Wallis, Texas

History

In 1830 the first Anglo-Americans made their homes in the area between the Brazos and San Bernard rivers. When the settlement got a post office in 1873, its name was Bovine Bend. Sometime after 1880, the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway was constructed through the community from Galveston to Brenham. At that time, the town was renamed Wallis Station after J. E. Wallis, the director of the railroad. In 1887 the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway, being built east toward Houston, reached Wallis. Starting in about 1890, Czech immigrants began moving into the area. By 1904 there were 631 souls living in Wallis. In 1911, the town dropped "Station" from its name to become Wallis. Seven years later its school had 100 students. Between 1925 and 1943 the population grew from 800 to 900. By the latter year the town boasted 39 businesses. After declining to 690 in 1949, the number of inhabitants increased to 1,075 by 1966. A decade later, the city claimed to have a bank, library, and a newspaper, as well as two schools and eight churches. In 1991 there were 1,411 people and 15 commercial establishments. The population declined to 1,311 in 2000 and to 1,252 in 2010. In 2013 the BNSF Railway still operated along the one-time Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway right-of-way, while the east–west railroad line no longer existed.

From the History section of Wallis, Texas on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.