Alexander is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

located in southern

Erath County Erath County () is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Texas. According to the United States Census bureau its population was 42,545 in 2020. The county seat is Stephenville, Texas, Stephenville. The county is named fo ...

Central Texas Central Texas is a region in the U.S. state of Texas roughly bordered on the west by San Saba, to the southeast by Bryan- College Station, the south by San Marcos and to the north by Hillsboro. Central Texas overlaps with and includes part ...

, United States. Alexander is located in the southern part of the county, along

Texas State Highway 6 State Highway 6 (SH 6) runs from the Red River of the South, Red River, the Texas–Oklahoma state line, to northwest of Galveston, Texas, Galveston, where it is known as the Old Galveston Highway. In Sugar Land and Missouri City, it is k ...

and Fm-914. The town was originally called: "Harper's Mill" when the Post Office was approved for operation around the 1870s. The name was changed in the 1880s, when the Texas Central line, part of the historic

Katy Railroad Katy or KATY may refer to: People and Characters * Katy, a short form of the name Katherine * Katy (given name) * Katy (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a fictional character * Katy Perry * Katie Perry, Australian fashion designer * Katy Perry (prison ...

, was built from east to west through the townsite on its way from the

Waco Waco ( ) is a city in and 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 U.S. census estimated 2024 population of 146,608, making i ...

area to Stamford, with a branch to Cross Plains from the line at De Leon. In 1907, the

Stephenville North and South Texas Railway Stephenville may refer to: * Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada * Stephenville, Edison, New Jersey, United States * Stephenville, Mississippi, United States * Stephenville, Texas Stephenville is a city in and the county seat of E ...

, part of the

Cotton Belt Route The St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company , known by its nickname of "The Cotton Belt Route" or simply "Cotton Belt", was a Class I railroad that operated between St. Louis, Missouri, and various points in the U.S. states of Arkansas, Tennessee ...

, was constructed from north to south and intersected with the Katy's line in Alexander. This made the town an important community for business in the area. The Cotton Belt Route ran from Stephenville through to nearby Carlton. On October 17, 1934, the Cotton Belt Route was abandoned from Stephenville to

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

. The Katy Railroad remained through Alexander until its abandonment in the late 1960s. The Alexander post office closed in 1970 and the population remained at a steady 40 from the 1970s through 2000.

References

Texas Escapes.com Online entry for Alexander

Katy Railroad Historic Society website

Handbook of Texas Online entry for the Stephenville North & South Texas

Handbook of Texas Online entry for Alexander, Texas
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Erath County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas Ghost towns in North Texas