Texas is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

Oswego County Oswego County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 117,525. The county seat is Oswego. The county name is from a Mohawk-language word meaning "the pouring out place", referring to the point at ...

, New York, United States, near the southeastern corner of

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border ...

. It is officially part of the town of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Geography

Texas lies on Little Salmon River, approximately above the mouth of that river on

, on an east-west section between two bends. Its only major road is New York State Route 104B, which parallels the east-west section of the stream. Chief points of interest include Mexico Point State Park, Salmon Country Marina & Campgrounds, and nearby Derby Hill Bird Sanctuary.

History

In 1790, George Scriba, a merchant of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

by birth, purchased of land lying between

Oneida Lake Oneida Lake is the largest lake entirely within New York state, with a surface area of . The lake is located northeast of Syracuse and near the Great Lakes. It feeds the Oneida River, a tributary of the Oswego River, which flows into Lake Ontari ...

and

, for the sum of $80,000 (approximately $870,000 in today's money). This purchase, known as "Scriba's Patent", was bounded on the east by Fish Creek and on the west by the Oswego River, and embraced 14 towns in Oswego County and four towns in Oneida County. Around 1794, Scriba founded the settlement of Vera Cruz at the mouth of Little Salmon Creek (today known as the Little Salmon River), on the shore of Lake Ontario, northeast of

Fort Ontario Fort Ontario is an American historic bastion fort situated by the City of Oswego in Oswego County, New York. It is owned by the state of New York and operated as a museum known as Fort Ontario State Historic Site. Geography and early history F ...

. Scriba built a

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

, a store, and other buildings, and began an active trade on the lake. While the settlement showed initial promise, a series of disasters including the drowning of the heads of seven households in 1799, the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

embargo Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual. Economic sanctions are not necessarily imposed because of economic circumstances—they m ...

on American trade prior to the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, the war itself, and a massive fire in 1820, spelled doom. Soon after the fire, S. P. Robinson established a boat yard and built boats there for five or six years, and later a paper mill and store were conducted for a time. A United States Post Office was established in 1839 but discontinued in 1905. For several years a life-saving station was maintained by the state, but it burned in 1886 and was not rebuilt. The hamlet's name became Texas some time between 1820 and 1860, probably soon after the fire. The present name is after the territory of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

Demographics

Oswego County property tax records show approximately 50 houses in Texas. The population is said to be around 200.

References

External links

Early history of Mexico village and area
{{Oswego County, New York Populated places established in the 1790s Hamlets in New York (state) Syracuse metropolitan area Hamlets in Oswego County, New York

Geography

History

Demographics

See also

References

External links