Roans Prairie, Texas

Roans Prairie (or Roan's Prairie) is an unincorporated community in Grimes County, Texas, United States. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had an estimated population of 56 in 2000.

Geography

Roans Prairie is located at 30°35′04″N 95°56′38″W (30.5843658, -95.9438416). It is situated at junction of State Highways 30 and 90 in central Grimes County, approximately 17 miles northeast of Navasota and 31 miles east of Bryan.

History

First settled in the 1830s, it wasn't until the mid-1940s that a community began to develop. It was named for Willis I. Roan, who moved from Alabama to the vicinity of the headwaters of Rocky Creek around 1941. Roan constructed a log house, opened a general merchandise store, and became the settlement's first postmaster in 1849. A stage route from Huntsville to San Antonio passed through Roans Prairie and a depot was erected there. The International-Great Northern Railroad extended its Madisonville branch line through the community in 1903. Soon after, the Smith Land and improvement Company developed the site and renamed the town Steadmanville, but the name was changed back to Roans Prairie. A rock quarry was developed just north of the community and the railroad ran a spur to it. Much of the sand, gravel, and rock hauled from the site was used to construct the Galveston Seawall. By 1915, Roans Prairie had an estimated population of 250. That figure had fallen to 100 during the height of the Great Depression. By the mid-1940s, the population had risen to around 150. By the late 1960s, the population had declined to 56. It remained at that level through 2000.

Although it is unincorporated, Roans Prairie has a post office, with the ZIP code of 77875..

Education

Public education in the community of Roans Prairie is provided by the Anderson-Shiro Consolidated Independent School District.

External links

• U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Roans Prairie, Texas
• Roans Prairie, Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online