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History
in a Pecan shell
The St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway arrived here in 1907
and the town was platted two years later. John James Welder and David
Odem were the town developers. David just happened to be the county
sheriff, which may or may not have influenced the naming of the town.
Coleman-Fulton Pasture Company lands had been sold and subdivided
into small farms. Smaller communities of Angelita, Kaleta,
Meansville, and Sharpsburg were
drawn into “greater” Odem. By 1915 there were 500 residents.
Vegetable farming was the town’s initial economy. Beets, Cabbage,
Onions, Radishes and Spinach
were the predominant crops.
Decades later it is corn,
cotton and grain sorghum that is
shipped out. Many townspeople commute to Corpus
Christi for work. By the late 1980s the population had increased
to almost 3,000. |
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Photographer's
Note:
The cotton crop is a rarity this year with the drought. Some cotton
gins in the area will not open this year and most cotton fields never
developed and others plowed under when the crops burned up. - William
Beauchamp, August 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 vintage/historic photos, please contact
us. |
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