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MELVIN, TEXAS
McCulloch
County, Texas
Hill Country
31°11'49"N 99°34'50"W (31.197066, -99.580582)
Farm Road 2087
A short distance S of Hwy 87
15 miles West of Brady
the county seat
Population: 177 Est. (2016)
178 (2010) 155 (2000) 184 (1990)
Book Hotel Here › Brady
Hotels |
History
in a Pecan Shell
Named
for W. H. Melvin, who settled in the area in 1874, a townsite was
platted in 1904. The town was granted a post office in 1906 and the
Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway arrived in 1912. By 1914 the town
had seventy-five Melvinites residing there and the next year they
got their own newspaper, with a second paper arriving in 1923.
By 1931 the population was 650 and it reached it's zenith of 925 in
1949. From that point, the town has been in a decline. In the early
1950s, it had already decreased to just under 700. The railroad stopped
service in the early 1970s and it has since declined to only 155 residents. |
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Historical Marker
Swedish Free
Mission Church
Swedes began settling
in the western part of McCulloch County in 1907. A Sunday school was
begun that year, and the families met for worship in homes. A church
congregation was formally organized in 1910 with fifteen charter members.
A Ladies Aid Society was formed in 1911. By 1913 a church building
had been completed. Worship services were conducted in the Swedish
language until the 1940s. The congregation's name was changed to the
Evangelical Free Church in the 1940s. From its beginnings the congregation
has supported missionary activities.
(1988) |
Melvin Cemetery
Photo courtesy Martha Davenport, October 2010 |
Melvin Cemetery
Recently, my sister
and I have been researching our ancestry. I believe our great great
grandparents, Anna E. Carlson and Carl Alfred Nelson, both born in
Sweden and died in Texas, were possibly some of the original Melvinites
and helped found the swedish free mission church. Anna's parents,
Carl Carlson and Sarah Carlson were also born in Sweden, both in 1828,
and he died in Iowa. Census records show they immigrated to Iowa with
Anna, but moved to Texas around the time she married Carl Nelson.
We've also been looking into the Johnson's, since my grandma used
to tell us Lyndon B. Johnson was a distant cousin. We haven't found
much about that either, though.
We recently took a trip out to the old Melvin cemetery to see their
headstone. We found several other Carlson headstones, who I believe
may be relatives. I've attached a few pictures, as I didn't see any
mention of the Melvin cemetery on your site. The family plots were
really something, as were the higher-ranking officials that died in
WWI and WWII.
There was even a confederate soldier out there. We also stopped at
the old swedish free mission church and were told that Nelson was
a big family name in that area and were some of the original founders
of the church.
- Marsha Davenport, October 19, 2010 |
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Carl Alfred Nelson
and Anna Nelson Tombstones
Photo courtesy Martha Davenport, October 2010 |
To Melvin Cemetery
Photo courtesy Martha Davenport, October 2010 |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and vintage/historic photos, please contact
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