TexasEscapes.com HOME Welcome to Texas Escapes
A magazine written by Texas
Custom Search
New   |   Texas Towns   |   Ghost Towns   |   Counties   |   Trips   |   Features   |   Columns   |   Architecture   |   Images   |   Archives   |   Site Map

Bexar County TX
Bexar County

Counties
Texas Counties


Texas Towns
A - Z

San Antonio Hotels

More Hotels

VAN RAUB, TEXAS


Texas Ghost Town
Bexar County, South Texas

Just off I-10 near Cibolo Creek
24 Miles NW of Downtown San Antonio
About 7 Miles SE of Boerne
Near the Kendall County Line
Population: 0

Book Hotel Here › San Antonio Hotels

History in a Pecan Shell

Local business owner Van Raub Byron became the town namesake in the mid 1880s when it became a stop on the proposed San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad.

The following year a church and school were built and the town had its own newspaper. The population reached 300 and the town received a post office (1889).

The town wasn’t bypassed by the railroad, but as tracks continued on to Kerrville, the effect on the community was just as devastating. By 1910 the population had declined by half and mail came through Boerne.

Van Raub managed to pull through the Great Depression but prosperity did it in. Increased wages in larger cities lured Van Raubites from their tranquil home. The town became a virtual ghost until the 1990s when developers built a San Antonio suburb very near the site of Van Raub called Fair Oaks Ranch.

TX Bexar County 1907 Postal Map
Bexar County 1907 postal map showing Van Raub near Kendall County Line, SE of Boerne
From Texas state map #2090
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

Take a road trip

South Texas

Van Raub, Texas Nearby Towns:
San Antonio the county seat
Boerne
See Bexar County | Kendall County

Book Hotel Here:
San Antonio Hotels | More Hotels

Texas Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories, landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact us.


Texas Escapes Online Magazine »   Archive Issues » Home »
TEXAS TOWNS & COUNTIES TEXAS LANDMARKS & IMAGES TEXAS HISTORY & CULTURE TEXAS OUTDOORS MORE
Texas Counties
Texas Towns A-Z
Texas Ghost Towns

TEXAS REGIONS:
Central Texas North
Central Texas South
Texas Gulf Coast
Texas Panhandle
Texas Hill Country
East Texas
South Texas
West Texas

Courthouses
Jails
Churches
Schoolhouses
Bridges
Theaters
Depots
Rooms with a Past
Monuments
Statues

Gas Stations
Post Offices
Museums
Water Towers
Grain Elevators
Cotton Gins
Lodges
Stores
Banks

Vintage Photos
Historic Trees
Cemeteries
Old Neon
Ghost Signs
Signs
Murals
Gargoyles
Pitted Dates
Cornerstones
Then & Now

Columns: History/Opinion
Texas History
Small Town Sagas
Black History
WWII
Texas Centennial
Ghosts
People
Animals
Food
Music
Art

Books
Cotton
Texas Railroads

Texas Trips
Texas Drives
Texas State Parks
Texas Rivers
Texas Lakes
Texas Forts
Texas Trails
Texas Maps
USA
MEXICO
HOTELS

Site Map
About Us
Privacy Statement
Disclaimer
Contributors
Staff
Contact Us

 
Website Content Copyright Texas Escapes LLC. All Rights Reserved