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CRANFILLS
GAP, TEXASBosque County,
Central Texas N
Hwy 22 and FM 219
42 miles NW of Waco via
Hwy 6
52 miles SW of Hillsboro
14 miles SW of Meridian
Population:
269 (1990)
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Wildflowers
near Cranfills Gap
Photo courtesy Ernie Wymer |
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History in
a Pecan Shell
Named for George Eaton Cranfill, one of earliest settlers
in the area - the Gap refers to a break in a mountain separating
Bosque and Hamilton counties.
Settlement dates to Cranfill's arrival around 1851 but the town
didn't get started until 1879, when a post office that had been
in Hamilton County was moved across the county line into Cranfills
Gap.
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St.
Olaf's Church c.1917
Photo Courtesy Jim and Lou Kinsey |
By
1890 the town was thriving with two doctors, stores, a blacksmith's
forge, and saloon. St. Olaf's - a Norwegian Lutheran church was built
nearby in 1886 and remains standing today.
The town never got a railroad, despite a slight move in 1913 to insure
a connection with the outside world. The high water mark for population
occurred in 1940 when 600 people called the Gap home.
In 1980, the census reported 341 citizens and it has since declined
to less than 300. |
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Cranfill
Gap School c.1939
Photo Courtesy Jim and Lou Kinsey, 2002 |
Cranfills
Gaps Texas Forum
Subject:
Louise Cranfill, Daughter of George Eaton Cranfill
My husband's greatgrandmother, Louise Cranfill, was born in Cranfill's
Gap, daughter of George Eaton Cranfill. Do you have any pictures
of George Eaton Cranfill's family? Louise married James Henry Woodman.
My husband's grandmother was Ida May Woodman Roberts. She died at
age 28. We know of no existing pictures of her. If you have any
of the early pictures of Cranfill's Gap, we would be so appreciative
to have copies. Thanks for any pictures, stories, history, articles
from old newspapers or a source for these items. - Barbara A.
Roberts, February 17, 2006
Anyone with history, stories, travel or photos of Cranfill's Gap,
Texas, please contact
us.
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