Nogalus Prairie 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 Trinity 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. In 2000, the estimated population was 109 residents. It is located within the Huntsville, Texas micropolitan area.

Historical development

The area was first settled by farmers migrating from

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

and Georgia, under which the area was called ''Prairie View''. A post office opened there under the name ''Nogallis Prairie'' in 1858. From local traditional stories, it is believed that two horse thieves were hanged there under a large tree and that the community was then called "Nogallows" by some. In the early 1860s, it was named Nogallis, then the spelling of the post office was changed eventually to its present form. The post office closed in 1868 but would re-open again in 1894 under the name ''Nogalus''. Between 1900 and 1918, the community had a Methodist church, several stores, a

cotton gin A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); a ...

, a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

, a

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

, and a Woodmen of the World lodge. It declined after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The post office witnessed its final closure in 1920. From the mid-1930s, only a few families would remain there and were served by a church and a store. The remaining 20 residents as of the 1960s were farmers and ranchers, with some involved in the

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

industry. The population went up to 41 in 1990, then to 109 in 2000.Handbook of Texas Online - NOGALUS PRAIRIE, TX
/ref> The walnut and

pecan The pecan (''Carya illinoinensis'') is a species of hickory native to the southern United States and northern Mexico in the region of the Mississippi River. The tree is cultivated for its seed in the southern United States, primarily in Georgia, ...

trees that thrived there when Texas was still a province of Mexico and Spanish families lived in the area gave the community its original name, Nogales Prairie. It was sometimes known as Logallis Prairie in the late 1800s.

Geography

Nogalus Prairie is located on Farm to Market Road 357, just west of Centralia, and 13 miles northeast of Groveton in northeastern Trinity County.

Education

Nogalus Prairie is served by the Apple Springs Independent School District.

Notable person

John Wesley Hardin John Wesley Hardin (May 26, 1853 – August 19, 1895) was an American Old West outlaw, gunfighter, and controversial folk icon. Hardin often got into trouble with the law from an early age. He killed his first man at the age of 15, claiming h ...

committed murders in this county.Bob Bowman article
/ref>

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Trinity County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas