Julia

Bishop, at the junction of U.S. Highway 77, State Loop 428 and Farm Road 70 in extreme southwestern Nueces County, was originally on the Driscoll Ranch and was called Julia Siding. In 1910 F. Z. Bishop, a Corpus Christi insurance agent, bought a large parcel of land at the site and established a town. Before the first lots were put on sale on May 30, 1910, the town was laid out with a complete modern sewage system, eight miles of graded streets, and two miles of cement sidewalks. A $35,000 electric light and water plant was established, and a telephone system was installed. A hotel and several residences were erected, and a $16,000 store and office building was opened. In September 1910, when the first school opened in a three-room frame building, sixteen children were enrolled. Enrollment increased to sixty by the end of the term. Within three years the previously undeveloped expanse of brush, cactus, and mesquite was transformed into a new and prosperous agricultural section. In 1923 30,000 bales of local cotton were marketed for more than $4,000,000, and Bishop was referred to as the "Cotton Capital of the Coast." In 1941 the farmers combined 3,000 pounds of grain to the acre, and "Grain Mart of the Coastal Bend" was added to the label.

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