Apolonia, Texas, Grimes County ghost town. (original) (raw)

History in a Pecan Shell

Established in the 1830s, the region was first exploited for its abundant timber. Later, in the 1840s the Pine Grove Baptist Church was established.

After the Civil War, a Black Methodist Church was formed called Yarborough's Chapel (see Yarborough, Texas).

In the 1880s and 1890s Polish immigrants arrived and in 1889 a post office was granted under the name Apolonia � for the Catholic Saint Apollonia. (St. Apollonia is the patron saint of dentists).

The community had three stores and two sawmills around 1900, but its proximity to Anderson dashes any hopes of growth. The post office closed its doors in 1907 and mail was thereafter sent through Anderson.

The 1910 census showed a mere 30 residents living in Apolonia. No figures are available through The Great Depression, but the community managed to survive. The last figures available come from 1948 when an estimated 25 people callled Apolonia home.

Saint Apollonia by Francisco de Zurbar�n
Wikimedia Commons

Grimes County 1907 postal map showing Apolonia E of Anderson
From Texas state map #2090
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

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