Sacul is an
unincorporated community in
Nacogdoches County
Nacogdoches County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 64,653. Its county seat is Nacogdoches.
The Nacogdoches, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Nacogdoches County.
N ...
,
Texas,
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 an estimated population of 170 in both 1990 and 2000.
Geography
Sacul is located at in northwestern Nacogdoches County. It is situated at the junction of
State Highway 204 and
FM 1648, approximately northwest of
Nacogdoches and southeast of
Jacksonville.
History
The area was initially part of a dispersed settlement called Tolivar. The community of Tolivar had a post office that was located midway between the present-day towns of
Cushing and Sacul. It was located in the home of B.W. Pye, who served as postmaster.
The
Texas and New Orleans Railroad, which provided passenger services and freight hauling between
Dallas and
Beaumont, constructed a rail stop a few miles from Tolivar shortly after 1900.
It was at that location that a town site was laid out on land owned by the Lucas family and W.T. Williamson. The founders originally wanted to call the new community Lucas after one of the area's principal land owners, but postal officials denied the application because there was already another town in the state with that name –
Lucas
Lucas or LUCAS may refer to:
People
* Lucas (surname)
* Lucas (given name)
Arts and entertainment
* Luca Family Singers, also known as "lucas ligner en torsk"
* ''Lucas'' (album) (2007), an album by Skeletons and the Kings of All Cities
* ''L ...
in
Collin County
Collin County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Dallas- Fort Worth- Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and a small portion of the city of Dallas is in the county. At the 2020 United States census, the county's popula ...
. The application was resubmitted with the name Sacul, a backwards spelling of Lucas, and was approved. Similarly, the nearby town of
Reklaw was also named with a spelling reversal.
Sacul's post office was established in 1903.
That same year, a Town Center – also called the "Blue Building" or "Boardwalk" by locals – was built.
It housed a bank, mercantile store, and a pharmacy. In 1904, a school opened in the community. Sacul experienced rapid growth in the coming years. By 1914, around 400 people lived in the community with a number of business establishments including six general stores, three grocers, two cotton gins, a blacksmith, hardware store, and a bank. There were also two churches in Sacul, one Baptist and the other Methodist. The community continued to prosper throughout the 1920s, but the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
precipitated a decline and many businesses were closed. By the mid-1930s, the population had fallen to 250 and the number of businesses dwindled to ten.
Increased mobility after
World War II accelerated the community's steep decline. By the mid-1960s, Sacul had 170 residents and four businesses. During the remainder of the twentieth century, the population continued to hover around 170.
Events
Sacul hosted the first of its annual Folk Festivals in June 1986.
On the fourth Saturday of each month, a
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music
The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ...
festival known as the "Sacul Opry" attracts hundreds of fans to the community.
Education
Public education in the community of Sacul is provided by the
Cushing Independent School District. All of the district's campuses are located in the city of Cushing.
See also
*
List of geographic names derived from anagrams and ananyms
These are geographic anagrams and anadromes. Anagrams are rearrangements of the letters of another name or word. Anadromes (also called reversals or ananyms) are other names or words spelled backwards. Technically, a reversal is also an anagram, b ...
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Unincorporated communities in Texas
Unincorporated communities in Nacogdoches County, Texas