Yoakum, Texas. (original) (raw)
The former city power plant. Today the city library.
TE photo, 2002
History in a Pecan Shell
Early settler John May received a land grant from the Mexican state of Coahuila and Texas in 1835. There was very little history and no community per se until after the Civil War when the area became a gathering point for cattle drives. Longhorn cattle drives became the one immediate source of cash for the devastated Texas economy.
(The Chisholm Trail was the major route for cattle drives to Kansas from 1867 through 1884. Although cattle were herded from as far south as the Rio Grande, Yoakum is considered the first town on the route. Cheaper than shipping by rail, by the time barbed wire stopped the drives in 1885, more than 5 million head of cattle had been shipped out of Texas. A Post Office Mural in Ogallala, Nebraska commemorates the town�s role as the one-time terminus of the Chisholm Trail.)
Yoakum didn�t experience substantial growth until the arrival of the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad (the SAAP) in 1887. A townsite was platted and General Manager of the railroad Benjamin F. Yoakum was honored as the town�s namesake.
The community�s first store was opened that same year and a post office was granted.
The railroad maintained a large railroad yard and roundhouse in Yoakum.
By the mid 1890s Yoakum had a population of 3,000 � which was enormous by 1890 standards. By 1914 it had more than doubled to 7,500.
The tanning industry began in 1919 when a man named Carl Welhausen took over a small tanning company, and started to seriously produce saddles and bridles for horses and belts and wallets for humans.
The population in 1940 was given as 4,733. The population is split between its two counties and in 1984, 3,283 residents lived in Lavaca County while 2,325 others lived in DeWitt County.
The population of 5,611 in 1990 has grown slightly � to 5,731 for the 2000 census.
Yoakum remains as a division point for the railroad.
The former city power plant has been restored into the city library.
Historical Marker: Intersection of US77A and US77A business, Yoakum
Yoakum
Located on DeWitt-Lavaca county line on land granted by Mexico in 1835 to settler John May. Cattle gathering area for Chisholm Trail. With coming of San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad in 1887, became transportation center. Named for rail official B. F. Yoakum; incorporated in 1889. Industries: beef, leather, canning plant.
1971
Chisholm Trail Memorial Park
in Yoakum
Yoakum S. A. & A. P. Depot
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/
Yoakum, Texas Chronicles
- Rocks From The Sky by Murray Montgomery
One story appeared first in the Yoakum Times and the Halletsville Herald printed it on July 16, 1903. This fascinating piece was about a fellow named Benedict Manning who was witness to several strange occurrences during his lifetime...
DeWitt & Lavaca County TX 1907 postal map showing Yoakum (near county lines), and the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad
From Texas state map #2090
Courtesy Texas General Land Office
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