Neylandville, Texas, is in
Hunt County, between Greenville and Commerce, onTexas Highway 224.
The town’s population in 2000
showed 15 families, 56 people and 24 households. By the 2010 census the
population had jumped to 97. Demographic breakdown from the 2000 census showed
93.43 percent African American and 3.57 percent White.
Median income for the town
was $50,417. No families were listed below the federal poverty level, but 40
percent of those older than 64 lived below the poverty level.
Wikipedia notes: “Neylandville
is home to one liquor store and one beer and wine store. It is the closest town
to Greenville that allows the sale of alcoholic beverages.”
Neylandville once was a town
of some importance.
“Neylandville is on Farm Road 2874 ten miles
northeast of Greenville in northeastern Hunt County. The settlement, originally
an all-black community, began when James (Jim) Brigham bought his and his
family's freedom from Robert Neyland, a planter who had owned land in the area.
In the 1880s the residents formed a farmers co-op, which built a general store
and a cotton gin and purchased a wheat drill and a wheat-harvesting machine.
During the early 1880s St. Paul's School at Neylandville became the educational
center for local black children. In 1886 the tracks of the St. Louis and
Southwestern reached the town, and a post office operated in the community from
1888 to 1924. The St. Paul school district consolidated with the Commerce
Independent School District in the late 1960s. Before 1940 it had been one of
only a few black schools in the area to offer vocational courses. The trustees
and superintendent were all African Americans. In 1954 and 1964 the population
of Neylandville was estimated at 200. Neylandville incorporated in 1970, and in
1990 it reported ninety-four residents. By 2000 the population dropped to
fifty-six.”
Here’s a thing about Google maps: You can, from
the warmth and safety of your own home, explore just about any place on Earth.
In Neylandville, I took a quick trip down Hunt County Road 4311, which begins
at State Highway 224, goes east for a while and then turns north and intersects
once again with Highway 224. In that short distance are located three churches:
St. Paul Baptist, House of Compassion Ministries and New Bethel CME. Bethel
means “House of God.” The CME Church is Christian Methodist Episcopal and was
started by former slaves in Tennessee in order to have a church separate from
the white Methodist Episcopal.
The only other place I have seen more churches
in a smaller area was in Hensley, Arkansas. My wife and I lived near Hensley
for six years. Like Neylandville, Hensley was a predominately black town, 65 percent
African American according to the 2000 census.
Neylandville also has A. Munoz Transmissions and
Auto Service, LLC. A picture from Google showed several automobiles and two
ATVs under repair or waiting for a space in the Munoz repair building.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.