Ray Point

Ray Point is a rural community on Farm Road 1358 seven miles northeast of Three Rivers in north central Live Oak County. It was named for James F. Ray, who once owned the land. It developed in the early 1920s during the cotton boom. In 1925 farmers in the area established a Methodist church; in 1927 a Lutheran church was built, and a school was established. The village grew to include a cotton gin, a store, and a blacksmith shop. In 1940 citizens formed the Ray Point Electric Cooperative to bring electricity to farms in the area. By 1945 the community was clearly declining. That year the Methodist church disbanded, and the school was incorporated into the Three Rivers Independent School District. In 1962 the Lutheran congregation began worshipping in Three Rivers; a 1965 map showed only scattered residences in the vicinity of Ray Point. In 1967 uranium mining began in the area. By 1980 there were many such mines in the area; the Exxon Corporation operated a solution mine at Ray Point. The old school building was used as a community center by the local population, and the town also had a store. In 1990 the population was seventy-five. The population reached 200 by 2000.