Meansville Texas Gulf Coast Ghost Town. (original) (raw)

History in a Pecan Shell

Texas towns have been destroyed by flood, fire, hurricane, deforestation, sunk under reservoirs, and the all-time #1 reason - "death by railroad bypass." Meansville has the distinction of being depopulated overnight by order of the Texas Rangers.

Named after early settler William Means, who was elected and served as county sheriff (1862 - 1867), the town was centered around one building that served as school, Union Church, and lodge hall. The building was sold in 1881 - having "been abandoned as a school."

The trouble began in January of 1876, when three Means boys shot up Papalote, Texas in neighboring Bee County. It stirred up a swarm in the form of a posse who rode immediately to the Means Ranch. The short version is that Old Man Means was shot and the boys (later) shot the Bee County sheriff in retaliation.

Citizens who weren't named Means appealed for outside help. In 1879 Texas Rangers "persuaded" the Means family that the grass was greener anywhere but San Patricio County.

All that remains of Meansville today is the Meansville Cemetery.

The much more entertaining story of Meansville's demise is told by Western Historian Charley Eckhardt in his "The Rise and Fall of Meansville, Texas."

Photographer's Note:
"This marker sits in a park in Odem, Texas telling of 2 small communities that no longer are on the map." - William Beauchamp

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