Edna Hill Community
Dublin vicinity, Erath County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Abundant grassland, timber, and water induced pioneers to settle in this area of Texas's western Cross Timbers region in the 1850s. Ranching and cotton production dominated early land use. Barbee Cemetery was established nearby about 1863. A community developed near a school built here in 1904 on land donated by Brack Salyer. The school and community were named for Salyer's granddaughter Edna Wilson. The 1930s depression continued a decline of Edna Hill which began in the 1920s. By the early 1990s all that remained was Baptist church, community center, and a few homes. (1994)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Grass, timber, and water drew pioneers to this corner of the western Cross Timbers in the 1850s, where ranching and cotton took hold. A community gathered around a school built in 1904 on donated land and named Edna Hill for the donor's granddaughter. Decline set in during the 1920s and deepened through the Depression, until by the 1990s only a church, a community center, and a few homes remained.
Why it matters
Edna Hill's rise and fading is the common arc of countless rural Texas communities that flourished with the railroad-and-cotton era and dwindled after it.
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Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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