Cottonwood

Ben Hur (Benhur) is near the intersection of Farm roads 339 and 2489, eight miles northwest of Groesbeck in western Limestone County. The area was first settled after the Civil War when Joseph Nussbaum started selling acreage to farmers. The town was originally called Cottonwood, but according to local legend the name was changed in 1895 to Ben Hur by A. T. Derden, a resident of the town who was an admirer of Lew Wallace's best-selling book of the same name. A school and a post office were established that year with James A. Parker as postmaster. In 1900 the town had a population of 127 and several businesses. Since it was located off the railroad, most of the business activity moved to nearby Mart. In 1906 the post office was closed. The population grew to about 200 by 1947 but declined again to 100 by the mid-1960s. The population decline forced the consolidation of the school with that of Mart in 1957. Subsequently, the remaining businesses and churches closed. The population of the community was listed as 100 in 1990 and in 2000.