Amphion, Texas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Amphion, Texas
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 Amphion, Texas
Location in Texas
Amphion, Texas
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Atascosa |
| Elevation | 453 ft (138 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| Area code(s) | 830 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1379342 |
Amphion is a small, unincorporated community in Atascosa County, Texas. An unincorporated community is a place where people live but it doesn't have its own official town government. In 2000, only 26 people lived there. It is located near the big city of San Antonio.
History of Amphion
Amphion was first settled in the late 1880s. It was an important place back then. It even had a post office from 1881 to 1916. Amphion was also the very first county seat for Atascosa County. A county seat is the main town where the county government is located.
Before the 1900s, a Masonic lodge was built in Amphion. The community also had a general store and two cotton gins. Cotton gins are machines that separate cotton fibers from their seeds. In 1896, about 100 people lived in Amphion. It also had a hotel and a church.
Amphion started to decline around 1909. This happened when a new railroad, the Artesian Belt Railroad, was built. It went around Amphion instead of through it. This meant people and goods went to other towns like Jourdanton instead. By 1914, the general store was the only business left. The population was still 100 people that year.
In the 1940s, Amphion had a cemetery and a few homes. By 1956, it was called a ghost town. A ghost town is a place that used to be busy but is now mostly empty. In the late 1960s, only the cemetery and a few buildings remained. The population was 26 in 2000.
A copy of the first courthouse in Amphion is now in Jourdanton. It was built near where a town called Navatasco was planned in 1857. No one knows for sure how Amphion got its name. Some people think it was named after a character from Greek mythology. The community is on a large ranch that once belonged to José Antonio Navarro. He was an important person who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence.
Amphion also had a blacksmith shop and a tannery. A tannery is a place where animal hides are made into leather. Two men, Roy Jenkins and Frank Lozano, gave land for a local cemetery around 1870. The oldest grave is from a woman named Laura Underwood. There are also graves of two soldiers from the American Civil War.
Where is Amphion?
Amphion is located in the western part of Atascosa County. It is just east of Farm to Market Road 2146. It is about 9 mi (14 km) northwest of Pleasanton. It is also about 6 mi (9.7 km) southwest of Poteet.
Education in Amphion
Amphion had a summer school that started before 1900. By 1904, the local public school had 72 students and two teachers. By 1914, the number of students went down to 54. The school was still open in the 1940s. Today, students from Amphion go to school in the Jourdanton Independent School District.
