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History in
a Pecan Shell
The town's name
was decided by a coin-toss. Taylor Whitsett and Walter Reiffert each
donated land to the approaching railroad and each wanted to be the
town's namesake. It's obvious that Taylor won the toss or else this
page would be for Reiffert, Texas. In 1913 the railroad build cattle-loading
pens and within a short time Whitsett had a post office, store, and
a lumberyard. The 1920s provided the town with two cotton gins and
by 1925 a new school had been built.
Highway 281 was under construction in the 30s - providing work during
the Great Depression. The highway had once gone under other designation.
First it was the Old Spanish Trail, then it became Texas Highway 66
which morphed into Highway 9, and finally U.S. Highway 281.
The Whitsett school had four teachers teaching sixty-one pupils in
the late 30s. The town ran on an electric generator until 1943 when
they became part of the Rural Electrification Association connection.
Whitsett's school merged with the Three
Rivers ISD in the late 40s. After a false start in the 1930s,
the local oil business revived somewhat in the 1970s. Another unexpected
bonanza appeared in the form of uranium. Nearby Peggy,
Texas is also a source of uranium.
The 1940 population which was 280 in 1940 increased to 350 by 1982.
It was hoped that construction of Choke Canyon Dam (1986) would've
given Whitsett a shot in the arm, but the population has remained
stagnant at the 1982 figure of 350. |
| Whitsett
is the setting for the 2008 horror film "The Wild Man of the
Navidad." |
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| 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. |
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