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OAK HILL,
TEXAS
A Casualty
of WWIICentral Texas Ghost
Town
Bastrop County
FM 2336
13 Miles NE of Bastrop
12 Miles SE of Elgin
37 Miles SE of Austin
4 Miles SW of McDade
Population:
0
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Oak Hill
is a "scraped earth" cemetery.
TE photo, 2006
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History in
a Pecan Shell
Oak Hill is one of many Texas communties that were sacrificed for
the war effort in the early 1940s. In this case it was Camp
Swift, the largest Army training post in Texas and a German
Prisoner of War Camp. Foundations of homes (or barracks) can be
seen on the west side of FM 2336. The population of Oak Hill was
displaced and the homes and businesses were sold for materials.
The buildings that weren't sold ended up being used for target practice.
After the war when Camp
Swift was downsized - it's barracks and buildings were sold
as scrap - for $5 a truckload. Part of the Camp became a Federal
Prison and part became a Cancer Research Facility. Some of the land
was returned to previous owners, but the town per se was never rebuilt.
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The road
to the Oak Hill Cemetery
TE Photo,
2006
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All that remains
today of Oak Hill is a scraped-earth cemetery maintained by an active
association made up of former residents. Some unmarked graves are
said to predate the "official" earliest burial from 1868.
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Peculiar
markers outline a grave.
TE photo, 2006
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The most
notable enclosure at Oak Hill Cemetery
TE photo, 2006
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Hill had its beginning in the late 1840s when Martin Walker started
selling off part of his land grant. In 1879 a church was built that
served three denominations and in 1882 four churches shared the single
building. The town's economy was based on corn and cotton production
and subsistence vegetable farming and livestock production. No population
figures are available but the one-teacher school listed 39 students
in 1905. Oak Hill School served as the lead school of its district
in 1907. |
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A
WWI Marker
TE photo, 2006 |
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The town has
long disappeared from county maps but a sign on FM 2336 will direct
you down an unpaved road where you will see the cemetery on the
east side.
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