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Jackson County Places: LaSalle |
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Places
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LA SALLE, TEXAS. La Salle is on
Farm Road 616 and the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway
in southwestern Jackson County. In 1875 J. M. Bennett, with
brothers Sol and Ike West, founded a ranch on a large spread
purchased from John N. Keeran of Victoria and introduced blooded
Hereford and Brahman cattle to the area. They shipped their
animals from Inez, Victoria County, until 1909, when the
Missouri Pacific Railroad passed through their property. The
three associates named the station Benwest, after the surnames
of the owners. In 1922 the name was changed to Bennview when the
West brothers withdrew from the partnership. In 1924 local
boosters surveyed a townsite, and Bennett promoted a land sale
that attracted a number of Poles and Czechs. Bennview had a post
office from 1928 until after 1930. In 1937 the citizens changed
the name to La Salle (apparently after the Sieur de La Salle)
and established a post office, a general store, and a rural
school that enrolled five pupils. The population of the
community grew from sixty in 1941 to 103 in 1971. Thereafter,
however, a period of decline ensued, and by 1988 the number of
inhabitants had dwindled to seventy-five. In 1990 the population
was still seventy-five. |
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