletoville area has remained at about fifty persons from the early 1900s to the present.


See "Familes of Raisin, 1900s Vintage Photos"
Raisin Texas Old Frederichs Hall 1890
Old Frederich's Dance Hall, circa 1890
Photo courtesy Frank Richard Brown
More Texas Dance Hall

FREDERICH'S DANCE HALL in RAISIN, TEXAS

[The photo is] from a collection of old photographs that belonged to my great grandmother, Dora Kobitz of the Cross K Ranch that resided on the Victoria County shore of Coleto Creek.

Our family, the Kobitz family, lived on a large ranch that bordered Coleto Creek on the Victoria County side. Most of this property was taken when the Coleto Resovoir was built in the late 1960's. but there is still a small parcel about midway between Raisin and Coletoville. My Grandfather, Preston Charles Kobitz, was the last born male in the Kobitz family, and the last to live in the old ranch house.

In the late 1980's he wrote his remembrances of life in Raisin/Coletoville during the early 1900's; The following passage is taken from those writings:


Time Has Passed it By....

"Raisin was quite a little burg. Otto Kolh had the big general store. Before the Postal Service started the rural mail service, he was also Post Master. There was also a cotton gin, two dance halls. There is a picture of the Frederick Hall among the old pictures. There was a blacksmith shop and two saloons.

Frederichs Hall was quite large, and at Christmas there was a big live oak decorated with popcorn on string. I do not recall if there were apples and oranges. I do recall that there were many gifts under the tree. There were many barbecues, usually on July 4th or other special days. The charge was usually fifty cents for all you could eat. It included potato salad, noodle salads, coffee, vegetables, pickles, bread, and anything you would serve at home for a dinner, it would be on their table. This was always a gala occasion. It would start in the afternoon and end up with a dance at night. The saloons, of course, did a big business! There was always a number of fights and you could bet that a man named John Marr was in at least one of them. The cotton gin, the blacksmith shop, the Otto Kolh store are all gone, have been for years. Also the saloons. Time has passed it by."
- Frank Richard Brown, June 22, 2007
Raisin Tx Road Sign
Approaching Raisin
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, May 2012
Raisin Tx Store
Raisin Store
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, May 2012
More Texas Stores
Raisin Tx - Flea Market Open Sign
Raisin Flea Market Open Sign
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, May 2012
TX - Raisin  Windmill
Raisin Windmill
Photo courtesy Elicia Cook, September 2017
See Windmills in Texas
Raisin TX sign with Sun-Maid
Raisin TX sign with Sun-Maid Raisin
Photo courtesy Elicia Cook, September 2017
More Texas Signs
Raisin Texas Bridge
Raisin Bridge over Coleto Creek
TE Photo, 2005
More Texas Bridges
TX - Victoria County 1907 Postal Map
Victoria County 1907 Postal Map showing Raisin
SW of Victoria
Near Goliad County line

Courtesy Texas General Land Office

See "Families of Raisin, 1900s"

Take a road trip

Raisin, Texas Nearby Towns:
Victoria
See Victoria County | Texas Gulf Coast

Book Hotel Here:
Victoria Hotels | More Hotels
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