San Gabriel, Milam County, Texas history, landmarks, photos. (original) (raw)

San Gabriel Schoolhouse
Photo courtesy Vicki Harris, May 2013

History in a Pecan Shell

San Gabriel came into being in the mid 1840s when cabins were constructed along the banks of the San Gabriel River by Peter and Jesse Mercer.

A post office was applied for and granted in 1850. The town had a respectable population of 130 citizens in the mid 1880s when the town could boast of their steam powered grist mill / cotton gin.

Inexplicitly, the 1890 census counted a mere twenty-five people in San Gabrial. It peaked in 1929 with a population of 250.

After suffering through the Great Depression and WWII, post war prosperity lured people away and by the late 1950 there was an estimated 75 residents.

In 1960 San Gabriel lost its school in a merger with nearby Thorndale and by the end of that decade the post office had closed.

The population was given as 100 for both the1990 and 2000 census.

Photo courtesy Vicki Harris, May 2013

Photo courtesy Vicki Harris, May 2013

Photographer's Note

Subject: San Gabriel
"On a recent bike trip, my husband and I stopped by and took some pictures of the old school. Thought you might like them for your site before the building crumbles." - Vicki Harris, May 31, 2013

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