Sylvester 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 ...

Fisher County Fisher County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 3,672. The county seat is Roby. The county was created in 1876 and later organized in 1886. It is named for Samuel Rhoads Fisher, a signer ...

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. 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 79 in 2000.

Geography

Sylvester is located at (32.7209445, -100.2542708). It is situated at the junction of Farm Roads 57 and

1085 Year 1085 ( MLXXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * May 25 – King Alfonso VI (the Brave) recaptures Toledo from the Moors, and occu ...

in east central Fisher County, approximately 10 miles southeast of Roby and 43 miles northwest of Abilene.

History

The Compere brothers of Abilene are credited with the founding of the community in 1903. They bought part of the AJ Ranch in anticipation of the arrival of the Kansas, Mexico and Orient Railway and named it in honor of W.W. Sylvester, the railroad's promotion manager. The rails reached Sylvester in 1905 and businesses followed. By 1909, the community had an estimated population of 600. Sylvester incorporated in 1927 and the 1930 census reported 382 residents. That figure rose to 405 in 1940. Competition from nearby towns caused Sylvester to decline. It had reverted to unincorporated status by 1950 and by the 1980s, fewer than 100 people remained in the community, but supported a grocery store, Sylvester Mercantile, owned and operated by C. L. "Chubb" Hardwick, a cotton gin owned operated by the Jeffery family of McCaulley and a gas station owned and operated by Truman Mauldin, as well as a seasonal granary. Although Sylvester is unincorporated, it continues to have a post office in operation, with the zip code of 79560. During the 1960s and 1970s, the U.S. Post Office was managed by Postmaster Mrs. Buford (Ruth Brown), who retired in the late 1970s. Mrs. Bobbie Hardwick was postmaster until her retirement in 1999. To date, the only non-agricultural business in the community is the Sylvester McCaulley Water Supply managed by Randy Kelly.

Education

Sylvester had an elementary school and high school in one building. The first senior class graduated in 1914. The school closed in the summer of 1953, and students began attending schools in the

Roby Consolidated Independent School District Roby Consolidated Independent School District is a public school district based in Roby, Texas ( USA). Located in Fisher County, a small portion of the district extends into Jones County. The district also serves the unincorporated communities ...

References

External links

* * Unincorporated communities in Fisher County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas Former cities in Texas 1903 establishments in Texas {{FisherCountyTX-geo-stub