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McMAHAN,
TEXASAKA
“Wildcat”
AKA “Whizzerville”
Caldwell County, Central Texas S
FM
713 and FM 86
5 miles SW of Bastrop
13 miles N of Luling
10 miles
E of Lockhart
18 miles E of San
Marcos
Population:
125 est. (2000) |
Old
Store in McMahan
TE photo, June 2002 |
History
in a Pecan Shell
The site dates all the way back to 1832 with a grant
to Ambrose Tinney, the namesake of Tinney Creek. When the Comanches didn’t kill
Tinney, other settlers cautiously arrived in the 1840s.
McMahan had two
saloons during its early days, separated by Tinney Creek. Wildcat was a store-saloon
on one side and the residents and patrons of the other saloon banded together
and collectively named their side Whizzerville.
When the name Whizzerville
was rejected by postal authorities for (supposedly) being too long (They accepted
Raymondville with no problem) the residents had to go with tradition and name
it after an upright citizen. The nominee was Edward J. McMahan, a storekeeper.
The post office became a reality in 1898 and stayed open until the early 1960s.
By 1914 McMahan was thriving with two stores and 75 citizens who were glad they
weren’t known as Whizzervillains. The town grew to around 200 during the boom
times of the 20s, but lost fully half during the Depression years. The town experienced
a rebound in the early 40s that brought it up to 250 – it’s high-water mark.
With
the post war migration toward the cities. McMahan fell back to 150 and the town’s
schools merged with Luling ISD in 1949.
The population declined to 125
in the 1960s and has remained at that level. |
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Old
gas pump in McMahan
TE photo, 2000 | |
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| Today, McMahan is
nominated as the “quietest place in Caldwell County” if and when the subject ever
comes up. A former store sits across from the old post office and the homes are
almost hidden behind abundant foliage. Whizzerville lives on in a few old signs
and a street name. |
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