La Salle 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 Jackson County,

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 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. 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 an estimated population of 103 in 2000.

Geography

La Salle is located at (28.7916577, -96.6691449). It is situated along FM 616 in southwestern Jackson County, approximately 16 miles south of Edna and 22 miles east of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

History

In 1875, J.M. Bennett and brothers Sol and Ike West founded a cattle ranch at the site. 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 ...

passed through the property in 1909. The three associates named the station Benwest, after the surnames of the owners. The name was changed to Bennview when the West brothers withdrew from the partnership in 1922. A town site was surveyed in 1924 and Bennett promoted a land sale that attracted a number of

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...

and

Czechs The Czechs ( cs, Češi, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, c ...

to the community. A post office was established at Bennview in 1928 and remained operational until 1930. Seven years later, citizens changed the name from Bennview to La Salle in recognition of the

French colonization of Texas The French colonization of Texas began with the establishment of fort St. Louis in present-day southeastern Texas. It was established in 1685 near Arenosa Creek and Matagorda Bay by explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle. He intended to found th ...

that existed in the area in the 17th century, and a new post office opened along with a school and general store. La Salle's population rose from an estimated 60 residents in 1941 to just over 100 by the early 1970s. Thereafter, the community experienced a period of decline. The population fell to 75 in the late 1980s and remained at that level until 2000, when the number of inhabitants rose to approximately 103. La Salle has a post office with the ZIP code 77969.USPS – Cities by ZIP Code
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Education

Public education in the community of La Salle is provided by the Industrial Independent School District.

References

External links

* * {{authority control Unincorporated communities in Jackson County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas