Cat Spring 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 southern

Austin County Austin County is a rural, agricultural dominated county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,167. Its seat is Bellville. The county and region was settled primarily by German emigrants in the 1800s. Austin ...

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. 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 ...

, it had a population of 76 in 2000. Cat Spring was one of the first German/American settlements in Texas, and the location of Texas' first agricultural society.

History

Cat Spring was founded by immigrants from

Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to: Places *Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica *Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany **Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony *Olde ...

and

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

that was led by Ludwig Anton Siegmund von Roeder and

Robert J. Kleberg Robert Justus Kleberg (September 10, 1803October 30, 1888), christened Johan Christian Justus Robert Kleberg, was a German Texan from Herstelle, Westphalia, then part of the Kingdom of Prussia. He was a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto and t ...

in 1834, in which many of them were attracted to the area and the state by letters sent from Friedrich Ernst after he bought a plot of land in the Mill Creek Valley in 1831 and named for a nearby

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

near the

San Bernard River The San Bernard River is a river in Texas. Course San Bernard River flows from a spring near New Ulm, TexasTexas Highways http://texashighways.com/travel/item/716-now-open-san-bernard-river to its mouth on the Gulf of Mexico, some to the sou ...

where a puma was killed by one of the German immigrants. The first

Protestant church Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

was organized in the community sometime between 1840-and 1844 by Louis C. Ervendberg. The community was the location of Texas' first agricultural society (Cat Spring Agricultural Society) in 1856. A post office was established at Cat Spring in 1878. It was the site of a station on the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad that linked it to New Ulm to the west and Sealy to the east, established in the 1890s. Its population was reported as 350 in 1836 and had 15 businesses. The community began to decline after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, in which its population decreased to 200 with 9 businesses in 1950, had 76 residents and only two businesses in 1990, and grew to 13 businesses in 2000 with the same population.Cat Spring, Texas

Handbook of Texas Online The ''Handbook of Texas'' is a comprehensive encyclopedia An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular ...

, 2008-01-17. Accessed 2008-08-11. Today, the community has 75 residents and has a store at the crossroads a mile north of the community, the post office, and a "tractor graveyard". Another building located just west of the crossroads is one of the few remaining buildings in the community and is used as a

dance hall Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for Dance, dancing. From the earliest years of the twentieth century until the early 1960s, the dance hall was the popular forerunner of the discothèque or nightclub. The majority of towns and citi ...

. It is currently used for seasonal antique shows. Although Cat Spring is unincorporated, it has a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

, with the ZIP code of 78933.

Geography

Cat Spring lies along FM 949 and 2187 on the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad and the west bank of the

in western Austin County, south of the city of Bellville, the

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 ...

. It is also located south of

Brenham 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 County is known as the "Birthplace of Texas, ...

, west of Sealy, northeast of

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

and northeast of La Grange.

Radio stations

* KLOT-LP, part of 107.7 FM.

Education

Cat Spring is served by the

Sealy Independent School District Sealy Independent School District is a public school district based in Sealy, Texas (USA). In addition to Sealy, the district serves the towns of San Felipe and Brazos Country serving students in southern Austin County. Sealy Independent Sch ...

Notable person

* Rudolph Kleberg,

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

of Texas.

Gallery

File:Cat Spring TX Lutheran Church.jpg, St. John Lutheran Church is at 480 Ross Street. File:Cat Spring TX VFD.jpg, Cat Spring Volunteer Fire Department on FM 949. File:Cat Spring TX Post Office.jpg, US Post Office is on Front Street, north of the railroad.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Austin County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas German-American culture in Texas