|
EL CAMPO, TEXAS
"Pearl of the
Prairies"
Wharton County,
Texas Gulf Coast
29° 11' 48" N, 96° 16' 24" W (29.196667, -96.273333)
U.S.Hwy 59 and TX Hwy 71
13 Miles SW of Wharton
the county seat
About 65 Miles SW of Houston
52 Miles NE of Victoria
ZIP code 77437
Area code 979
Population: 12,350 (2020)
11,602 (2010) 10, 945 (2000) 10,511 (1990)
Book El Campo Hotel Here › El
Campo Hotels |
El Campo was
once the second largest hay-shipping center in the US
Courtesy Fayette County Heritage Museum and Archives |
History in
a Pecan Shell
The town began
life in the early 1880s as a switching point called Prairie Switch
on the New York, Texas and Mexican Railroad. The lights of the tiny
settlement could be seen for miles at night - giving it the nickname
"Pearl of the Prairies."
Mexican cowboys started calling it El Campo and the name stuck in
1890. Thousands of head of cattle were shipped to markets in San
Antonio from the four huge ranches that surrounded the town
- including the Pierce Ranch.
The town was little more than a section house and a cattle-loading
chute before a store was built in 1889. This was followed by a post
office the following year but still the population was a mere 25
people by 1892.
The town once became the second largest hay-shipping center in the
United States and made the most of newly introduced rice industry.
In the 1890s El Campo organized Swedish Lutheran and Methodist churches,
as well as Presbyterian and Baptist congregations. German Lutheran
and Catholic churches completed the inventory.
A fire in 1896 destroyed the town's business section which rebuilt
by 1900, only to be burned again a year later. The town got the
message and the second rebuilding was done with brick. El Campo
acquired a library in1901 - a year before they opened the first
bank.
The town incorporated in 1905 and two years later the El Campo Ice
and Water Company provided electricity and ice. The El Campo Rice
Milling Company opened in 1903 and was used by seventy rice farms
in 1904.
The 1910 population was 1,778, growing to 2.034 by 1930 and nearly
4,000 by 1941. Gas and oil were discovered in Wharton County in
the mid-1930s which stabilized the economy. It reached just over
6,216 in the early 1950s and by 1970 it was five citizens short
of 10,000.
El Campo Vintage Photos ›
|
Historical Marker:
315 E Jackson St., at El Campo City Hall
El Campo
Begun as a camp
on the New York, Texas, and Mexican Railroad in 1882, El Campo initially
was known as Prairie Switch and served as a supply and shipping
center for area ranchers. By the 1890s the town had grown to include
a post office, homes, businesses, schools, and churches. An influx
of European immigrants produced a strong ethnic heritage. Fires in
1896 and 1901 destroyed much of the downtown area, but the city rebuilt.
Oil and gas discoveries in the 1930s provided an economic boom, although
agriculture remains the primary local business. |
El Campo, Texas
Landmarks & Attractions
|
El Campo town
square
Click on image to enlarge
Photo courtesy George Shaffer, 2007 |
"Prairie
Switch" of the original switching station, now on town square
Photo courtesy George Shaffer, 2007 |
Former bank building
in El Campo
Photo
courtesy George Shaffer, 2007
See Texas Banks |
Historical Marker:
202 E. Jackson St., El Campo
First
National Bank of El Campo
The First National Bank of El Campo traces its history to the Koch
and Poole Mercantile Company. In 1890 El Campo was an exciting new
railroad town. Customers left their money in the Koch and Poole safe
for protection, and soon the store assumed the duties of a banking
institution. A group of local businessmen purchased the company and
applied for a national bank charter, which was granted in January
1902. A two-story bank building was erected on the corner of Monseratte
and Post Office Street. The bank's founders were instrumental in the
development of El Campo and led efforts to have the city incorporated
in 1905. Providing investment capital for the rice and oil industries,
which were the foundations of El Campo's economy, the bank grew with
the city, survived the Great Depression, and emerged as a strong financial
institution serving residents throughout Wharton
County. After sixty-five years at the Monseratte St. location
the bank moved to a larger facility at this site. It continues to
support business, civic, and youth activities throughout the county.
1991 |
 |
Rice Farmers
Coop
Photo courtesy George Shaffer, 2007 |
Rice murals
Click on image to enlarge
Photo courtesy George Shaffer, 2007 |
El Campo, Texas
Vintage Photos
|
Isaacson Gin
Co's. Plant at El Campo, Texas
Click on image to enlarge
Postcard
courtesy Dan
Whatley Collection |
Cotton
Gin. "King Cotton is picked in August. Yield 1/2 ti 3/4 bales
per acre, makes $25 to $40 per acre. Nine thousand acres in the El
Campo district. Rice harvesting begins also in August."
Advertising Postcard circa. 1910 courtesy William
Beauchamp |
| Courtesy
Fayette County Heritage Museum and Archives |
Hay-shipping
in El Campo
Courtesy
Fayette County Heritage Museum and Archives |
South
Side Street 1905
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
Public School
Building in El Campo
Postcard
courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/
More Texas
Schoolhouses |
| 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. |
|
|
HOME
