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History
in a Pecan Shell
J. K. Walling, a Tennessean is considered to be the first resident
in the vicinity. He arrived in 1884 and was joined a few years later
by Mississippian A.L. Coleman. It was on Coleman’s property that the
town formed. But neither Coleman or Walling were honored by having
the place named for them. That honor went to the wife of the engineer
of the first train (The St. Louis, Arkansas and Texas Railroad) that
arrived in 1887.
Walling opened a general store and it was here the first post office
opened in 1888.
The population had grown to 75 and the town supported both a gin and
a gristmill. The 20th Century dawned and with it came the town’s first
bank (1902). A second railroad line crossed the tracks of the first
in 1902-03 – and the town incorporated in 1914.
Mertens was given electrical service in 1915 and other infrastructure
such as sidewalks and curbing appeared. The town had a weekly paper
and the population reached 342 residents for the 1920 Census.
A water system was installed in the 30s, but with the construction
of State Highway 22, the outside world beckoned – and the town entered
a decline.
The railroads stopped running and over the years businesses and people
left. By the 1980s there was only a single brick building to mark
where downtown once was.
The 1990 census showed 104 residents which increased to 146 for the
year 2000. |
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Mertens appears
in the 1920s Hill County map
(East of Hillsboro)
Courtesy Texas General Land Office |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history
and vintage/historic photos, please contact
us. |
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