Willamar

Willamar is on Farm roads 490 and 1420, ten miles southeast of Raymondville in central east Willacy County. It was named for Will Harding and Lamar Gill, who founded the town in 1921 on land belonging to descendants of the original grantee, José Narciso Cavazos. The Willamar school district was approved on March 9, 1923. In 1931 the community had two businesses, and in 1933 the population was estimated at twenty-five. In 1947 the name was used to refer to the railroad loading point, the school, the rich farming community, and the highly productive oilfield being developed by five or more major companies. That year the population was estimated at twenty-five, and one business was in operation. By 1950 Willamar had an estimated forty residents and two businesses. In 1967 the population was still estimated at forty, but there were no businesses. In 1980 the community had a school, a business, and a factory. In 2000 the population was fifteen.