Plaska

Plaska, on Farm Road 657 two miles north of the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River in central Hall County, originated on land owned at the time by a noted Baptist circuit rider, J. L. Pyle, and later by W. W. Orr. Originally the community was called Lodge; a post office was established in March 1905 at the home of James M. Dickson, who served as postmaster. This office was discontinued in April 1909, and when the Lodge community sought to have it restored in 1920, postal authorities reported another Texas post office by that name. The name Pulaski was suggested by M. N. Orr, for his hometown in Tennessee, but the name came back from Washington spelled "Plaska." The community's first business was Billie Norman's blacksmith shop, built in 1907. This was soon followed by three general stores, a barbershop, and a hatchery. James Dickson built and managed the first of three gins in 1908. The first schoolhouse was built in 1910 and doubled as a church until a church building was erected in 1915. In 1925 the estimated population was twenty; by 1927 it had risen to 200. Plaska continued to thrive until the 1930s, when the Great Depression and highway improvements resulted in a general decline. By 1933, when the population was again estimated at twenty, Plaska had a store, a garage, a barbershop, two churches, and a brick school for grades one through nine. High school students were bussed to Memphis. The population rose to an estimated eighty by 1939. The post office closed in 1954, and by the 1980s Plaska had only a store and a cotton gin. The population was twenty-one in 1970 and twenty-eight in 1990. The population remained the same in 2000.

Continue Reading

H. Allen Anderson | © TSHA

Handbook of Texas Logo

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

Plaska is part of or belongs to the following places:

Currently Exists

Yes

Place type

Plaska is classified as a Town

Associated Names

  • (Locus)
  • (Lodge)

Location

Latitude: 34.60589000
Longitude: -100.64679650

Has Post Office

No

Is Incorporated

No

Population Count, 2009

20