Centerline

Centerline, also known as Lystra, was a ranching and farming community in southeastern Jones County about twelve miles northeast of Abilene. Its name referred to its location near the center of the southern Jones county line. A school was begun there in 1885. At its peak as a community center, Centerline had a Methodist church, where the other denominations in the area also met to worship. In 1905 Centerline had three schools with a total enrollment of ninety-five students. In 1909 the local school had forty-one students and one teacher. After 1910 the school was called Lystra, a name it took from the local post office, which served the community from 1910 to 1912. The community had a blacksmith shop, cotton gin, and grocery store in 1917. It also had a Woodman hall and a baseball field. By 1927 enrollment at the Lystra school had grown to eighty, with two teachers. The school was consolidated with the Hawley district on July 6, 1949. The population of Centerline and the area it served declined after the 1920s, and by 1936 it reported only fifteen residents. Fort Phantom Hill Reservoir, built beginning in 1937, covered part of the area where Centerline lay. Much of the area was annexed to Abilene during the 1950s. In 1988 Centerline existed only as the name of Voting Precinct No. 6 in Jones County.