Easter, Texas, Castro County, Texas Panhandle. (original) (raw)

History in an Egg Shell

William Frank Easter is the town�s namesake. Mr. Easter settled here around 1900 and in 1901 donated land for the first school. The school also served as the first church.

A new two-room school was built in 1919 bur after it was destroyed by fire in 1940, Easter�s students went to schools in Dimmitt. The old school site became a church and community center but eventually became a residence.

During the 1950s a grain elevator, and cotton gin gave Easter a skyline. Easter received its mail from Hereford and a new community center was built just west of town on FM 1055.

The 1990 census showed a population of 91 which has since dropped to a mere 30 residents for the 2000 count.

Easter, Texas Today

Easter as documented by two photographers' visits:

Easter Rural Station / Rural Branch, Hereford

"Easter was a very small community, and it did not obtain a post office until quite late - 1960. For these reasons, as the postmark on the cover illustrates, it was never an independent post office. It began as a rural station of Hereford - rather much like a neighborhood station in a big city, only located in a rural area. It was then redesignated as a rural branch. These kinds of rural post offices often operated out of stores, fishing tackle shops, gas stations, resort facilities, and the like. They were operated by "postal clerks" rather than "postmasters." Eventually, rural branches were reentitled as "community post offices." Easter, however, did not last long enough to receive that label. Most likely due to a minimal volume of mail and/or the retirement or death of the postal clerk, it went "out of business" in 1976. Its residents now rely exclusively on Hereford for matters postal." - John J. Germann, April 13, 2020

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