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Bishop
street scene
TE Photo, 2001 |
History
in Pecan Shell
Bishop was originally part of the Driscoll Ranch.
F. Z. Bishop,
a businessman from Corpus
Christi, bought acreage in 1910 and formed a town that he modestly named after
himself.
Bishop was a planner and had electrical, telephone and sewage
systems, paved streets, and sidewalks in place before the first lots were sold.
A hotel and several residences were erected, and a $16,000 store and office
building was opened. In September 1910, when the first school opened in a three-room
frame building, sixteen children were enrolled. Enrollment increased to sixty
by the end of the term.
In 1923 bishop sold 30,000 bales of cotton
- which brought in over $4,000,000.
In 1941, 3,000 pounds of grain to
the acre earned Bishop the title "Grain Mart of the Coastal Bend."
The
town reached 2,500 people in 1928 but The Great Depression reduced the population
by more than half. By the mid-50s the population had increased to 4,000.
F. Z. Bishop is buried in the town that he developed.
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Steamplow
in Bishop's earliest days
Photo courtesy Betty Sue Creech-Perry |
Steamplow
close-up
Photo courtesy Betty Sue Creech-Perry |
The
Search for Mr. Bishop's Grave
On
our visit to Bishop in May of 2003 we found one of the remaining downtown buildings
collapsed due to aged mortar. Our purpose for visiting was to see if we could
find the grave of F. Z. Bishop. We spied two policemen in their cars - obviously
exchanging vital information and / or crime-fighting techniques. We asked for
directions and shortly we were on our way - with a police escort. This was a first.
Even without a siren and only one patrol car; it was nice treatment. We pulled
up to the first cemetery where we got to speak with officer (badge number 105)
who asked if this was the right one.
It wasn't, but we took advantage
of the situation and asked a few questions about the town of Bishop. Our suspicions
were confirmed - Bishop is a quiet and well-behaved town. "Of course there's a
few bad apples, he said, but we keep an eye on them." The officer hoped that we'd
write something nice about Bishop and apologized that the mayor wasn't available.
When we asked if he was a native he admitted to being from Los Angeles. California,
not Texas. After being discharged from the army at
Fort Hood where he had served in the First Cavalry Division (participating in
Operation Desert Storm) he was too late to attend police academy - which for some
reason always seems to be in the fall. He applied where there was an opening -
in Bishop - and he has adjusted well to the lack of excitement of LA and the Middle
East.
We received good directions to the second cemetery, but it was
locked when we arrived at 5:45. That was 15 minutes before the posted closing,
but we figure we can overlook that since everyone in Bishop was nice and towns
shouldn't be judged by early gatekeepers.
We're sure that if we had called
ahead the cemetery would've been open - and who knows? Maybe the mayor would be
there.
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An
old hardware store on Main Street
Photo courtesy Gary L. Oldham, December 2010 |
"Oils
and Lubricants" on another old building on South Birch at Main
Photo courtesy
Gary L. Oldham, December 2010
More Texas
Ghost Signs |
Bishop
Texas ForumSubject:
Old photos of Bishop
Found these pictures you might like to add to your article. - Betty Sue Creech-Perry,
March 09, 2006
I
was interested in your short story about Bishop. We moved there in 1957 from California
(my Dad was in the Navy stationed in Kingsville). There I lived till 1988 raising
my kids in a town where "Everyone Knows Your Name", and kept a eye on everyone
else's children. There is a teacher who made the Guiness Book of World Records
for never missing a day of school. She retired after what seemed to some students
as 100 years only to volunteer at the school. She taught at least three generations.
Bishop produced doctors, lawyers, profession football and baseball players just
to name a few. A small town, with a great school system - the Proud Bishop Badgers.
The High School has a pictorial of all students graduating from the high school
in the lobby for all to see. If you want to know more, the next time you're in
town ask to speak to Dr. Lee (the local dentist or his wife). Or to talk with
some of the "Old Timers" stop by the VFW. - Betty Sue Creech-Perry, Corpus
Christi, Texas, March 01, 2006
I
am looking for some distant relatives. My great grand mother andgrandfather moved
to Bishop, Texas. John Henry Fuller Jr was my great grandfather's name and he
was struck and killed by lightning in Bishop in 1952. I was told that my great
grandmother moved to Las Vegas after Henrys death. If anyone could let me know
if there are newspapers in Bishop from 1952, I would be most grateful. Thanks
for your help. - Pam Fuller, Florida, December 06, 2004
I graduated
from Bishop High School in 1971. My husband is a native. It was a wonderful place
to grow up, even though I only spent the 4 years of high school and my first year
of college. I went to nearby Texas A & I in Kingsville (now Texas A & M Kingsville).
People still get riled about them changing the name.
My graduating class
had it's own quirk, in that 3 of our seniors who went on the senior trip that
year, were the offspring of 3 couples who went on the senior trip 18 years before.
The story goes that all three couples came back pregnant from that said senior
trip of 1953. Ah, the joys of small town America!!!! - Andrea Slough Kubsch,
June 16, 2003 |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
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photos of their town, please contact
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