Ben Arnold 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 ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

Milam County Milam County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 24,754. The county seat is Cameron. The county was created in 1834 as a municipality in Mexico and organized as a county in 1837. Milam Coun ...

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 ...

, United States. Ben Arnold (Benarnold) is on U.S. Highway 77, seven miles north of Cameron in northern Milam County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 117.

History

The community began as a stop on the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway in 1890 and was named for Bennie Arnold, B. I. Arnold's three-year-old daughter, who was mascot on the first train to pull into the new station. A local post office was opened in 1892, and by 1896 the community had three churches, a district school, and 125 residents. In 1903, the school had two teachers and eighty students. By the 1920s, the population of Ben Arnold rose to 250; it remained fairly stable until the late 1960s, when it declined to 148. The Ben Arnold school system was consolidated with the Cameron Independent School District by the early 1970s. In 1977, the Southern Pacific abandoned the section of track connecting Ben Arnold with Cameron to the south and Rosebud to the north. The community had 148 residents and several businesses in 1990. The population remained the same in 2000.

Notable people

Dede Westbrook Decrick De'Shawn "Dede" Westbrook (; born November 21, 1993) is an American football wide receiver and return specialist who is a free agent. He played college football at Oklahoma. He was drafted 110th overall in the 2017 NFL Draft by the Jacks ...

, footballer

References

Census-designated places in Milam County, Texas Census-designated places in Texas Unincorporated communities in Milam County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas {{MilamCountyTX-geo-stub