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FENTRESS,
TEXAS
Caldwell County,
Central
Texas S
On the San Marcos River
Highway 20 and Highway 80
8 Miles W of Luling
11 Miles SE of San
Marcos
42 Miles S of Austin
Population:
291 (2000)
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History in
a Pecan Shell
The town began in the late 1860 with the appropriate name of Riverside.
It was renamed in 1892 to honor James Fentress, the town’s first physician.
The following year the town was granted its first post office. The
community was fortunate to be on the mail route between San
Marcos and Luling, so
the mail was received daily.
The population in the mid 1890s was 150 residents.
A waterworks was set in place in 1898 and the town was electrified
four years later.
In 1915 the population had doubled to 300 people. That same year a
resort was built to take advantage of the riverside location. Facilities
included bathhouses and camping amenities.
The facilities were sold within two years and expanded under the new
ownership. Dancing was permitted, which greatly concerned local churches.
Soon after the churches expressed concern, the town’s water tower
collapsed onto the bank. Was it divine intervention or an early case
of money laundering?
The population peaked in 1929 with 500 residents and the community
had a shared experience with Luling
with oil exploration. It became an important source of income during
the 30s. But the Great Depression hit the town hard and by 1940 there
were only 250 people left.
The local school merged with neighboring Prairie Lea in the 1940s.
One of the casualties of the decline was the closing of a hog farm
that had supplied driving pigs for Aquarena
Springs, the once famous tourist attraction.
The population was reported as 85 in 1990 and has since increased
to 291 for the 2000 census. |
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The
old swimming hole
TE
photo, March 2008
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Remains
of the old low-water crossing over the San
Marcos River
TE photo, March 2008
See Texas Rivers
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