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PAWNEE, TEXAS
Bee
County, South Texas
28°38'58"N 98°0'6"W (28.649307, -98.001649)
TX Hwy 72, FMs 673 and 798
25 Miles NW of Beeville
the county seat
17 Miles NE of Three Rivers
15 Miles SW of Kenedy
ZIP code 78145
Area code 361
Population: 156 Est. (2009)
166 (2010) 201 (2000) 249 (1990)
Pawnee Area Hotels › Beeville
Hotels |
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History in
a Pecan Shell
The name is said
to come from a board with the inscription "Pawnee" that someone had
nailed to a tree. Prior to the establishment of Bee
County, an Irish family named Sullivan bought much of the land
where Pawnee now stands. After a series of transfers, Rancher W. J.
Lott became owner of the land and split his spread into smaller parcels
in the 1890s.
Pawnee's first school was built in 1910, about the same time the first
store opened. Pawnee prospered in the 1920s and at one time had four
grocery stores, a physican. druggist, blacksmith and garage. Oil was
discovered in 1930.
Pawnee's church history is more colorful than most Texas towns of
its size. For a small town, Pawnee had Baptist, Catholic, Church of
Christ, Swedish Lutheran, German Lutheran, Methodist, and Pentecostal
congregations. A brick school was build in 1936 and the population
reached it's high-water mark of 300 just as the United States was
entering WWII.
The post war population was just 225 when the town was granted a post
office around 1950. The town's businesses all closed prior to 1980.
The population has declined from the 1990 census of 249 to the current
166 residents. |
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Pawnee, Texas
Landmarks
Photo Gallery |
Catholic Mission
TE photo, June 2004 |
Photographer's
Update:
The old school will soon be adjoined or replaced by a new school under
constructuion. - Will
Beauchamp, April 2009 |
| 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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