Calf Creek, Texas facts for kids

Calf Creek is a small community in McCulloch County, Texas. It's about 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Brady. This area has a rich history, changing its name and location several times over the years.

The Story of Calf Creek

Early Days: 1870s to 1902

Calf Creek wasn't always called Calf Creek! It started as "Deland" about two miles south of where it is now. The first settler was Edward Elijah Deland. He was a farmer and even an inventor! He got a patent for a special shepherd's crook in 1883.

Edward's daughter, Minnie Deland, was the community's first school teacher. She taught in a one-room schoolhouse. Edward's son, Ira Deland, was the first mail carrier. The Deland Post Office was open from 1906 to 1909.

Many families moved to the area, including the Willhelms from Germany in 1878. The Jones family helped a lot to build the community. They started the first Presbyterian church. It was named the Pecan Grove Presbyterian Church.

By 1898, the Calf Creek school had one teacher and twenty-three students. In 1902, Willis Huey gave land for a new school and a cemetery.

Growing Community: 1903 to 1914

In 1903, the Melton Land Company started selling off land from the Huey ranch. This brought many new families to the area. More families arrived in 1904.

The Baptist church was started in 1903 by the J. W. Attaways. They named it the Lone Star Baptist Church. Around the same time, the Methodist church was organized. These churches worked together until 1940. Every summer, a camp meeting was held on Calf Creek.

In 1905, the Alexander family built the first cotton gin. A cotton gin is a machine that separates cotton fibers from their seeds. At one point, Calf Creek had two cotton gins, but they still couldn't keep up! Extra cotton had to be sent to nearby Brady.

In 1909, the community center moved about a mile north. A new post office, named Tucker, was opened. It was named after Lum Tucker, a local store owner. The Tucker Post Office operated from 1909 to 1915. Tucker had a cotton gin, a general store, and a blacksmith shop. Most of Tucker was destroyed by a fire around 1915.

Telephones came to the community in 1914. For a while, everyone had a phone for 75 cents a month. Mrs. W. W. Kolb operated the switchboard from her home.

Calf Creek Today: 1915 to 2005

In 1915, the community moved about a mile north again to its current spot. The post office changed its name to Calf Creek. The name "Calf Creek" comes from a nearby stream. This stream flows 10 miles (16 km) to the San Saba River. The Calf Creek post office closed on January 31, 1954.

The land for the Calf Creek schoolhouse and cemetery was given by the Huey family in 1902. They donated 6 acres (24,281 m²) of land. About 2 acres (8,094 m²) of this land was used for the cemetery. The rest was for the school grounds. A wooden school building was likely used there between 1903 and 1921.

A new school was built in 1921 using money from an $8,000 bond project. In 1949, the Calf Creek school joined with the Brady Texas Independent School District. The school building was still used for church and community events for many years after the school closed.

From about 1970 to 2004, the old schoolhouse was damaged by vandals. Some people who cared about Calf Creek hoped to fix it up. They wanted to use it as a community center. However, the schoolhouse was torn down in late 2004 and early 2005.