Beasley, Texas. (original) (raw)

History in a Pecan Shell

The community came into being in the 1890s with the arrival of the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad. A Richmond banker by the name of Cecil A. Beasley was given naming rights. He first named it Dyer, after the surname of his fianc� Isabel Dyer, but the name had been in use by another town. Cecil married Isabel and the town was officially named Beasley with the opening of a post office in 1898.

Full-bore promotion began in 1910 when a Kansas City company advertised for settlers. The population reached 325 by 1914.

Beasley soon had Baptist and Lutheran churches along with a hotel, lumberyard and three general stores. The population remained at 350 through WWII, declining to 300 by the end of the 1940s. By 1960 it had reached bottom at a mere 175 people but started growing slowly, reaching nearly 500 for 1990 and peaking at 590 residents for the 2000 census.

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