Peach Creek is a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

Wharton County Wharton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 41,570. Its county seat is Wharton. The county was named for brothers William Harris Wharton and John Austin Wharton. Wharton County c ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

. The former settlement was located along Peach Creek in the land grants belonging to

Old Three Hundred The "Old Three Hundred" were 297 grantees who purchased 307 parcels of land from Stephen Fuller Austin in Mexican Texas. Each grantee was head of a household, or, in some cases, a partnership of married men. Austin was an American approved in 18 ...

settlers William Kincheloe and Alexander Jackson, Sr. During the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...

a post office was located at Peach Creek. Though it was hoped the community might become the county seat, that never happened and postal service stopped in 1847.

Geography

Peach Creek rises west of

Farm to Market Road 102 Farm to Market Road 102 (FM 102) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Texas. The highway begins at State Highway 60 (SH 60) in Wharton in Wharton County. It heads northwest through Eagle Lake in Colorado County and ends at Interst ...

near

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. The stream flows generally southeast for a distance of until it empties into 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 ...

southeast of

Wharton Wharton may refer to: Academic institutions * Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania * Wharton County Junior College * Paul R. Wharton High School * Wharton Center for Performing Arts, at Michigan State University Places * Wharton, Ch ...

. A published sketch map from Wharton County deed records placed the settlement along Peach Creek mostly within Kincheloe's land grant and also a short distance into Jackson's land grant to the north. This location is approximately between

U.S. Route 59 U.S. Route 59 (US 59) is a north–south United States highway (though it was signed east–west in parts of Texas). A latecomer to the U.S. numbered route system, US 59 is now a border-to-border route, part of the NAFTA Corridor Highway Sy ...

on the west and County Road 135 (Junior College Blvd.) on the east.

History

William and Mary Betts Kincheloe moved to Texas in 1821. Two years later, the Mexican census recorded William as being 44 years old and living with his wife and eight children. A blacksmith by trade, Kincheloe received a land grant of a league of land on July 8, 1824. He later donated the land on which the Wharton County courthouse stands, and died in 1835. The east-west trail between

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...

and Texana and the north-south trail between Matagorda and San Felipe passed through the area. There were two crossings of Peach Creek; the upper crossing was located in Alexander Jackson's league, while the lower crossing was situated in Kincheloe's league. Later, the upper crossing became known as Kincheloe's Crossing. The owner of the adjacent league to the south, Isham B. Phillips bought 177 acres for a house in Kincheloe's league next to the lower crossing. When

was founded, a postal station was set up with Phillips as postmaster. In 1839, a second postal station was added at Kincheloe's crossing with Alexander Jackson, Jr. as postmaster. The upper crossing was then in

Colorado County Colorado County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 20,557. Its county seat is Columbus. It is named for the Colorado River of Texas. The county was founded in 1836 and organized the next y ...

and the lower crossing in

Matagorda County Matagorda County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,255. Its county seat is Bay City, not to be confused with the larger Baytown in Harris and Chambers Counties. Matagorda County is na ...

. When Wharton County was established in 1846, Kincheloe's family offered a location on Peach Creek as the county seat, but this was declined. On July 1, 1847, Peach Creek lost its post office and thereafter received its mail from the new county seat at Wharton.

References

{{Wharton County, Texas Ghost towns in South Texas