Campbellton 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 ...

in Atascosa County,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, United States. According to the ''

Handbook of Texas The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...

'', the community had an estimated population of 350 in 2000. Campbellton is part of the

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

An Irish immigrant, John F. Campbell, began the community in the 1860s by promoting settlement in the area. He was the first postmaster in the community when the post office was established in the 1870s. He also opened a general store in the community and held

Catholic church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

services in his home. The population was 25 in 1884 but then grew to 30 in 1890. It had three churches, a gin, two

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

breeders, and a

lumberyard A lumber yard is a location where lumber and wood-related products used in construction and/or home improvement projects are processed or stored. Some lumber yards offer retail sales to consumers, and some of these may also provide services su ...

during that same time. The community's population went down during the middle of the decade, but it gained a general store and another livestock breeder. There were seven cattle breeders in Campbellton in 1914 and the population returned to 30. Its success continued with the arrival of the San Antonio, Uvalde, and Gulf Railroad in 1912.

Beekeeper A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees, a profession known as beekeeping. The term beekeeper refers to a person who keeps honey bees in beehives, boxes, or other receptacles. The beekeeper does not control the creatures. The beekeeper ow ...

s started manufacturing

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

in the community for commercial purposes in 1914. The population grew to 50 in 1925 and jumped to 368 in the 1950s and had an average of ten businesses operating. Oil was then discovered in the community in 1956, but

ranching A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of farm. These terms are most often applied to li ...

came to an end. Its population was 275 from the 1960s through 1990 and had three businesses at that time. The population was 350 in 2000 and had ten businesses. The community's welcome sign and Texas Escapes magazine state that the population in 1990 was 482. Although it is unincorporated, Campbellton has a post office with the ZIP code of 78008. The Wild Man of the Navidad, one of the purported sightings of

Bigfoot Bigfoot (), also commonly referred to as Sasquatch (), is a large, hairy Mythic humanoids, mythical creature said to inhabit forests in North America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.Example definitions include: *"A large, hairy, manlike ...

, was also filmed as a

movie A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

in Campbellton, in which locals appeared in small roles.Beware: Bigfoot Ahead
from

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogra ...

Geography

Campbellton is located at the junction of U.S. Highway 281, FM 1099, and the Atascosa River in southeastern Atascosa County, approximately east of

Christine Christine may refer to: People * Christine (name), a female given name Film * ''Christine'' (1958 film), based on Schnitzler's play ''Liebelei'' * ''Christine'' (1983 film), based on Stephen King's novel of the same name * ''Christine'' ( ...

and south of

. It is also located south of Pleasanton, southeast of Jourdanton, and north of Three Rivers. It is strategically located on a thoroughfare to the

Rio Grande Valley Lower Rio Grande Valley (), often referred to as the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) of South Texas, is a region located in the southernmost part of Texas, along the northern bank of the Rio Grande. It is also known locally as the Valley or the 956 (the ...

. The alternate route of U.S. Route 281 also travels through the community.

Education

John F Campbell founded the community's first school in the 1870s. It had 30 students and one teacher in 1904 and then had 169 students ten years later. It had 240 students and seven teachers in 1938. Children who finished elementary school were sent to schools in Pleasanton for middle and high school. The community continues to be served by the

Pleasanton Independent School District Pleasanton Independent School District is a public school district based in Pleasanton, Texas (USA). In 2011, the School District was rated " Academically Acceptable" by the Texas Education Agency The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is ...

to this day.

References

External links

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Texas Unincorporated communities in Atascosa County, Texas Greater San Antonio

History

Geography

Education

See also

References

External links