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Long Point is an
unincorporated area 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
Fort Bend County Fort Bend County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The county was founded in 1837 and organized the next year. It is named for a blockhouse at a bend of the Brazos River. The community developed around the fort in early days. The ...
,
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. It is located southeast of
Richmond, Texas Richmond is a city in and the county seat of Fort Bend County, Texas, Fort Bend County, Texas, United States. The city is located within the metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city population was 11,627. It is home to the founder ...
at the intersection of Farm to Market Road 1994 (FM 1994) and FM 361. There is no road sign identifying the community, though the nearby roads carry its name.
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 ...
and
sulphur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...
were extracted near the community in the 1930s. Electric transmission towers pass through the site and a county landfill is located to the northeast.


History

According to local lore, Long Point was named for a point of timber that jutted into the prairie near the site. The Texas State Handbook says that a community was founded here in 1850 on land formerly owned by Stephen F. Austin. The name was written initially as Longpoint, but was changed to Long Point by the first postmaster, Wayne Bishop on February 19, 1851. Noted botanist
Gideon Lincecum Gideon Lincecum (22 April 1793 – 28 November 1874) was an American pioneer, historian, physician, philosopher, and naturalist. Lincecum is known for his exploration and settlement of what are now the U.S. states of Alabama, Mississippi and Texa ...
lived on a nearby plantation he named Mount Olympus from 1848 to 1874. He and his son Lysander practiced medicine in the community. In December 1860 Gideon and Sam Lauderdale, both veterans of the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
, supported the local secession movement by leading a march of the Long Point Minutemen from Mount Vernon (Washington County) to
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, ...
The Civil War caused economic hardships in this part of Texas, but no battles between Union and Confederate forces occurred. The area recovered quickly. By the 1880s, Long Point had a school, a church, a broom factory, a commercial section, and industries processing the area's cotton, corn, and lumber. The population reached an estimated 500 in 1880. By 1936, sulphur was mined nearby and the settlement had its own school. The community was served by the
Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway was a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway. From its starting point in Galveston, Texas, the railroad eventually extended northwestwards across the state to Sweetwater and northwards via ...
and a paved road. That year, the Long Point oilfield was discovered east of the settlement and continued to operate as late as 1987. However, the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway constructed a line that ran through Gay Hill, Texas and started the economic decline of Long Point. In 1890, the population of Long Point was only 146, and remained at that level through 1960. It dropped to about 80 people in 1970 and remained at that level through the 2000 census. The town post office closed in 1907.


Geography

Though Long Point is not marked on road signs, it is preserved in the naming convention of the roads that intersect there. FM 361, which goes northwest from Long Point toward Fairchilds, is also named Fairchilds-Long Point Road. FM 1994, which runs from northeast to southwest, is also called Whaley-Long Point Road to the northeast and Guy-Long Point Road as it runs southwest toward Guy. A county landfill forms a prominent hill to the northeast of the intersection of the two farm to market roads. Electric transmission towers pass overhead within a few feet of the road intersection. The towers originate at the W. A. Parish power plant in Thompsons and go to the southwest. An abandoned railway right-of-way parallels the transmission towers. FM 1994 is nearly parallel to the transmission towers and passes under them exactly at the intersection with FM 361. File:Long Point TX View SE.JPG, View is southeast on FM 361 toward Long Point. File:Long Point TX Landfill.JPG, A county landfill is a short distance from Long Point. File:Long Point TX Cows.JPG, Cattle graze on Davis Estate Road looking southeast. File:Long Point TX View SW.JPG, Power lines pass over the intersection of FMs 1994 and 361.


Education

Long Point is located in the
Needville Independent School District Needville Independent School District is a public school district based in unincorporated area, unincorporated Fort Bend County, Texas, Fort Bend County, Texas (United States, USA) (with a Needville, Texas, Needville postal address). The distri ...
.
Needville High School Needville High School is a public high school located in unincorporated area, unincorporated Fort Bend County, Texas, Fort Bend County, Texas (with a Needville, Texas, Needville postal address) and a part of the Needville Independent School Distri ...
serves the community.


See also

*
Farm-to-Market Road In the United States, a farm-to-market road or ranch-to-market road (sometimes farm road or ranch road for short) is a state highway or county road that connects rural or agricultural areas to market towns. These are better quality roads, usually ...
*
Needville, Texas Needville is a city in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States. It is within the metropolitan area. The population was 3,089 at the 2020 census. History August Schendel founded the town of Schendelville in 1891 that contained his house, a store a ...


Notes


References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Texas Unincorporated communities in Fort Bend County, Texas