CRABAPPLE, TEXAS

Texas Ghost Town
Gillespie County, Texas Hill Country

30° 26' 35" N, 98° 50' 15" W (30.443056, -98.8375)
FM 965
10 miles N of Fredericksburg the county seat
Halfway between Fredericksburg
& Enchanted Rock State Park
9 miles W of Hwy 16 from Eckert
Population: dispersed

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Crabapple Creek on
Crabapple Cemetery Road
TE Photo, 2001

The Crabapple Community today consists of the church, community building, brush arbor and one other structure. Isolated and off the beaten path, it makes for an excellent picnic spot.

Crabapple TX - St. John's Lutheran Church c. 1867

St. John's Lutheran Church c. 1867
TE Photo, 2001

A dirt road just a few yards east of the buildings (marked Crabapple Cemetery Road) takes you (south) across Crabapple Creek and eventually to the isolated hilltop cemetery pictured here. This road should not be attempted if there has been a recent rain.

If driving from Fredericksburg - continuing on East from Crabapple on Eckert Road you will cross Crabapple Creek several more times before reaching the town of Eckert which is on Hwy 16. Eckert is also a dispersed community with no discernable center.

The Crabapple School
Post office from 1887–1910
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
National Register of Historic Places in Texas
TE Photo, 2001

Crabapple had a school earlier, but the date for this building is given as 1878. The church - St. John's Lutheran - has the date of 1867 carefully etched in a beveled limestone rock. The post office operated from 1894 to 1910.

Crabapple TX - Gillespie County St. John Cemetery

St. John Cemetery in Crabapple
TE Photo, 2001

St. John Cemetery

The cemetery has less than 20 graves and consists primarily of just a few families. Although the detailed county map shows a nearby family cemetery with the name of Ottmers - there are several Ottmers buried here as well.

The view from St. John Cemetery
TE Photo, 2001

St. John Cemetery
TE Photo, 2001

The high step to the gate has been shortened by the practical employment of a tombstone as a step. Judging by the date and names - it appears this stone had been replaced with another - so it's not as disrespectful as it first appears.

© John Troesser

Gillespie County 1907 postal map showing Crabapple
From Texas state map #2090
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

Gillespie County 1920s map showing Eckert
From Texas state map #10749
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

Take a road trip

Crabapple, Texas Nearby Towns:
Fredericksburg the county seat
See Gillespie County | Texas Hill Country

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