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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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Bishop Texas
Forum
Subject:
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
©
John Troesser
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