HistoricSiteMarkers
Reconstruction & Gilded Age

Kicaster Community

La Vernia, Wilson County, Texas

Marker Inscription

The families of Isaac Crow, R. T. Spivey, Dr. W. R. Callaway, T. P. Camp, J. E. Watkins, Isom Ferguson, L. B. Pittman, and others began a farming settlement here in the 1860s. John James donated land for a schoolhouse (1872), where church services were also held. A. C. and Mary Anderson in 1887 gave more land for public use. Easterling post office, opened in 1887, was soon renamed Kicaster for nearby creek, but closed in 1906. The school was phased out in 1940, and the churches moved away. Kicaster Cemetery, in use since the 1870s, now marks the site of the community. (1975)

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

In the 1860s a cluster of farming families settled this stretch of Wilson County, and by 1872 John James had donated land for a schoolhouse that also hosted church services. The Easterling post office opened in 1887 and was soon renamed Kicaster for a nearby creek, but it closed in 1906, the school was phased out by 1940, and the churches drifted away. Today only Kicaster Cemetery, in use since the 1870s, marks where the community once stood.

Why it matters

Kicaster is a classic example of the small Texas farm settlements that rose and vanished with the fortunes of the post office and the railroad, leaving a cemetery as their last address.

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Related people

  • · John James

Themes & tags

Westward ExpansionEducationGhost TownsLandmark

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