TURNERSVILLE, TEXAS

Coryell County, Central Texas North

31° 30' 0" N, 97° 37' 30" W (31.5, -97.625)
FM 182
12 Miles NE of Gatesville the county seat
40 Miles W of Waco
Population: 350 est (2004)

. Book Hotel Here › Gatesville Hotels

Turnersville Community Church, now closed
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, March 2005

History in a Pecan Shell

Turnersville, aka Buchanan Springs was on the Chisholm Trail. In the 1860s, the appropriately named "Lone Tree" provided a landmark for trail drivers taking their herds to Kansas. The tree was fed by a spring and it was at this water source blacksmith Cal Turner set up shop.

A Presbyterian church also served as a school in the late 1860s. The post office opened in 1875 and was named for the blacksmith. Turnersville had a population of 300 by 1885 - the year the Masons built a lodge. Turnersville prospered as a cotton town from 1895 to around 1916.

The town had 162 residents by 1916 but a slow and steady decline set in and by 1968 the school closed. The post office closed its doors in 1987. In 1989 the town had a population of 155.

The Turnersville cemetery association sponsors an annual homecoming on the last Sunday in May.

Turnersville TX Coryell Co post office info

Turnersville TX Coryell Co 1895 Postmark

Cover canceled with Turnersville, TX 1895 postmark
Courtesy The John J. Germann Collection

Take a road trip

Turnersville, Texas Nearby Towns:
Gatesville the county seat

See Coryell County
McLennan County

Book Hotel Here:
Gatesville Hotels | More Hotels

Texas Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories, landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact us.