Cayuga 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 northwestern
Anderson County,
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 ...
, the community had a population of 200 in 2000. It is located within the
Palestine, Texas
Palestine ( ) is a city in and the seat of Anderson County in the U.S. state of Texas. It was named for Palestine, Illinois, by preacher Daniel Parker, who had migrated from that town.
The city had a 2020 U.S. census population of 18,544, mak ...
micropolitan area.
History
Cayuga was so named in 1894 by the first postmaster, William Alonzo Davenport, after his native
Cayuga, New York
Cayuga is a village in Cayuga County, New York, United States. The population was 549 at the 2010 census. The village derives its name from the indigenous Cayuga people and the lake named after them.
The village of Cayuga is in the western part ...
. The community began to grow in the 1880s, gathering people and resources from the earlier communities: Gilmore's Community,
Wild Cat Bluff and
Bethel
Bethel ( he, בֵּית אֵל, translit=Bēṯ 'Ēl, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; el, Βαιθήλ; la, Bethel) was an ancient Israelite sanct ...
, all settled in the 1840s.
In 1854, the Judson Baptist Church began at an arbor near Charles Gilmore's home. There they built the first Judson church building and cemetery (now called Old Judson Cemetery or just "lost cemetery"). Judson Church moved to its second location near Cayuga in the 1880s (location of Judson Cemetery), and its current location in Cayuga on land donated by H. S. Clay in 1911. The Joppa Holiness Church served Cayuga from 1899 to 1907, and the Freeman Baptist Church held regular services from 1910 to 1934.
Cayuga remained a small farming community until 1934 when the Tidewater Oil Company discovered oil in a new field named J.N. Edens No. 1 and caused Cayuga to become an oil
boomtown
A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although ...
overnight. By 1936, it had over 1,000 residents and 15 businesses. It began to go away 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 ...
, and the community's population plunged to 200 by 1952. It plunged again to 56 residents by 1974, and only two businesses were located in the community. The community was revived when the
Richland-Chambers Creek Reservoir was discovered in nearby
Freestone and
Navarro counties and when four state prisons were established in the area. Large
lignite
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...
reserves were discovered in the area not long after. Approximately 700 people lived in Cayuga in 1988 and there were several businesses, which included offices of two major
petroleum
Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...
companies in the area. The population plunged to a paltry 56 in 1990 and grew to 200 in 2000.
Cayuga has a post office with the ZIP code 75832.
ZIP Code lookup
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Geography
Cayuga sits along the junction of U.S. Highway 287 and Farm to Market Road 59, east of the Trinity River in northwestern Anderson County. Nearby cities include Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
, located southwest; Corsicana
Corsicana is a city in Navarro County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 45, 56 miles northeast of Waco, Texas. The population was 23,770 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Navarro County, and an important Agri-business ...
, located west; and Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, located north.
Education
The first school in the area started at the home of Charles Gilmore, and was taught by George W. Tuggle, who also served as chief justice of Anderson County. He and his wife, Elizabeth Tuggle, gave a half-acre of their land near Tuggle Springs in the Bethel area for the first schoolhouse on May 7, 1860. It remained until it was moved to the Cayuga-Blackfoot
The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'' or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Bla ...
road in the 1880s. It was moved to an unknown location just off Farm to Market Road 59 in 1922, following an argument. In 1974, the school closed, and students attended school in Bethel
Bethel ( he, בֵּית אֵל, translit=Bēṯ 'Ēl, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; el, Βαιθήλ; la, Bethel) was an ancient Israelite sanct ...
. Today, the community is served by the Cayuga Independent School District
Cayuga Independent School District is a public school district based in Cayuga, Texas (USA) in unincorporated Anderson County, Texas (USA).
In 2009, the school district was rated " recognized" by the Texas Education Agency.
Schools
Located i ...
.
Notable person
* Shelby Metcalf
Shelby Metcalf (December 23, 1930 – February 8, 2007) was the head coach of the Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball team for 27 seasons, from 1963 to 1990. He won more games than any other coach in the former Southwest Conference. Achieving success ...
, who spent a year as the head basketball coach at Cayuga High School.
References
{{authority control
Unincorporated communities in Anderson County, Texas
Unincorporated communities in Texas