Algerita

Algerita is on U.S. Highway 190 about 7½ miles west of San Saba in central San Saba County. In 1885 Charles Cadwaleder Yarborough opened a general store and post office near Richland Creek four miles north of the present site and called it Algerita after the local algerita (agarita) shrub. The post office was closed in 1890. In 1907 the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway constructed a line several miles from town, and the settlement gradually moved to its present location next to the railroad. Walter Thomas established a post office at the new townsite in 1914, but the community declined after the railroad property was removed because ranchers west of town refused to open cattle lanes across their land. The population fell to twenty by 1925 but increased to sixty by 1949, when the community had a church, a school, and a combination filling station and store. The population was twenty-five in 1952 and was estimated at forty-eight in 2000.

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Karen Yancy | © TSHA

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Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.

Belongs to

Algerita is part of or belongs to the following places:

Currently Exists

Yes

Place type

Algerita is classified as a Town

Associated Names

  • [Algereta]

Location

Latitude: 31.22794460
Longitude: -98.85310030

Has Post Office

No

Is Incorporated

No

Population Count, 2009

10