Alameda

Alameda was a rural community six miles northwest of Desdemona in eastern Eastland County. The settlement was started by William Henry Mansker in 1859 and called Mansker's Lake. Other early settlers were James P. and Ike Schmick, J. S. Stuart, and M. T. Duvall. Mail came from Stephenville. There was a mill at the nearby Allen Ranch, just east of Mansker's Lake. The first school in the settlement was built in 1874; a post office named Alameda operated from 1876 until 1882. A general store, a blacksmith shop, and a Woodmen's hall were built near the lake. It is not likely that the community ever reached the population of ninety-nine claimed in 1860. A map of 1936 shows only four houses near the cemetery and a school on State Highway 571. Later maps indicate only a community center and the cemetery, but on still later maps the settlement is not shown.