History

Historic Robinson

The City of Robinson traces its beginnings to the settlement of the Robinson brothers, John and Levi, who began farming in the area around 1852. Known originally as Robinsonville, the city was incorporated in 1955 under the name of Robinson and adopted the present Home Rule form of government in 1999.

Newcomers: Although many Robinson residents have lived in the city for decades, history reveals that we are all merely newcomers. The central Texas region, including Robinson and McLennan County, has supported human habitation for several thousand years.

Archeological evidence suggests that hunting and gathering peoples established themselves in the area as early as 11,000 years ago. Some of these may have been ancestors of the Tonkawas Indian, who appear to have been native to the region. The Wichita groups moved south from Okalahoma about 1700 and by the early 1800's some caddo and Delaware Indians were in the area as well.

McLennan County was established in 1850 with Waco Village as its county seat. Within a couple of years, the local Indians were moved.

Historical Markers

Robinsonville Presbyterian Church was organized on December 4, 1874. Known as Youngblood Memorial Presbyterian Church since occupying the current edifice in 1956, the church celebrated its 125th anniversary in 1999 by placing a Texas Historical Commission marker at the church, 200 S. Old Robinson Road.

Fletcher Cemetery, located off U.S. 77 in South Robinson, was the site of the first burial of the early settler, Sample Carrigan. Mostly a family burial ground until Catherine Carrigan Fletcher set aside three acres for a public cemetery in 1873, it has served as a final resting place for residents of several area communities including Golinda, Mooreville, Robinson, Rosenthal and Satin.

St. John United Church of Christ, located at 100 S. Robinson Drive (U.S. 77) was one of the city's earliest churches, being established in 1884. Originally established by a number of pioneers of German descent the church moved into its first building in 1890. It had previously met in homes and in the Presbyterian sanctuary. The first resident pastor was Rev. John Strauss who served from 1900 to 1940. The Texas Historical Commission plaque at the church site concludes: "Although the last German service was conducted in 1959, the church continues to reflect the ideals and traditions of its founders."

Interesting Facts

HISTORIC DOWNSVILLE
Nestled against the eastern side of Robinson is the small community of Downsville. History records that the land thereabouts belonged to one William Woods Downs who used slaves to farm the Brazos River bottomland in the early 1800's. After the Civil War, Downs reportedly gave each former slave family a house and some adjacent land, creating a small settlement. A railroad was laid through the area in the 1880's and a post office was established in 1890 when the community was officially named Downsville in honor of Downs and his son, John Wesley Downs.
Downsville had a school, three flour mills, a general store, two grocery stores and 100 residents around the end of the 1800's. In the 1900's, the post office closed, the railroad line was abandoned and the school was consolidated, leaving Downsville in the 2000's a picturesque, mostly residential central Texas village with a rich history.
Source: Handbook of Texas Online
(University of Texas)

EARLY DAY POST OFFICES

McLennan County once had dozens of post offices that provided service to early Texas pioneers. A U. S. Post Office named Hague opened on April 17, to 1878. With a name change Robinson(ville) on Jan. 14, 1879, the facility continued to operate until 1906 when the mail service was transferred to Waco, a condition that exists to this day.

Rosenthal had a post office from 1888 until 1907 at which time service was handed over to the Lorena office.

Downsville also had a post office in that era until service was transferred to Waco in 1907.
Other communities with post offices during the last half of the 191 century include: Acomb, Amanda, Aquilla, Artesia, Axtell, Baggett, Banks, Battle, Baffle Institute, Bishop, Blue Bluff, Bold Springs, Bosqueville, Bowling Green, Bruceville, Chase, China Spring, Coke, Comanche Springs, Cordova, Cow Bayou, Crawford, Eddy, Elk, Elm Mott, Erath, Farr, Gerald, Gholson, Fryar, Gilbert, Gilpin, Golinda, Greenock Hallsburg, Harrison, Hermoson, Hewitt, Hillside, Hoen, Hog Creek, Hurstland, Jackson, Jaynes, Leland, Leroy, Levi, Line Creek, Lorena, Lusk, McGregor, Mart, Mastersville, Middle Bosque, Montero, Moody, Mount Olivet, NalleyNicholsville, North Waco, Norwood, Ocee, Patrick, Patton, Perry, Price, Prospect, Richie, Riesel, Ross, Ryan, Sardis, Searsvitle, Sheid, South Bosque, Speegleville, Stark Grove, Teka, Tours, Vernal, Waco, Waco Village, Waldo, Wayside and West.

Only a few of these villages survived into the 21st century and fewer still made it with their post office designations intact.

SA & AP RAILROAD

Along portions of the present-day eastern city Emits of Robinson once ran the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad. Nearby communities such as Satin, Chilton, Lott and Rosebud owe their early existence to the pioneer railroad which built into Waco from Yoakum between 1887 and 1891. Originally chartered in 1884 to connect San Antonio the Aransas Pass to waterway, the line eventually consisted of 849 miles of track running from the southern tip of Texas to Waco. The operational headquarters for the line was at Yoakum, near Victoria.
The Falls County town of Lott is named for Uriah Lott, the principal promoter of the
line. Source: Handbook of Texas Online Graphic courtesy www.rrhistorical.com