unincorporated area
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 ...
and a
ghost town
Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to:
* Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned
Film and television
* Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser
* Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...
in
Washington County, Texas
Washington County is a county in Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 35,805. Its county seat is Brenham, which is located along U.S. Highway 290, 72 miles northwest of Houston. The county was created in 1835 as a municipality of ...
.
Location
Gay Hill is located on
Farm to Market Road 390
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 ...
, twelve miles North-West of
Brenham
Brenham ( ) is a city in east-central Texas in Washington County, United States, with a population of 17,369 according to the 2020 U.S. census. It is the county seat of Washington County.
Washington County is known as the "Birthplace of Texas, ...
in Washington County.
History
The settlement was first known as the Chriesman Settlement, in honor of
Horatio Chriesman
Horatio Chriesman (August 13, 1797 – November 1, 1878) was an American surveyor, politician in Mexican Texas and participant in the Texas Revolution.
Born in Virginia, he became a surveyor in Kentucky, Missouri and Texas.
Chriesman served a ...
(1797–1878). In 1839, the second oldest Presbyterian church in Texas was established here by Reverend Hugh Wilson (1794–1868). A year later, in 1840, the
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...
established a post office and renamed it 'Gay Hill' in honor of Thomas Gay and William Carroll Jackson Hill, who owned the general store. A decade later, in 1854, a Mason lodge was formed here. Later, a Baptist church was also established.
The Glenblythe Plantation, owned by Scottish immigrant and nurseryman Thomas Affleck (1812-1868), was located in Gay Hill. He discovered the Old Gay Hill Red China rose, which is native to Gay Hill.
From 1853 to 1888, Reverend James Weston Miller (1815–1888) served as the Director of the Live Oak Female Seminary, a defunct women's college.
In 1881, the
Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway
The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway was a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway. From its starting point in Galveston, Texas, the railroad eventually extended northwestwards across the state to Sweetwater and northwards via ...
added a stop two miles away from Gay Hill. As a result, the town was moved, and the former location became known as ''Old Gay Hill''. The railway made the cotton industry more efficient, and it became an important transportation hub for the South. However, shortly after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the cotton industry declined and businesses started closing down. By 1971, most residents had moved to nearby Brenham.
The town is now a ghost town. There are no stores or schools in town. The main industry is ranching. The old Gay Hill School building has been relocated to Old Baylor Park in
Independence, Texas
--->
Independence is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Washington County, Texas, United States. Located twelve miles northeast of Brenham, it was founded in 1835 in Austin's colony of Anglo-Americans. It became a Baptist reli ...
National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington County, Texas
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington County, Texas.
This is intended to be a complete list of properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Texas. T ...
.
Demographics
By 1860, the population was 120. By 1936, the population had grown to 250. By 1958 however, the population had dwindled down to 200. In 1993 and again in 2000, the population was 145.