Bonus 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 northern Wharton County,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, United States located about north of Wharton near the intersection of Farm to Market Road 102 and Farm to Market Road 2614.

History

Bonus began in the mid-1890s. The construction of the Cane Belt Railroad ended at the a Wharton County plantation site owned by W. L. Dunovant and William Thomas Eldridge, who were among the people who chartered the railroad. In 1896 the community applied for a post office and requested the name "Alamo." That name was not approved. The '' Handbook of Texas'' states that Bonus became the name "reportedly" since the owners of the railroad were promised a bonus if they built into the area. The Bonus post office opened in 1896. Dunovant and Eldridge brought

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

families to grow

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

, corn,

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

, and

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

. In its early history Bonus had relatively few

White American White Americans are Americans who identify as and are perceived to be white people. This group constitutes the majority of the people in the United States. As of the 2020 Census, 61.6%, or 204,277,273 people, were white alone. This represented ...

residents. The Dunovant-Eldridge partnership included land in various communities, including Bonus. In the early 1900s a prison camp opened in Bonus, and prisoners worked the land and performed agricultural jobs while under contract. In 1901 the partnership ended and Eldridge took the Bonus plantation while Dunovant took another plantation. In 1902 Eldridge shot Dunovant to death. In 1936 Bonus had fifty residents and two residents. Throughout its history the community received a low volume of mail. The post office was discontinued three times before the final closing in 1940; since then residents received mail in

Eagle Lake Eagle Lake may refer to: Cities, towns, townships etc. Canada * Eagle Lake, Haliburton County, Ontario * Eagle Lake, Parry Sound District, Ontario * Eagle Lake 27, Ontario (Indian reserve) * Eagle Lake, Kenora District, Ontario United States * ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

. In 1940 the Eldridge to Bonus rail link ended. The rail bed became a county road. In the 1980s the community had 42 residents and no reported businesses. In 1992 the Cane Belt service ended. This led to the removal of the gravel bed, ties, and tracks. In 2000 Bonus had 42 residents.

Education

East Bernard Independent School District (EBISD) serves Bonus. In 1905 a segregated school for

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

s had one teacher and 57 students. The Bonus School merged with the Nedra School, a small segregated school for Blacks east of Bonus, to form the Bonus-Nedra School. In 1926 the school district had four schools with a combined total of four teachers, 75

students, and 110 Black students. In 1958 the district combined with the Hungerford Independent School District. In 1973 EBISD took the land.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Wharton County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas