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History in
a Pecan Shell
Poteet was named after local blacksmith / postmaster Francis Marion Poteet. The
post office opened in 1886 and by 1892 the town had most basic businesses, including
a gin, gristmill, and wagonmaker. In the mid 1890s Henry T. Mumme arrived, opened
a store and succeeded Poteet as postmaster.
Mumme discovered artesian
wells in the area in 1902 - even while the region was suffering from a drought.
When the Artesian Belt Railroad was building through the area the Mummes donated
land to the railroad (three miles southwest of the original site) and built a
new store alongside the railroad.
Having irrigation from the wells,
Mumme planted strawberries and the rest, as they say, is history. A three-day
strawberry festival was first held in 1948 and is now an annual event (although
the strawberries are shipped in from California).
From a population of
500 in 1914 Poteet grew to 2,300 after oil was discovered nearby in the 1940s.
From the 1970s, the population stabilized around the 3,000 mark - peaking in the
late 1980s at 3,519 and then declining to 3,206 for the 1990 census. |
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Poteet
Strawberry Capital of Texas
Photo
courtesy Terry
Jeanson, May 2005 |
Closed
store next to City Hall on Avenue H
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, May 2005 |
Tile
mosaic in front of fire department by artist Milton Caniff.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, May 2005 |
1930s
Poteet store
Photo courtesy Library of Congress |
Poteet Realtor
1930s
Photo courtesy Library of Congress |
Poteet
Historical Markers and Plaques |
Poteet
historical marker in front of the post office.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, May 2005 |
Memorial
in front of the fire department, dedicated by Poteet family descendants, to Frances
Marion and Mary Ann Poteet and their family.
Photo
courtesy Terry
Jeanson, May 2005 |
Center
plaque on Poteet family memorial.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, May 2005 | |
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