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Otto History
in a Pecan ShellOtto’s
history incorporates that of two smaller communities. Needmore and Lonestar
joined forces in 1901 and renamed themselves in anticipation of the arrival of
the International-Great Northern Railroad which was then connecting its line between
Waco and Marlin.
The towns namesake could’ve been Charles Otto Leuschner, landowner, or
Henry Otto Stansbury, schoolteacher (one of the consequences of using a first
name). In 1905 Otto had a population of 250 residents and mostr essential businesses.
It
is said that as many as 1,000 residents lived in Otto prior to the Great Depression
and the shrinkage caused by the postwar exodus from small towns.
From
a 1941 estimate of 500, it had declined by half in two short years. 1950 saw the
consolidation of Otto’s students into the Mart ISD
and from the 1964 population of 243, it fell to a mere 85 by 1970. The estimate
for the 2000 census was given as 48 residents.A
Visit to Otto: | |
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