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VENUS, TEXAS

Johnson County / Ellis County, Central Texas North

32°25'46"N 97°6'25"W (32.429383, -97.107022)

Hwy 67 and FM 157
7.5 miles SW of Midlothian
7 miles E of Alvarado
18 miles E of Cleburne the county seat
31 miles SE of Fort Worth via I-35
31 miles SW of Dallas on Hwy 67
Population: 4,368 Est. (2019)
2,960 (2010) 910 (2000) 977 (1990)

Book Hotel HereCleburne Hotels

Venus Texas grocery store and downtown Venus  Texas
Men are from Mars, Groceries are from Venus
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, January 2006

History in a Pecan Shell

The town was called Venus after the modestly named daughter of a local Doctor. The town founder, a Mr. J. C. Smyth chose the name shortly after laying out the town site on what had been a cornfield.

They got their post office in 1888 and according to the Handbook of Texas, the population had shot up to 10 people just in time for the 1890 census.

Two railroads met at Venus and that turned the town into a beehive of activity. Thirteen businesses were reported in the mid 1890s. The railroads, or at least one of them, continue to be a presence in Venus.

The town incorporated in 1903 and the population swelled to 800 during the prosperous years following WWI.

During the Great Depression, Dallas and Fort Worth drew off many Venetians and by the early 40s, there was only one business left in Venus and that was about to close. In a touching show of support, the townspeople chipped in to save the business (a drugstore) from closing and turning Venus into a ghost. A similar rescue was performed in Warda, Texas in 1998, when the townsfolk bought the last business in town (a restaurant called Wardaburger).

Today, the Venus city limits cross the county line and a single row of old brick buildings from Venus' heyday comprise downtown. Efforts are being made to stabilize a two-story building which may have been a bank.

The 1990 Census reported that just under 1,000 people called Venus home.


[See The Iron Road Sorority: Penelope, Maypearl, and Venus ]

 Venus  TX - downtown
Downtown Venus
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, January 2006


Venus Texas water tower
Venus water tower
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, January 2006
More Texas Water Towers


Venus, TX public school building
Venus Public School Building
1912 photo courtesy Dan Whatley Collection
More Texas Schoolhouses


Johnson County TX  1920s map
1920s Johnson County map showing Venus (on Johnson/Ellis County line)
From Texas state map #10749
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

Take a road trip

Central Texas North

Venus, Texas Nearby Towns:
Cleburne the county seat
Midlothian
Alvarado
Fort Worth
Dallas
See Johnson County | Ellis County

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