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MOUNT CALM,
TEXAS
Hill
County, Central
Texas North
31°45'28"N 96°52'55"W (31.757680, -96.881931)
FM 339 and TX Hwy 31
26 Miles SE of Hillsboro
the county seat
8 Miles SW of Hubbard
21 Miles NE of Waco
ZIP code 76673
Area code 254
Population: 339 Est. (2019)
320 (2010) 310 (2000) 303 (1990)
Mount Calm, Texas Area Hotels › Hillsboro
Hotels |
"A large
building that appeared to have been empty for quite some time, judging
by the size of the trees growing inside."
Photo courtesy Madelyne Majors, 2015 |
History in
a Pecan Shell
Although it has
since moved one mile north from the original site, Mount Calm was
settled in the 1850s when fifty families (more or less) came here
to farm. Although one might expect a "mount" in Hill
County, the name is said to come from the surname of an early
blacksmith. A Baptist church was organized in 1855 and by 1858, the
town had acquired a store and post office.
Indian misbehavior didn't do much toward growing the community and
the demands of the Civil War didn't increase the population. Railroad
expansion in 1881 brought the Texas and St. Louis to Mount Calm -
or close enough. The next year was spent relocating businesses to
the newly laid rails. Growth followed the arrival of the railroad
and in the 1880s a Methodist church and school were built at the new
site. The remaining years of the 19th Century saw the population rise
to 150 and the town acquired a newspaper and a bank just as the century
was about to turn.
To celebrate the new century, Mount Calm incorporated in early 1900.
The community had enough capital to welcome another bank in 1907.
The population peaked about that time with 634 Mount Calmers, It maintained
that level through the 1920s just as drought and the boll
weevil diminished cotton production.
The population was 525 in the 1930s, but families left in search of
work. By the 1970s, Mount Calm had a population of 363 and it is now
considered a bedroom community of Waco.
The 2000 census reported a population of 310.
Photographer's Note:
"There were a few businesses up and running still, but the “downtown”
area seemed to be entirely abandoned." - Madelyne Majors, 2016 |
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"This store
across the street, quite literally a “hole in the wall”, had a dresser,
a couch, and a few desks left inside."
Photo courtesy Madelyne Majors, 2015 |
| Photo
courtesy Madelyne Majors, 2015 |
Inside
the store
Photo courtesy Madelyne Majors, 2015 |
"Next door
there was a bank vault that apparently survived the destruction of
the rest of the building."
Photo courtesy Madelyne Majors, 2015
See Texas Banks |
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