CLEMVILLE, TEXAS

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History in a Seashell

According to the Handbook of Texas, the town was named "for Charles T. Clem, who in the early 1900s was instrumental in developing several local oilfields." The Texas Historical Atlas shows a marker "5 miles west of Markham on FM 1468 right-of-way" which states that the towns was named after F. J. Clemenger who "had settled in the community, then known as Hardy." "The community was renamed Clemville in his honor."

Both sources agree that a post office was granted in 1911. The population held steady at 200 from about 1914 through 1933. Over the years it was dwindled to the current (estimated) population of 54.

Historical Marker Text:
"Originally part of land granted to early colonist Henry Parker, this was a rural farming and ranching area until 1908 when F. J. Hardy discovered oil and formed the Hardy Oil Company. By 1911, and a post office was established in 1911. Clemville became an oil boomtown, with schools, a church, residences, hotels, a general store and machinist shops. As the economy slowed in the 1930s, Clemville's population began to dwindle. By the end of the 20th century, little physical evidence remained of the once booming oil town. (2001)"