Verdi

Verdi is a farming community just west of Farm Road 1784 and eight miles northeast of Pleasanton in northeastern Atascosa County. The Lucas School, the first school in Atascosa County, opened in 1860 at Lucas Creek, where Verdi is now located. The settlement that developed there was called the Lucas Community, after one of the original families that settled there. The name was changed to Verdi, chosen by the French settler Joseph Peynagrosse, when the post office opened in 1891, because the name Lucas was already in use for another post office. In 1904 the school was still officially known as Lucas and had 101 White students and two teachers. The name of the school had been changed to Verdi by 1913, when it had 115 students. The population of the community was reported as thirty in 1914. Its post office continued to operate until 1916, and Verdi also had a church and the school during that time. In 1934 the Verdi School had 94 students and five teachers. During the 1940s Verdi had the school, a church, at least one business, and a number of scattered dwellings. Its school had been consolidated with the Pleasanton schools by 1950, after which Verdi ceased to exist as a community. By 1979 it had been revived as a meeting place where the local Church of Christ served as a focus for area residents. They built a community center, which was still in use in 1986. Though no population figures were available for Verdi, it was shown on the 1987 county highway map. By 2000 the population was once again enumerated and reported 110 residents.