Nice name for a town, Rising
Star. You have to wonder whether the name was from the mind of a
poetically-inclined cowboy, or maybe a librarian.
Well, turns out the naming of
the town depends on who you want to believe.
“No mail routes existed initially in this newly
settled frontier, but by about 1880, the community became a stop on a mail
route between Cisco and Brownwood. Prior to the establishment of this mail
route, the families received mail from Sipe Springs. In 1881, the town sent a
petition to the U.S. government asking for a new post office in the area. The
community leaders were required to suggest a name for the post office and
decided upon the name Star, which was then sent for approval to the Postal
Service. The Postal Service sent word back that a post office under the name
Star was already located in Texas (in Mills County). The citizens called a
meeting to select another name, and after many long hours of deliberation,
Little Andy Agnew proposed, ‘Since we are a rising young community, why don't
we just call ourselves Rising Star.’ The name was agreed to and accepted by the
Postal Service.”
Or maybe: “The
settlement was originally called Copperas Creek but had a name change when D. D. McConnell
of Eastland suggested the
new name.”
Little Andy Agnew or D.D.
McConnell. Take your choice.
However Rising Star got its
name, the town is in Eastland County, not far north of the middle of Texas.
Rising Star’s largest population was 1,289, in 1950. The 2010 population was
835. Of that number, about 94% were white. “Hispanics or Latinos of any race
were 6.23% of the population.”
The Federal Government is
kind of wacky in its racial-counting assignments. White, African-American,
Asian, Native American. But “Hispanics or Latinos” can be counted in any other
race.
In 2000, 19.4% of families
and 24.4% of the overall population lived beneath the official Federal poverty
level.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.