Lytle

Lytle is on Interstate Highway 35 and U.S. Highway 81 in the far northwest corner of Atascosa County. The city limits extend into neighboring Bexar and Medina counties. The town was named for John T. Lytle, a rancher and traildriver active in the area in the 1860s and possibly as early as 1846. He was instrumental in establishing Lytle Station on the International-Great Northern Railroad in 1882. When a post office was granted in 1883, it was named for the train stop, which was near the Lytle-McDaniel Ranch and had a general store, a bar, and a casketmaker named W. J. Garnand, who became the first postmaster. Lytle was a shipping point and retail center for area ranchers and corn and cotton farmers. In 1884 it had a population of fifty, a union church, a district school, a hotel, and a physician. By 1892 the community had a population of 100, four general stores, a gin, two livestock breeders, and a Methodist church. In the late 1890s coal mining became a factor in the area's economy, and the population of Lytle rose to 150 by 1896.

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.