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Phillips
Cemetery (On Hwy 77)
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2008 |
History
in a Pecan Shell
Not named after
the commandant of the Alamo,
this Travis was named after Travis Fleming Jones, a San Antonio and
Aransas Pass Railroad surveyor.
Although there had been families in the region, things didn’t get
started until the arrival of the railroad in 1891. A post office was
granted that same year when the town reported an estimated population
of 75 (slightly more than the 1990 census county).
By 1900 the population had increased to 148. The community might today
rival neighboring Lott or Rosebud
if it hadn’t been for two devastating fires (1914 and 1925) that consumed
most of Travis’ businesses.
The community peaked with a population of 300 in the late 1920s and
early 1930s, but the Great Depression sent it back to 100. It remained
at that level through WWII
and into the post-war years. The railroad discontinued passenger service
in 1949.
Like many communities across the state, what kept Travis alive was
its school. In 1961 it consolidated with Rosebud.
Commercial rail disappeared in 1967 and as if to kick the community
to the curb, the post office closed in the mid 1970s. |
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Phillips Cemetery
historical marker
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2008 |
Historical Marker
Phillips Cemetery
Ezekial Thomas
Phillips (1830-1905), a Civil War veteran, moved his family to Falls
County in 1869. His son Robert M. Phillips (b. 1857) died in a
shooting accident on March 18, 1883, a short time before his wedding.
He was buried on this tract, which was to have been a wedding gift
from his father. Requests for burials at this site were so numerous
that Phillips donated the land as a public cemetery in 1903. There
are 350 known graves, including those of Phillips and his wife Louise
"Lucy" Jane (Wade) (1836-1897). Phillips Cemetery has served residents
of the area for over a century.
1983 |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact
us. |
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