Amphion is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Atascosa County, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. According to the

Handbook of Texas The ''Handbook of Texas'' is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Texas geography, history, and historical persons published by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). History The original ''Handbook'' was the brainchild of TSHA President Wal ...

, the community had a population of 26 in 2000. It is located within the

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

metropolitan area.

History

Amphion was settled in the late 1880s and had a post office from 1881 to 1916. It served as the first

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Atascosa County. Sometime before the start of the 20th century, a

Masonic lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...

was established in the community. The community had a general store and two

cotton gin A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); a ...

s operating sometime before 1887. In 1896, the population was reported as 100 and gained a hotel and a church. Amphion's decline began in 1909 when the Artesian Belt Railroad (from Macdona to Simmons City) bypassed it in favor of Jourdanton. The general store was the only business in the community in 1914 and also had a population of 100 during that year. In the 1940s, Amphion still had a cemetery and a few dwellings, and by 1956 it was described as a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

. In the late 1960s, only the cemetery and a few buildings remained, and the community was listed on county maps. In 2000, the population was twenty-six."Amphion, Texas" ''Handbook of Texas Online''
/ref> A replica of the county's first courthouse in Amphion is located across the street from the current one in Jourdanton. It was said to have been built near the site of a planned county seat named Navatasco in 1857. The origin of the community's name is unknown but was thought to be named after a figure in

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

. It sits within a ranch by

José Antonio Navarro José Antonio Navarro (February 27, 1795 – January 13, 1871) was a Texas statesman, revolutionary, rancher, and merchant. The son of Ángel Navarro and Josefa María Ruiz y Peña, he was born into a distinguished noble family at Sa ...

, who signed the

Texas Declaration of Independence The Texas Declaration of Independence was the formal declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico in the Texas Revolution. It was adopted at the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 2, 1836, and was formal ...

. The community also had a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

shop and

tannery Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...

in operation. Two men named Roy Jenkins and Frank Lozano donated the land for a local cemetery around 1870. The earliest gravesite was of a woman named Laura Underwood, but there is also a grave that was placed in 1800 for a boy who was said to be killed by Native Americans. It also contains the graves of two

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

soldiers. The cemetery is not listed on county maps, but it is surrounded by four other cemeteries. The

soil series Soil series as established by the National Cooperative Soil Survey of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service are a level of classification in the USDA Soil Taxonomy classification system hierar ...

known as "Amphion clay

loam Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–sil ...

", classed as a fine, mixed, superactive, hyperthermic Pachic Paleustoll, is named after the town.Amphion series

Geography

Amphion is located just east of Farm to Market Road 2146, northwest of

Pleasanton Pleasanton may refer to: Places * Pleasanton, California * Pleasanton, Iowa * Pleasanton, Kansas * Pleasanton, Nebraska * Pleasanton, New Mexico * Pleasanton, Ohio * Pleasanton, Texas * Pleasanton Township, Michigan Other * Pleasanton High School ...

and southwest of

Poteet Poteet is a city in Atascosa County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,260 as of the 2010 census. It is part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was named for its first postmaster, Francis Marion Poteet. It is best know ...

in west-central Atascosa County.

Education

Amphion had a summer normal school established sometime before 1900, possibly in 1896. By 1904, the local

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

had 72 students and two teachers. The number of students enrolled in it declined to 54 in 1914 and was still in operation in the 1940s. Today, the community is served by the

Jourdanton Independent School District Jourdanton Independent School District is a public school district based in Jourdanton, Texas (USA). In 2009, the school district was rated "academically acceptable" by the Texas Education Agency. Schools In the 2012–2013 school year, the ...

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Atascosa County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas Greater San Antonio