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Browns Dairy
between Eagle Lake and Chesterville,
1922
Photo courtesy Nesbitt Memorial Library #01635 |
History in
a Pecan Shell
The
town was the 1894 brainchild of Chicago land developer John Linderholm.
Linderholm purchased 60,000 acres under the name Southern Texas Colonization
Company. The surveyor of the proposed townsite was one William P.
Chester - the town's namesake. Thanks to its railroad connection and
a good first impression, the plan was successful. Many new residents
transmigrated from the Midwest and by 1895 there were enough citizens
to warrant a post office.
Chesterville had a population estimated at 150-200 and a school, several
churches and an estimated twenty businesses at its peak. At the turn
of the 20th Century rice farming was new but expanding rapidly. The
acreage around Chesterville was bought up by large companies for rice
production and cattle raising and the population dwindled to a mere
seventy-five by 1914. By the time the Great Depression arrived, Chesterville
was down to only twenty-five people. The post office managed to remain
open through 1950.
Last recorded population figures remained at 25 in the mid 1960s.
Today the land is owned or leased to rice farmers. |
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Chesterville
sign and grain elevator
TE Photo, February 2006 |
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A
denizen of Chesterville
TE Photo, February 2006 |
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Migrating
geese heading north in February
TE Photo, 2006 |
1940s Colorado
County map showing Chesterville just east of Eagle
Lake
From Texas state map #4335
Courtesy
Texas General Land Office |
| 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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