Clareville, Texas, Bee County ghost town. (original) (raw)

Jim Naylor, A.M. Handly,JR. and Effert Uzzell
Clareville, Texas, ca1910
Photo courtesy Will Beauchamp

History in a Pecan Shell

Mexican War veteran and rancher Henry T. Clare, his brother and his five sons founded the town of Lomita here in the mid 1870s. The name changed to Clareville in the 1880s. After a Biblical plague of grasshoppers in 1879, the discouraged family sold out their interests.

The community�s first store opened in 1886. The community�s proximity to Beeville stunned growth as the automobile transported fickle shoppers to the county seat. By the time of the 1940 census, the population had decreased to a mere 50 people and the local schools merged with the Skidmore-Tynan ISD.

Clareville High School Basketball Team
Vintage photo courtesy Will Beauchamp

Photographer's Note:

Here are a few pic's of what's left of the town of Clareville, Texas. There are no signs of any businesses left but there is still a nucleus of a few residences. My Grandparents lived just across the county line in Live Oak County and claimed being from Clareville as well as the community of Jarrett which was the same distance in the opposite direction.

One pic shows where the 2 story school stood. A small little building covered in brush on the left was the Spanish school and at one time sat across from the Cemetery. There is one more Cemetery about 2 miles south that also serves the community.

The one farm scene shows representatives of 3 of Clarevilles family's. L/R - Jim Naylor, A.M. Handly,Jr. on buggy (my G-Grandfather), & Effert Uzzell. -

Will Beauchamp, 2009

Clareville, Texas Today

Subject: Clareville, Texas
"Just to clarify, the tiny community of Clareville is now mostly owned by my family, The Munoz's . My grandparents were born in Clareville back in early 1900's and lived there until their deaths. Uncles later purchased the surrounding land to include that shown in picture with Hispanic school house, the land across the street and opposite side of street where an old farmhouse and post office once stood. I used to roam the wooded area as a child and find so many old horseshoes, coins, belt buckles and even a few tricycles and plow equipment left behind." - Munoz, February 27, 2022

Clareville Cemetery sign. Notice spelling.
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, May 2013

1907 Bee County postal map showing Clareville
(Below "B" in "BEE")
From Texas state map #2090
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

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