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History in
a Pecan Shell
Alabaman Robert
E. Bohannon settled here around 1830 as one of Austin’s
original “Old
300.” After his death, his widow remarried and her husband Hiram
Thompson modestly renamed the fledgling community after himself.
It endured the history limbo that most Texas towns experienced (from
Republic through Statehood and the Civil War) and emerged in the late
1870s as a station on the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad.
The town was granted a post office in 1888 and was originally called
Thompson’s Switch. Thompsons’ residents numbered 300 by the
mid 1890s.
Businesses included a gin, general store and two saloons but by 1904
the population had decreased to a mere 104 residents.
The emancipation of slaves and the fact that the region had been a
“plantation economy” left it with three Black schools and one white
school. There were only 75 residents from 1920 to1940. A second railroad
arrived in 1930 – the short line Cane Belt Railroad. It wasn’t until
1947 when the population reached 100. The 2000 Census counted 236
residents. |
| 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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