The Grove 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 ...

in Coryell County, Texas, United States. The area is known for its abundance of

Texas bluebonnet ''Lupinus texensis'', the Texas bluebonnet or Texas lupine is a species of lupine found in Texas, and the Mexican states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. With other related species of lupines also called bluebonnets, it is the state ...

flowers during the spring. 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 a population of 65 in 2000. It is located within the Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood metropolitan area.

History

It was founded in 1859 and got its name from the nearby live oak tree grove. The community was formerly known as Morrison Grove. The town featured two general stores, a mill, and a gin by the end of the 1860s. The Grove already had Baptist, Methodist, Disciples, and Presbyterian churches when a group of Wendish immigrants moved there in 1870. When the post office was first established, J. B. Coleman served as postmaster. A 150-person village with three general stores, two grocers, and local farmers shipping

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

, hides, and

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...

existed in the mid-1880s. The Grove was one of the county's wealthiest municipalities by 1900. After being bypassed by State Highway 36 in the 1940s, the hamlet started to dwindle. When Fort Hood was created in the early 1940s, some local farmers were compelled to migrate, and others lost land when the Belton Dam was built in 1953. The development of transportation and the concentration of farmland both led to the downfall of the village. The Grove's population, which was estimated to be 150 in the 1940s, dropped to 140 in the 1950s and 1960s and to 65 by 1970, where it stayed until the year 2000. In the 1980s, the hamlet was identified on county highway maps by a church and several businesses.

Geography

The Grove is located on Farm to Market Road 1114 and

Texas State Highway 36 State Highway 36 (SH 36) runs from Freeport to Abilene. It was designated as the 36th Division Memorial Highway between Cameron and Sealy by the Texas Legislature in 1985. History SH 36 was originally proposed on November 21, 1917, as a route ...

, southeast of Gatesville, southwest of

Waco Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...

, and north of

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

via

Interstate 35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican border ...

in eastern Coryell County. It is also a two-hour drive from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

Education

In 1904, it had a two-teacher school with 60 students, and in 1908, a Lutheran school was established there. In 1948, The Grove's public school closed, and kids were bused to schools in neighboring towns. Due to a shortage of students, the Lutheran school was forced to close in 1962. Today, the community is served by the Gatesville Independent School District.

Notable people

Ernest Winkler Ernest Winkler (1875-1960) was a historian and librarian at the University of Texas. Early life and family history Ernest Winkler was born on January 21, 1875, the son, and eldest child, of Charles August and Kathrina Louisa Huber Winkler.Utley ...

, historian and librarian from the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

, was born here. * Albert J. Winkler,

viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

professor, was born here. * Bernie Winkler, football player for

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

Gallery

Image:thegrovetexascemetary.jpg, The St. Paul Lutheran Church Cemetery at The Grove has graves from many of the early pioneers of the community. File:thegrovetexas2.jpg, A field of Texas bluebonnets in The Grove

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grove Unincorporated communities in Coryell County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas Sorbian-American culture in Texas