Star is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Mills County in

Central Texas Central Texas is a region in the U.S. state of Texas roughly bordered on the west by San Saba, to the southeast by Bryan- College Station, the south by San Marcos and to the north by Hillsboro. Central Texas overlaps with and includes part ...

, United States. According to the

Handbook of Texas The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...

, the community had an estimated population of 85 in 2000.

Geography

Star is located at the junction of U.S. Highway 84 and FM 1047 and North Simms Creek in east-central Mills County, east of Goldthwaite and west of Evant. It is located near the Hamilton County line.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. The Köppen Climate System describes the weather as

humid subtropical A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between la ...

, and uses the abbreviation ''Cfa''.

History

The community was laid out by Alec Street in the mid-1880s and was named for nearby Star Mountain. Street ran a store and a gin in the community. A post office was established in 1886 with Calvin Skinner as its first postmaster. In 1890, the first public road opened from Star to Goldthwaite. By 1895, the community had a saloon, several

grocery A grocery store (American English, AE), grocery shop or grocer's shop (British English, BE) or simply grocery is a retail store that primarily retails a general range of food Product (business), products, which may be Fresh food, fresh or Food p ...

stores, and a

drug store A pharmacy (also called drugstore in American English or community pharmacy or chemist in Commonwealth English) is a premises which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmacist oversees the fulfillment of ...

. A

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

struck Star on May 5, 1904. Two people were killed and five homes were completely destroyed. The community recovered and a permanent church was built in 1905. In 1910, a bank opened. A four-room, two-story stone school building was completed in 1913. A hailstorm damaged homes, businesses, and the school on April 22, 1924. Star's bank was robbed in 1928 and the robber got away with about $3,000 and several valuables. Four years later, during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, the bank was sold to the Trent State Bank in Goldthwaite. By 1939, Star had eight businesses operating in the community. That same year, three area schools – McGirk, Center City, and Hurst Ranch – consolidated with Star. In 1940, the W.P.A. erected a new school designed by Wyatt C. Hedrick for the Star Independent School District; it is the only school built in Mills County by the W.P.A. The population stood at around 170 in the mid-1940s. The rising usage of the automobile caused a decline in the number of local businesses. By 1980, the community had an estimated population of 85. That figure remained steady through 2000. It went up to 110 in 2010. Although Star is unincorporated, it does have a post office with the zip code 76880.

Education

The community of Star is served by the

Star Independent School District Star Independent School District was a public school district based in the community of Star, Texas, USA. Located in Mills County, the district extended into portions of Hamilton and Lampasas counties. It was about west of Waco. Star ISD had ...

and is home to the

Star School The Star Schools Program is a United States government program created to honor schools. Established as part of the United States Department of Education in 1988, the purpose of this program is to: * Encourage improved instruction in mathematics, ...

Tigers.

Notable person

James Jeter James Jeter (September 15, 1921 – March 4, 2007), also known and credited as James Jeeter, was an American film, stage, and television actor. He was known for playing the recurring role of blacksmith Hans Dorfler in the American historical dr ...

, actor, was born in Star.

References

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