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History on
a Pinhead
A community? Just
barely. It was hardly more than a spur on the San Antonio and Aransas
Pass Railroad where farmers supplemented their income by providing
firewood for Houston and
San Antonio markets.
A single store operated on the site from 1919 to the late 1920s but
it did business in a tent and no permanent structure was built.
After 1929 bentonite clay was extracted from deposits here and
processed in a plant built for the purpose. The Texas Company provided
housing for the plant’s employees. It was estimated that 20 families
lived and worked here until the mid 1960s.
Mail came through nearby West Point and the employee’s children attended
classes in Muldoon
or Rocky Ridge.* The company eventually suspended excavations and
the spur was closed. According to the Handbook of Texas, the 80 foot
smokestack of the company fell in 1989 – depriving the “town” of a
landmark / tombstone.
* The Handbook of Texas has no listing for Rocky Ridge and there are
no direction available. There is a sign on FM 154 directing people
to the Rocky Ridge “arena.” |
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Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and vintage/historic photos, please contact
us. |
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