Rabb Switch
Hallettsville, Lavaca County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Edward M. Rabb (1855-1908) a native of La Grange, Fayette County, Texas, was the son of William and Prudence Smalley Rabb. In the 1880s Dr. Edward M. Rabb settled in this area and purchased 2089 acres of land from S. W. Campbell. At his death, Dr. Rabb left a will with instructions calling for a wood and water switch to serve the railroad to be built on a portion of his land. The San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad was built across the Navidad River in 1887. The switch was constructed and local residents cut and loaded firewood for shipment to Houston. The land that was cleared of firewood was used to farm cotton and corn, the primary source of income for farmers in the area. Two stores opened at Rabb Switch, and a school built in the 1800s was moved to the community in 1919 and served 30-35 students. The railroad ceased operations during the 1950s, at the same time that U. s. Highway 90-A was improved. When the school was closed in 1953, students were transferred five miles west to the Hallettsville Independent School District, and the population declined thereafter as businesses closed. (1997)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
La Grange native Dr. Edward M. Rabb settled in this area in the 1880s and bought more than two thousand acres, leaving instructions in his will for a wood-and-water switch to serve a coming railroad. When the San Antonio and Aransas Pass line crossed the Navidad River in 1887, the switch was built and locals loaded firewood bound for Houston, later farming the cleared land in cotton and corn. Two stores and a school followed, but after the railroad shut down in the 1950s and the school closed in 1953, the little community faded.
Why it matters
Rabb Switch shows how a single rail stop could seed—and then, in its absence, starve—a rural Texas community.
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Related people
- · Edward M. Rabb
Themes & tags
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