Youngsport 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 Bell County, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

. 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 40 in 2000. It is located within the Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood metropolitan area.

History

A man named Michael Young moved to the area with his family sometime before 1850. A

wagon train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings. It ...

led by Joel Cosper added 106 new settlers to the community in 1870. A post office was established at Youngsport in 1871 and remained in operation until 1930. It was most likely named for P.G. Young, owner of the local hotel in 1884, or for Michael Young himself, who supposedly named the area "Young's port" when he arrived as the first settler and was the captain of a ship. Live Oak

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

Church was established in 1875. In 1882, a Church of Christ congregation met in a brush arbor and built another building in either 1925 or 1926, while a new one was completed in 1988. The community had 200 residents supported by three churches, two

cotton gin A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); a ...

s, a hotel,

flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...

and

corn mill 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 separated ...

s, and was a shipping port for

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 ...

. Youngsport also served a

Grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery Geography Australia * Grange, South Austral ...

chapter and a Woodmen's lodge in the early 1900s. It lost half of its population in 1890 and continued to go down to some 70 residents by 1914. The population was 50 in 1948 with two churches and businesses. Youngsport's population ended at 40 from 1988 through 2000 and had no more businesses in operation.

Geography

Youngsport is located on

Farm to Market Road 2484 A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

on the

Lampasas River The Lampasas River ( ) is a river in the U.S. state of Texas. The river originates near the city of Hamilton, Texas, Hamilton and travels southeast for 75 miles through central Texas to a man-made reservoir called Stillhouse Hollow Lake. The river ...

, south of Killeen in southwestern Bell County.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Youngsport has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Education

Youngport's first school was reported to have begun operation in 1886 and was used as a meeting place for a local Church of Christ congregation for many years. In 1905, it had 77 students and two teachers and was one of the largest schools in the county in the early 20th century. It then joined the

Killeen Independent School District Killeen Independent School District is a public school district based in Killeen, Texas (USA). In addition to Killeen, the district serves the cities of Harker Heights and Nolanville as well as all students residing at Fort Hood. The district ...

in 1938. Today, the community is served by the

Florence Independent School District Florence Independent School District is a public school district based in Florence, Texas ( USA). Located in Williamson County, a small portion of the district extends into Bell County. In 2009, the school district was rated " recognized" by t ...

Notable person

* A.C. Greene's grandmother, Maude E. Cole, was born in Youngsport.''Painter-Author, Maude E. Cole Can't Be Caught By Old Age'', ''

Abilene Reporter-News ''Abilene Reporter-News'' is a daily newspaper based in Abilene, Texas, United States. The newspaper started publishing as the weekly ''Abilene Reporter'', helmed by Charles Edwin Gilbert on June 17, 1881, just three months after Abilene was fo ...

'', June 2, 1957, pg 3C

References

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