Joppa 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 ...

located in

Burnet County Burnet County ( ) is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 49,130. Its county seat is Burnet. The county was founded in 1852 and later organized in 1854. It is named ...

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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. 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 34 in 2000.

History

The community got its start when in 1881, J. S. and Jane Danford of Delaware County, Iowa, donated two acres of land on the north bank of the river for a church. The original settlement name was Pool Branch for a nearby pool of water carved out by a waterfall on the North Fork of the San Gabriel River. By the 1880s, a cotton gin and mill were established, and a store and blacksmith shop soon followed, the only other businesses in the settlement. When a post office was established in 1891, residents submitted the biblical name “Joppa” and the postal service approved it. On May 19, 1904, the first telephone was installed in Joppa, and in 1907, an iron bridge was built across the river. The bridge still stands today (2011), though a new concrete bridge has replaced it for automobile traffic. In 1939, the Pedernales Electric Cooperative strung the first transmission line to bring electricity to the area. As late as the 1930s, the community held annual picnics as well as Friday and Saturday night socials and Sunday night singing. All that remains of the pioneer settlement is the church and community center. Its population was 34 in 2000.

Geography

Joppa is located on the North Fork of the San Gabriel River on Farm to Market Road 210, seven miles northeast of

Bertram Bertram may refer to: Places * Bertram, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth, Australia *Bertram, Iowa, United States, a city * Bertram, Texas, United States, a city * Bertram Building, a historic building in Austin, Texas * Bertram Glacier, Palmer ...

Education

A school was built on top of the Danford's land grant. The building was constructed at once. The original school building was converted to a community center after the one-room school consolidated, in 1942, with the Bertram Independent School District and is still in use today. Until 1913, the schoolhouse hosted church services. Today, the community is served by the

Burnet Consolidated Independent School District Burnet Consolidated Independent School District is a public school district based in Burnet, Texas, United States. Located in Burnet County, small portions of the district extend into Llano and Williamson counties. In 2009, the school distric ...

References

{{authority control 1881 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1881 Unincorporated communities in Burnet County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas