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Swartwout,
Texas Centennial Marker
Photo courtesy Mildred L. Brown, September 2007 |
History
in a Pecan Shell
Named in honor of New York financier Samuel Swartwout
who bankrolled several early colonists, the town was set up on the
east bank of the Trinity River in 1838.
The unusual spelling of the man's name caused many people to drop
the "w" and simply spell it Swartout. Sam
Houston was an early shareholder in the community whose future
looked horizonsless.
The Masons opened a school there in the 1840s, even before the establishment
of Polk County. A
ferry landing was established and the town was on a stage line. River
traffic made it a riverport for cotton
warehousing and the town had a hotel early on.
With the establishment of Liberty
County in 1840, Swartwout became a subcounty seat of the county's
northern division. When Polk
County was established in 1846, Swartwout tried to be the county
seat but failed to win enough votes. Nevertheless, the town throve
on its river trade until the coming of the railroads erased that advantage.
The Swartwout post office was open from 1846 through 1875.
A marker was erected for the Texas
Centennial in 1936 but it was later moved with the establishment
of the Lake Livingston Reservoir. Although there's nothing left of
the old town of Swartwout, the name lives on with a contemporary community
that has grown near the old Livingston Dam. |
Pleasant Hill
Methodist Church in Swartwout
Before
and After |
| Photo
courtesy Mildred L. Brown, September 2007 |
Polk
County TX 1858 Map showing
Swartwout SW of Livingston
(Below "OL" in "POLK")
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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