Sardis

Gholson is at the intersection of Farm roads 933 and 1858, twelve miles northwest of Waco in northern McLennan County. The area was settled in the late 1840s, and the community that developed there was called Sardis. Its first school was built in 1854. A post office was established in January 1858, with John S. Bell as postmaster, but it was discontinued shortly after the Civil War. Among the early settlers had been the Gholson brothers, Benjamin and Samuel, and the community gradually came to be called Gholson. A new post office by that name was established in February 1887 with Thomas Rhodes as postmaster. In 1890 the community had a general store and twenty-five residents; by the mid-1890s it had grown to include two churches, a corn mill and gin, two general stores, and seventy-five residents. The post office was discontinued in 1905 and replaced by a rural route from Ross. Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, Gholson remained a small farming community; its population was reported as thirty-four from the early 1930s to the early 1970s. In 1975, however, Gholson residents voted to incorporate with a mayor-council form of city government, and the community grew rapidly. Population estimates were as high as 650 in the late 1970s. Either these numbers were inflated, however, or the community underwent a dramatic slump, since only 263 residents were reported in 1980. The population began to grow steadily in the 1980s and was reported as 692 in 1990 and 922 in 2000.

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Vivian Elizabeth Smyrl | © TSHA

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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

Sardis is part of or belongs to the following places:

Currently Exists

No

Place type

Sardis is classified as a Town

Associated Names

  • (Gholson)

Has Post Office

No

Is Incorporated

No