Jimtown

Deanville is on Farm Road 60 four miles south of State Highway 21 in southwestern Burleson County. The first settler in the heavily wooded area was probably Horatio Chriesman, who moved there from Washington County in the late 1840s. The community that eventually developed in the vicinity was named for James L. Dean, who established a general store there in 1872. An arm of the Chisholm Trail passed by Deanville, and cattlemen on their drives from Columbus, Texas, to Kansas often camped near the settlement. By 1884 the community had two churches, a steam engine, a cotton gin, a gristmill, and a population of about fifty. The first school in the area was called Chriesman Chapel School; Chriesman had it built, and it was also used by the local Methodist congregation. A public school was established at the community in the early 1880s and operated until 1973, when it was merged with the Caldwell Independent School District. The post office, located in Dean's Store, was opened in 1877 and was still operating in 1991. The Houston and Texas Central Railway reached Deanville in 1913. The First State Bank, organized in 1919, was still the financial hub of the community in 1991, when it operated as a branch of the Citizens State Bank of Somerville. In the early 1990s Deanville was the trading center for the southwestern part of the county. Cotton was the principal crop for many years; at one time, the town had two cotton gins and a cotton warehouse. Other businesses included two garages, a drugstore, a barbershop, a blacksmith shop, a cafe, and a large general merchandise store. By 1939 a produce house, a butcher's shop, a lumberyard, an icehouse, a machine welding shop, and a dry-goods store were operating in the community. In 1991 the town had the bank, the post office, two grocery stores, a cafe, and a welding and fabricating shop. The O. D. H. Lodge, established in 1916, still staged a Fourth of July celebration each year. The only church in the community was St. John's Lutheran Church, constructed in 1917. During the early 1990s the community was in an area with many feed, grain, and hay farms, as well as a large cattle ranch. Many oil wells had also been drilled in the area. The population of Deanville in 1990 was estimated at 130 and again in 2000.

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Catherine G. Alford | © 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

Jimtown is part of or belongs to the following places:

Currently Exists

No

Place type

Jimtown is classified as a Town

Associated Names

  • (Deanville)

Has Post Office

No

Is Incorporated

No