Gay Hill | |
|---|---|
  Gay Hill Location within Texas  Gay Hill Gay Hill (the United States) | |
| Coordinates: 30°16′19″N96°29′39″W / 30.27194°N 96.49417°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Washington |
| Settled | 1839 |
| Named for | Early store owners, Thomas Gay and William Carroll Jackson Hill |
| Elevation | 371 ft (113 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| GNIS feature ID | 1336452 [1] |
Gay Hill is an unincorporated area and a ghost town in Washington County, Texas, United States. [1]
Gay Hill is located on Farm to Market Road 390, twelve miles north-west of Brenham in Washington County. [2]
The settlement was first known as the Chriesman Settlement, in honor of Horatio Chriesman (1797–1878). In 1839, the second oldest Presbyterian church in Texas was established here by Reverend Hugh Wilson (1794–1868). A year later, in 1840, the Republic of Texas established a post office and renamed it 'Gay Hill' in honor of Thomas Gay and William Carroll Jackson Hill, who owned the general store. A decade later, in 1854, a Mason lodge was formed here. Later, a Baptist church was also established. [2]
The Glenblythe Plantation, owned by Scottish immigrant and nurseryman Thomas Affleck (1812-1868), was located in Gay Hill. [2] He discovered the Old Gay Hill Red China rose, which is native to Gay Hill. [3]
From 1853 to 1888, Reverend James Weston Miller (1815–1888) served as the Director of the Live Oak Female Seminary, a defunct women's college. [2]
In 1881, the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway added a stop two miles away from Gay Hill. As a result, the town was moved, and the former location became known as Old Gay Hill. The railway made the cotton industry more efficient, and it became an important transportation hub for the South. However, shortly after World War II, the cotton industry declined and businesses started closing down. By 1971, most residents had moved to nearby Brenham. [2]
The town is now a ghost town. There are no stores or schools in town. The main industry is ranching. [2] The old Gay Hill School building has been relocated to Old Baylor Park in Independence, Texas. [4] The Red House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington County, Texas.
By 1860, the population was 120. By 1936, the population had grown to 250. By 1958 however, the population had dwindled down to 200. In 1993 and again in 2000, the population was 145. [2]
Washington County is a county in Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 35,805. Its county seat is Brenham, which is located along U.S. Highway 290, 72 miles northwest of Houston. The county was created in 1835 as a municipality of Mexico and organized as a county in 1837. It is named for George Washington, the first president of the United States.
Marion County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat is Marion and its most populous city is Hillsboro. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 11,823. The county was named in honor of Francis Marion, a brigadier general of the American Revolutionary War, known as the "Swamp Fox".
Tom Bean is a city in Grayson County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,045 at the 2010 census, up from 941 at the 2000 census.
Brenham is a city in east-central Texas in Washington County, United States, with a population of 17,369 according to the 2020 U.S. census. It is the county seat of Washington County.
Washington-on-the-Brazos is an unincorporated community along the Brazos River in Washington County, Texas, United States. The town is best known for being the site of the Convention of 1836 and the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence.
Chappell Hill is a small rural unincorporated community in the eastern portion of Washington County, Texas, United States. It is located inside Stephen F. Austin's original colony, and the land is some of the oldest Anglo-settled in the state. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had a population of 600 in 2000. It is located within the Greater Houston metropolitan area.
Area code 979 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the U.S. state of Texas. The numbering plan area comprises the region generally following the Brazos River found between the Austin and Houston metro areas and its surrounding communities, stretching from just south of Waco to the Gulf Coast. It was created on February 13, 2000, in a split from area code 409.
Prairie Hill is an unincorporated community in Washington County, Texas, United States. Founded in 1870, the community flourished from the 1880s through to the 1960s and is still in existence today.
Shelby is an unincorporated community in Austin County, Texas, United States. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had a population of 175 in 2000. It is located within the Texas German belt region, a region stretching from Sealy in the East to Fredericksburg in the west settled by German emigrants. To this day Austin county has a large German Texan population and many people still speak German.
Latium, is an unincorporated community in Washington County, Texas, United States. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had a population of 30 in 2000. It is located within the Greater Houston metropolitan area.
Maxwell is an unincorporated community in Caldwell County, Texas, United States. According to the Handbook of Texas, it had a population of 500 in 2000. It is located within the Greater Austin metropolitan area.
Kenney is an unincorporated community in northern Austin County, Texas, United States. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had a population of 200 in 2000. It is located within the Greater Houston metropolitan area.
Brandon is an unincorporated community located in Hill County in Central Texas, United States. It is located at the intersection of State Highway 22 and FM 1243, approximately ten miles east of Hillsboro.
Phillipsburg is an unincorporated community in southern Washington County, in the U.S. state of Texas. The very small rural community is located along State Highway 36 (SH 36) south of Brenham. Aside from the names of two local roads, the name Phillipsburg is no longer marked on modern maps. The cemetery and Lutheran church, which is still open for worship, are actually slightly to the south in neighboring Austin County.
Thomas Affleck was a Scottish-American nurseryman, almanac editor, and agrarian writer and Southern plantation owner. He published the Southern Rural Almanac and Plantation and Garden Calendar from 1851 to 1861.
The Glenblythe Plantation is a former plantation in Gay Hill, Washington County, Texas. Before the American Civil War, it was cultivated with slave labor. The plantation home is no longer standing, however in 1967, a historical marker was installed where it used to stand, as a reminder of a bygone era.
Horatio Chriesman was an American surveyor, politician in Mexican Texas and participant in the Texas Revolution.
William Penn is an unincorporated community in Washington County, Texas, United States. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had a population of 100 in 2000. It is located within the Greater Houston metropolitan area.
Grassyville is a ghost town located in Bastrop County, Texas, United States. The community was founded in the northeastern corner of the county, near the intersection of Farm to Market Road 2104 and Farm to Market Road 2239, six miles south of Paige, 14 miles east of Bastrop, and 50 miles east of Austin.
Longpoint is an unincorporated community in Washington County, Texas, United States. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had a population of 80 in 2000. It is located within the Greater Houston metropolitan area.
Municipalities and communities of Washington County, Texas, United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |