Texas is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

Oswego County Oswego County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 117,525. The county seat is Oswego. The county name is from a Mohawk-language word meaning "the pouring out place", referring t ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States, near the southeastern corner of

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

. It is officially part of the town of

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Geography

Texas lies on Little Salmon River, approximately above the mouth of that river on

, on an east-west section between two bends. Its only major road is New York State Route 104B, which parallels the east-west section of the stream. Chief points of interest include Mexico Point State Park, Salmon Country Marina & Campgrounds, and nearby Derby Hill Bird Sanctuary.

History

In 1790, George Scriba, a merchant of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

by birth, purchased of land lying between

Oneida Lake Oneida Lake is the largest lake entirely within New York state, with a surface area of . The lake is located northeast of Syracuse and near the Great Lakes. It feeds the Oneida River, a tributary of the Oswego River (New York), Oswego River, which ...

and

, for the sum of $80,000 (approximately $870,000 in today's money). This purchase, known as "Scriba's Patent", was bounded on the east by Fish Creek and on the west by the Oswego River, and embraced 14 towns in Oswego County and four towns in Oneida County. Around 1794, Scriba founded the settlement of Vera Cruz at the mouth of Little Salmon Creek (today known as the Little Salmon River), on the shore of Lake Ontario, northeast of

Fort Ontario Fort Ontario is an American historic bastion fort situated by the City of Oswego in Oswego County, New York. It is owned by the state of New York and operated as a museum known as Fort Ontario State Historic Site. Fort Ontario is located on the ...

. Scriba built a

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

, a store, and other buildings, and began an active trade on the lake. While the settlement showed initial promise, a series of disasters including the drowning of the heads of seven households in 1799, the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

embargo Economic sanctions or embargoes are commercial and financial penalties applied by states or institutions against states, groups, or individuals. Economic sanctions are a form of coercion that attempts to get an actor to change its behavior throu ...

on American trade prior to the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, the war itself, and a massive fire in 1820, spelled doom. Soon after the fire, S. P. Robinson established a boat yard and built boats there for five or six years, and later a paper mill and store were conducted for a time. A United States Post Office was established in 1839 but discontinued in 1905. For several years a life-saving station was maintained by the state, but it burned in 1886 and was not rebuilt. The hamlet's name became Texas some time between 1820 and 1860, probably soon after the fire. The present name is after the territory of

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 ...

Demographics

Oswego County property tax records show approximately 50 houses in Texas. The population is said to be around 200.

References

External links

Early history of Mexico village and area
{{Oswego County, New York Populated places established in the 1790s Hamlets in New York (state) Syracuse metropolitan area Hamlets in Oswego County, New York

Geography

History

Demographics

See also

References

External links