Twin Buttes

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Promotion: Nearby Map of Hall County

Eli, three miles southeast of Memphis in northeastern Hall County, was first known as Twin Buttes because of the twin hills nearby. John M. Gist, a wealthy businessman, purchased land in the vicinity and built a few houses and a store, a gin, a blacksmith shop, and a church at the foot of the hills. A one-room frame schoolhouse erected there in 1905 was later replaced by a four-room brick structure. In 1906 a post office was established and named Eli, in honor of Eli Melton Dennis, an early community leader. After fires and tornadoes destroyed some of the settlement's houses, it was rebuilt in the valley near the schoolhouse, which was west of the Twin Buttes site. Its post office was closed in December 1914, then restored under the name of Elite in November 1915 with Robert M. Craig as postmaster. This office was closed in August 1919, and mail was thereafter delivered from Memphis. In 1926 a Farmers' Union gin and two stores were built in the community. Although the name of the area reverted to Eli after 1919, a railroad station erected on the Fort Worth and Denver tracks southeast of Memphis near Twin Buttes was for many years labeled Elite. After the improvement of highway transportation in the 1940s, the community was abandoned, and in the mid-1980s only farms remained in the vicinity.

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H. Allen Anderson | © TSHA

Handbook of Texas Logo

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

Twin Buttes is part of or belongs to the following places:

Currently Exists

No

Place type

Twin Buttes is classified as a Town

Associated Names

  • (Eli)

Has Post Office

No

Is Incorporated

No