Robert Lee Texas, Coke County seat. (original) (raw)

History in a Pecan Shell

R. E. Cartledge and L. B. Harris are credited with being town founders, using their land to form the new town and name it after the Confederate general. Harris and Cartledge had planned to wrest the county seat status from Hayrick, and they succeeded in an election held in 1891.

The population of Hayrick gave Robert Lee its first boost. Robert Lee�s post office opened that year and a new courthouse was constructed. The population stood at 750.

Robert Lee incorporated in 1929. Throughout the years the town has thankfully escaped fire and tornadoes and the residents enjoyed the tranquility. The population remained under 1,000 residents until the early 1950s. A new high of 1,391 was reached in the late 1980s.

Robert Lee, Texas Landmarks / Attractions:

Historical Marker:

Robert Lee Cemetery

Established in 1891, two years after the founding of the city of Robert Lee. Developers L.B. Harris and Eugene Cartledge, as president and secretary of the Austin and Northern Land and Cattle Company, on Sept. 29, 1891, sold for $1.00 this 11.7 - acre burial ground. Already site of several graves, it was deeded to Hayrick Lodge No. 696, A.F. & A.M., for "sole use as cemetery grounds for the members, relatives, and friends". Later it was named by the lodge. Buried here are 34 Civil War veterans, as well as soldiers of later wars and members of many of the families in Robert Lee.
(1973)

�When Robert Lee Gets a New Railroad"

A letter from Ruth Elliott Sellers:
My mother and her family lived in Robert Lee when she was a teenager. As teenagers do, she picked up songs of that era. �When Robert Lee Gets a New Railroad" was written about the time that the towns of Robert Lee and Bronte vied over who would get the railroad. (The Kansas City, Mexico and Orient - later bought by what is now the Sante Fe.) Robert Lee lost and the railway was completed to Bronte in 1907... more

Robert Lee, Texas Forum

Subject: Coke County Library
Coke County Library in Robert Lee has added rock and mineral display to it's collection of books. - Arthur Burnett, July 02, 2018

Coke County 1920s Map showing ghost towns not on the map today
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

Sanco ›
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
From Robert Lee, take State Hwy 208 NW about 6 miles,
then N on Sanco Loop about 3 miles

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