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Texas Ghost
Town
DEW, TEXASFreestone County
Highway 75 and FM 489
9 miles South of Fairfield
Population: 71 (2000)
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The First
Methodist Church in Dew
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2006 |
History
in a Pecan Shell
The area was first settled in the 1850s by Alabamans and was first
known as Avant or Avant Prairie. In 1870 the Sunshine Methodist Church
moved here from Harrison Chapel and the community's name was changed
to Sunshine, Texas. The last name came about in 1885 when the town
applied for a post office. Like many towns, there was a mix-up caused
by either poor penmanship or poor eyesight and the desired name of
Drew (after a local person) was officially recognized as Dew. |
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A
closed gas station
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2006 |
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A
collapsed store
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2006 |
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the early 1890s, the town had most essential businesses and a respectable
population of 150. After WWII the town still had less than 200 people.
In the early 1990s, only 71 residents called Dew home. A cemetery
association that had been organized in 1912 is still operating and
the town has an annual homecoming. |
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