Six Mile

Six Mile, formerly known as Marekville and as Royal, is on Farm Road 1090 six miles north of Port Lavaca in northern Calhoun County. It is situated on land that was originally granted to Valentine Garcia. The community was established in 1894 by Bohemian immigrants. Early settlers included the families of Ed See, John Lishka, John Coufal, Anton Machacek, Carl Hoppe, A. Webb, W. P. Dedmon, and Josef Marek (after whom the settlement was originally named Marekville). The community was on land that had never before been cultivated, but a few years later a bumper cotton crop brought more settlers, many of German descent. The first school building was constructed between 1894 and 1900 and also served as a church. By 1904 the school had one teacher who instructed fifty-four White students, and during the 1935–36 school year three teachers instructed ninety White students. By 1955 the Six Mile school had been consolidated into the county system, and local students were bused to classes in Port Lavaca. The community in 1905 obtained a post office, which was named Royal, after Royal Dedmon, the county commissioner. On March 5, 1907, local farmers organized the Six Mile Farmers Union. The post office closed in 1910. The Czech Presbyterian Church was built in 1923. The site was identified as Six Mile on the 1936 county highway map, which showed a school, a church, a business, and several farm units there. The community reportedly derived its name from a local watering hole, as it was "six miles to water" from Port Lavaca. By 1940 local farmers had constructed a system of drainage canals and a few public buildings. The site by 1985 had a business and a community cemetery, and the Calhoun County Airport was a mile to the southwest.