Smithland

Baileyville is on Farm Road 2027 sixteen miles northeast of Cameron in northern Milam County. Although the community was once known as Smithland or Bailey's Store, the name Baileyville was chosen when the post office was opened in 1874. By 1884 Baileyville had four combination steam gristmill-cotton gins, good schools, a Baptist church, and 500 residents. The community's population fell to 250 in the 1890s, but the school system continued to thrive. In 1903 the Baileyville district had three one-teacher schools for 118 White students and three one-teacher schools for 238 Black students. The post office was discontinued in 1924, and Baileyville's population fell sharply in the 1930s. By 1941 the community reported only two businesses and fifty residents. The Baileyville schools were consolidated with the Rosebud Independent School District by the early 1970s. In 1988 county highway maps showed a community hall and scattered businesses and residences. The population in 1990 was forty-five.

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.