Converse, Texas. (original) (raw)

History in a Pecan Shell

Major Converse, chief engineer of the Southern Pacific Railroad is the towns namesake. Converse purchased the land in the late 1870s and a post office opened by 1878.

Only thirty people were reported in the mid 1880s. Ten years later the situation hadn�t changed much, but the town did have the basic building blocks for growth (a saloon, cotton gins and grocery). A predominately German settlement, its proximity to San Antonio was both a blessing and a curse.

At the end of WWII the population was still less than 200, but grew to 900 by the mid 1960s. The 1990 census reported nearly 9,000 and in 2000 it had surpassed 11,000.

Converse, Texas Landmarks

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