Personville
Groesbeck, Limestone County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Behind this marker is town site of Personville, begun in 1854 by Benjamin D. Person, Sr. 1855 postmaster was Wm. Person. Grayson Masonic Lodge 265, chartered 1861, demised 1889. Nelleva cut-off, built in 1906 was abandoned 1933. J. D. Hudson was first teacher in district school, 1908. By 1915 had blacksmith shop, lumber yard, bank, hotel, 12 mercantiles, two drugstores, three doctors. Dr. G. H. Stephens was outstanding. Fire razed town, October 1916. Rebuilt, it soon faded away. Post office was abolished 1952.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Benjamin D. Person, Sr. founded this Limestone County town in 1854, and by 1915 it bustled with a bank, hotel, twelve mercantiles, drugstores, doctors, and a Masonic lodge chartered back in 1861. A fire razed the town in October 1916; it was rebuilt but soon dwindled, and the post office finally closed in 1952. Today only the townsite behind the marker remains.
Why it matters
Personville is a Texas ghost town whose rise and slow fade — hastened by fire and shifting rail lines — tells the common story of the many rural communities that flourished briefly and then vanished from the map.
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Related people
- · Benjamin D. Person, Sr.
Related events
- · 1916 Personville fire
Themes & tags
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