Halsted, Texas. (original) (raw)

John Wessels' Store and Dance Hall, photo circa 1915
Wessels Family Collection
Submitted by Carolyn Heinsohn, Fayette County Historical Commission

History on a Pinhead

Settlement in the 1840s included Robert E. B., John, and George W. Baylor. Founded alongside the tracks of the Taylor, Bastrop and Houston Railway in 1887, the community had the basics (store, gin, lumberyard and saloon) by the mid 1890s.

It acquired a post office in 1900 and seemed destined for growth. Halsted had the geographic misfortune of being between other growing towns and close to the county seat (La Grange). The businesses closed although the post office held on for several decades before closing sometime in the 1930s.

The 1990 census reported nearly 46 residents in the vicinity which declined to just 26 for 2000.

John Wessels' Store, photo circa 1915
Wessels Family Collection
Submitted by Carolyn Heinsohn, Fayette County Historical Commission

John Wessels' Store, photo circa 1915
Wessels Family Collection
Submitted by Carolyn Heinsohn, Fayette County Historical Commission

1920s Fayette County map showing Halsted
(E of La Grange)
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

1907 Fayette County postal map showing Halsted
(E of La Grange)
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

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