George H. Paul, a land developer from Iowa, joined forces with the giant Coleman-Fulton Pasture Company in 1907 and 1908 to sell 56,000 acres of land for a development. Mexican migrant laborers cleared the area of brush, which was so thick that prospective buyers had to mark their paths. Sodville was probably named for its fertile soil when the real estate agency was creating promotional literature for prospective buyers in the midwest. Land sold at a steady pace, and in 1908 there were enough children in the area to prompt T. F. Harwood to donate land on which to build the Sodville school. By 1910 Mynier's store served the community. A Union church met in the schoolhouse, brush arbors and other locations. Hall Industries of Beeville bought Mynier's interest in the store and built two cotton gins in the area. The company later sold its interest in Sodville to W. A. Dunn, whose store and the corner on which it stood became community institutions. The Sodville Baptist Church organized in 1914 and the congregation met in its own building by 1916. In 1919-1920 T. F. Harwood donated more land to the school, and the Sodville Independent School District formed. By the 1930s Sodville had about 50 residents and three businesses; the roads were paved. A brick schoolhouse was erected in 1938. As people left farms and rural areas for cities in the second half of the 20th century, the population of communities such as Sodville declined. The school district was consolidated with Sinton schools in 1947; Dunn's store closed in the mid-1950s. The Sodville Baptist Church disbanded in 1961. Dunn's corner, near this site, and a few homes were all that remained of the Sodville community at the end of the 20th century. (2000)
This page last updated: 8/24/2009 10:48:26 |
Sodville Community Historical Marker Location Map, Sinton, Texas
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Related Themes:
Texas Baptist Churches
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