Melvin, Texas. (original) (raw)
McCulloch County, Texas Hill Country
31�11'49"N 99�34'50"W (31.197066, -99.580582)
Farm Road 2087
A short distance S of Hwy 87
15 miles West of Brady the county seat
Population: 177 Est. (2016)
178 (2010) 155 (2000) 184 (1990)
Book Hotel Here › Brady Hotels
History in a Pecan Shell
Named for W. H. Melvin, who settled in the area in 1874, a townsite was platted in 1904. The town was granted a post office in 1906 and the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway arrived in 1912. By 1914 the town had seventy-five Melvinites residing there and the next year they got their own newspaper, with a second paper arriving in 1923.
By 1931 the population was 650 and it reached it's zenith of 925 in 1949. From that point, the town has been in a decline. In the early 1950s, it had already decreased to just under 700. The railroad stopped service in the early 1970s and it has since declined to only 155 residents.
Historical Marker
Swedish Free Mission Church
Swedes began settling in the western part of McCulloch County in 1907. A Sunday school was begun that year, and the families met for worship in homes. A church congregation was formally organized in 1910 with fifteen charter members. A Ladies Aid Society was formed in 1911. By 1913 a church building had been completed. Worship services were conducted in the Swedish language until the 1940s. The congregation's name was changed to the Evangelical Free Church in the 1940s. From its beginnings the congregation has supported missionary activities.
(1988)
Melvin Cemetery
Melvin Cemetery
Photo courtesy Martha Davenport, October 2010
Melvin Cemetery
Recently, my sister and I have been researching our ancestry. I believe our great great grandparents, Anna E. Carlson and Carl Alfred Nelson, both born in Sweden and died in Texas, were possibly some of the original Melvinites and helped found the swedish free mission church. Anna's parents, Carl Carlson and Sarah Carlson were also born in Sweden, both in 1828, and he died in Iowa. Census records show they immigrated to Iowa with Anna, but moved to Texas around the time she married Carl Nelson. We've also been looking into the Johnson's, since my grandma used to tell us Lyndon B. Johnson was a distant cousin. We haven't found much about that either, though.
We recently took a trip out to the old Melvin cemetery to see their headstone. We found several other Carlson headstones, who I believe may be relatives. I've attached a few pictures, as I didn't see any mention of the Melvin cemetery on your site. The family plots were really something, as were the higher-ranking officials that died in WWI and WWII. There was even a confederate soldier out there. We also stopped at the old swedish free mission church and were told that Nelson was a big family name in that area and were some of the original founders of the church.
- Marsha Davenport, October 19, 2010
Carl Alfred Nelson and Anna Nelson Tombstones
Photo courtesy Martha Davenport, October 2010
To Melvin Cemetery
Photo courtesy Martha Davenport, October 2010
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