Duroc

Cedar Lake, on Farm Road 2611 just west of the Brazoria county line in southeastern Matagorda County, was named for a cedar brake surrounding a nearby lake. A post office operated there from 1848 until 1855. In September 1854 the name was changed to Dura, and in November, to Duroc. A post office known as Roweville operated from 1890 until 1893, when the community changed the name to Cedar Lake. At this time the community was in Matagorda County; formerly it had been part of Brazoria County. In 1896 Cedar Lake recorded ten residents, and Velasco served as the community's banking and railroad point. In 1906 the town had five schools and five teachers for 266 Black pupils and one school and one teacher for six White pupils. A general store was established there by 1914, and in 1936 the township had one business and thirteen dwellings and was served by a metal-surfaced road. The community's post office closed sometime after 1930. In 1942 Cedar Lake had fifty residents and two businesses. Its reported population dropped to forty in 1967, then grew to 148 by 1969. By 1972 the Cedar Lakes School had been constructed two miles southwest of Cedar Lake. The community reported 148 inhabitants in 1990 and 160 in 2000.