Juliff 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 ...

situated along

Farm to Market Road 521 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 ...

(FM 521) in eastern

Fort Bend County Fort Bend County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The county was founded in 1837 and organized the next year. It is named for a blockhouse at a bend of the Brazos River. The community developed around the fort in early days. Th ...

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 ...

, United States. The settlement was founded in the 1850s as a shipping point along the Brazos River and the railroad reached there in the same decade. The community received postal service in 1891, and except for a brief closure, retained it until the late 1950s. Starting in the 1930s, Juliff enjoyed a heyday as a place of raucous entertainment after local residents opened several taverns and dance halls. This era ended in the 1960s when the bars relocated to Houston. Sometime later, the railroad that ran alongside FM 521 was discontinued. In December 2013 the community was a collection of homes along the east side of FM 521.

Geography

Juliff is located on FM 521 (former

State Highway 288 The following highways are numbered 288: Japan Japan National Route 288 Sweden * between Uppsala, Gimo and Östhammar United States * Arizona State Route 288 * Georgia State Route 288 * Kentucky Route 288 * Maryland Route 288 * Minnes ...

) between County Road 56 (Juliff-Manvel Road) and County Road 57 (Fort Bend County Road). The community is south of

Arcola Arcola may refer to: Places ; Australia * Arcola, Grafton, a heritage-listed house in New South Wales ;Canada * Arcola, Saskatchewan, a town in the Province of Saskatchewan * Arcola Airport, an airport in the Province of Saskatchewan ;England * ...

and north of Rosharon. In 2008 Juliff's site was indicated by a signpost on FM 521 (Almeda Road).Lomax, John Nova.
It Ain't No Town And It Ain't No City
" ''

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely by advertising ...

''. Friday October 24, 2008.

History

During the

Antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern United States ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum ...

(pre-

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

) period the area was within the Arcola Plantation. The community received its name from John J. Juliff, a settler. In the 1850s the community served as a Brazos River shipping point. In 1858 the

Houston Tap and Brazoria Railway The Houston Tap and Brazoria Railway was chartered in September 1856 to extend southward from Houston to West Columbia in Brazoria County. The railroad's nicknames were the Columbia Tap and the Sugar Road. The railway absorbed track from an earlie ...

opened in the community. In 1891 the community received a post office. In 1896 a general store appeared. The post office closed in 1908 and reopened in 1914. In 1933 a man named Thurman "Doc" Duke purchased several acres of land by the railroad line, opened a store, and leased the remaining land to other tenants. The tenants opened a dance hall and a group of taverns. This led to Juliff gaining a concentration of consumption of alcohol, gambling, and prostitution. The population of Juliff began to know the town by the name "Diddy Wa Diddy," after a song. By 1940 Juliff had around 50 residents, a church, and three businesses. During the 1940s the population increased to 150. The post office closed in 1958. By the 1960s the bars closed or relocated to

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

. A 1963

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

map shows the

Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad ...

running parallel with

(SH 288) through the town. By the 1980s the community consisted of several scattered houses. In December 1981, FM 521 took over about of the former SH 288 right-of-way, including Juliff. By 2014 railroad tracks had been removed.

Government and infrastructire

Fort Bend County does not have a

hospital district Hospital is a Districts of Costa Rica, district of the San José (canton), San José canton, in the San José Province, San José province of Costa Rica. It is one of the four administrative units that form San José, Costa Rica, San José downtow ...

. OakBend Medical Center serves as the county's

charity hospital Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

which the county contracts with.

Education

Juliff is zoned to schools in the Fort Bend Independent School District. The community is within the East Division, controlling school board slots 5 through 7. As of 2008 the board members in the slots are Laurie Caldwell, Steve Smelley, and David Reitz, respectively. Zoned schools include: *Schiff Elementary School (

Missouri City Missouri City is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within the metropolitan area. The city is mostly in Fort Bend County, Texas, Fort Bend County, with a small portion in Harris County, Texas, Harris County. As of the 2020 census, the c ...

)
Billy Baines Middle School
(''Unincorporated area'') *

Hightower High School Hightower High School is a secondary school (grades 9–12) located at 3333 Hurricane Lane, Missouri City, Texas, United States, adjacent to The Fort Bend Parkway Toll Road. Hightower is administered by Fort Bend Independent School District a ...

(

) Prior to the opening of Hightower, Elkins High School served Juliff.Elkins High School
" Fort Bend Independent School District. January 16, 1997. Retrieved on October 31, 2017.

References

External links