Rural Shade
Rural Shade, a farming community on Farm Road 635 twenty miles southeast of Corsicana in southeastern Navarro County, was first settled in 1850 by Hugh and Washington Ingram. A post office was established there in 1858. Around 1870 James Ingram, one of Hugh's sons, built the first steam-powered gristmill in the area. By 1885 Rural Shade consisted of a blacksmith shop, a sawmill, three gristmills, three general stores, four cotton gins, and an estimated population of seventy-five. Two schools were in operation by 1906, with a total enrollment of 145. During the 1930s Rural Shade included a school, two churches, and five or six stores. After World War II its school was consolidated with the Kerens school, and the stores closed. By the mid-1960s only a church and a number of scattered houses remained. In 1990 Rural Shade was a dispersed rural community. The population was thirty in 2000.
Christopher Long | © TSHA
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
Rural Shade is part of or belongs to the following places:
Currently Exists
Yes
Place type
Rural Shade is classified as a Town
Location
Latitude: 32.05015670Longitude: -96.13941560
Has Post Office
No
Is Incorporated
No
Population Count, 2009
30