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PREMONT,
TEXAS
Jim Wells County,
South
Texas
Highway 281
26 miles S of Alice
Population: 2,772 (2000)
Book
Your Hotel Here & Save
Alice
Hotels
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Premont
High School Cheerleaders 1953
Photo courtesy Ruben R. Hernandez |
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History in
a Pecan Shell
Ignacio de la Peña held title to the land that became Premont. He
received his grant in 1831 and it remained in his family for the
next thirty years. Charles Premont, the town's namesake founded
the town in 1908 and donated money to build the Catholic Church.
A post office was opened the following year and the town soon expanded.
By 1912 there was an estimated 800 people living there. This increased
to 1,000 in 1914 when the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway arrived
and built a depot.
Premont didn't fully realize its potential and people started drifting
away. By the mid 20s there were only 600 people calling Premont
home. A Mennonite church was established in Premont in 1927, the
congregation being mostly dairy farmers. In the early 30s oil was
discovered and Premont's future again looked bright.
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Premont
water tower
TE photo, 2004 |
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Former
water tower in Premont
Postcard
courtesy rootsweb.com/
%7Etxpstcrd/ |
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Incorporated
in 1939, Premont's population went over 1,000 shortly before WWII.
After the war, Premont's population more than doubled to 2,538.
By 1963 it reached its high-water mark of 3,049.
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Cowboy
Sign in Premont
TE photo, 2004 |
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