Post Oak Community
Glen Rose, Somervell County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Settled in the years following the Civil War, post Oak was an agricultural community for most of its history. Its name, derived from trees which are common in Somervell County, was solidified by 1896, when School District No. 2 took the name Post Oak. The lives of Post Oak residents revolved around a number of community institutions. Three churches have served as spiritual and social establishments: Pleasant Point Missionary Baptist Church, founded in 1893; a Christian church, established in 1895; and a Primitive Baptist church, organized in 1907. Of the three, the Missionary Baptist church played the largest role in Post Oak's development. The Rev. Seaborn J. Foust, who pastured a number of churches in Hood and Somervell counties, donated adjoining parcels of land that formed the center of Post Oak community with land for Post Oak School (1892), a community church building (1905), and a cemetery (1913), although residents had used the burial ground several years earlier. In 1931, the church and school buildings burned. The church disbanded, but the community rebuilt the schoolhouse the following year. Later, the Mitchell family restored the former school building as a community chapel in memory of Post Oak pioneers. Most early residents grew cotton, though many diversified by also planting fruit trees. Later, peanuts became a vital crop, and some landowners also raised cattle. By the 1940s, many residents left this rural area and moved to cities. In 1972, however, Texas Utilities began construction of the Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant on the settlement's eastern edge, reviving Post Oak's population and ensuring the continued growth of this historic community. (2007)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Settled in the years after the Civil War, Post Oak took its name from the trees common to Somervell County and grew up around its churches, school, and cemetery. The Rev. Seaborn Foust donated the adjoining parcels that formed the community's core, and the Missionary Baptist church loomed largest in its life. Cotton and fruit gave way to peanuts and cattle, and though many residents left for the cities by the 1940s, construction of the Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant beginning in 1972 revived the settlement on its eastern edge.
Why it matters
Post Oak charts the full life cycle of a rural Texas farming community—from post-war founding through agricultural change and near-abandonment to unexpected renewal by a nuclear-age industry.
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Related people
- · Rev. Seaborn J. Foust
Themes & tags
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