RED BLUFF, TEXAS
AKA Redbluff

Jackson County, Texas Gulf Coast

11 Miles SE of Edna
Population: 35 (2000)

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Red Bluff School, 1920
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, August 2011

History in a Pecan Shell

Recent history begins in 1830 when Stephen F. Austin received a Mexican land grant along the Navidad River. Several other colonists received grants but none of them were able to develop the land. Finally, in 1849 the land was sold by Austin’s heirs to James DuPrey who operated a ranch here until 1880. Eventually, a rancher named Clement sold his land in small parcels and platted a town site for a town to modestly be named after him.

The folks around the area didn’t care for the name Clement and used the more descriptive name of Red Bluff after the clay banks of the Navidad.

First use of the name Red Bluff was recorded in the mid 1890s. A store opened in 1895, followed by a school building in 1896. In 1897 a post office was applied for and granted in the name of Redbluff, Texas.

The future looked good for the fledgling community but in 1909 it was bypassed by the St. Louis, Brownsville, and Mexico Railroad in favor of Lolita, Texas.

Overnight, Red Bluffers and their businesses moved to Lolita. By 1915 the post office had closed – essentially ending the Red Bluff era. It was soon dropped from maps. But in 2000 there were still 35 people keeping the Red Bluff name alive.

Photographer's Note:
If there is more to Red Bluff, I missed it. (There is the cemetery, which I missed.) - Barclay Gibson

Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, August 2011
More Texas Schoolhouses

Jackson County 1920s Map showing Redbluff & Lolita (SE of Edna)
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

Take a Road Trip

Red Bluff, Texas Area Towns:
Edna the county seat
Wharton | Victoria | Port Lavaca | Palacios
See Jackson County

Texas Gulf Coast

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