Old Evergreen

Old Evergreen, also known as Evergreen, is between State highways 77 and 21 on Farm Road 1624, some 5½ miles north of Giddings in central Lee County. One of the earliest settlements in the county, the town was originally a stage stop on the Old San Antonio Road. In 1856 Randall D. Heck and Herman Doughterly surveyed and platted the town. During its peak period just before and after the Civil War, it had four stores, a school, and a church served by circuit-riding preachers. The town continued to prosper until 1890, when the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway was constructed through nearby Lincoln. Most of the residents moved to Lincoln, and within a few years Old Evergreen was completely abandoned. In 1990 nothing remained of the town but a small cemetery and the old evergreen tree after which the community was named. A historical marker was placed next to the tree in 1967.