Duke, Texas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Duke, Texas
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 Duke, Texas
Location in Texas
Duke, Texas
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Fort Bend |
| Elevation | 62 ft (19 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code |
77583
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| Area code(s) | 281, 713, 832 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1378234 |
Duke is a ghost town located in Fort Bend County, Texas. A ghost town is a place where people used to live and work, but now it's mostly empty. Duke was once a small community situated west of Arcola, close to the BNSF Railway and Houston Southwest Airport. By 2014, you could no longer reach the old town site by public roads.
History of Duke, Texas
The town of Duke started as a busy spot on the Sugar Land Railroad. It was a place where people shipped sugar cane to other areas. The railroad used water from nearby Clear Lake for its steam trains, called locomotives.
The town got its first post office in 1883. John R. Fenn was the first postmaster, meaning he was in charge of the mail. Duke had a hotel, a place for livestock (a stock yard), a store, and sugar mills. The town was named after Duke Hessey, who owned the local store.
A Political Rally in Duke
On October 19, 1888, a political meeting happened in Duke. It almost turned into a fight between two groups of people. This was during a very tense time in politics, leading up to something called the Jaybird-Woodpecker War.
At the rally, a politician named Kyle Terry spoke. He said harsh things about his opponent, Ned Gibson. Even though Gibson wasn't there, one of his brothers got very upset. Terry pulled out a pistol, but an older African-American man, who used to be a slave of the Terry family, stopped him. The people who organized the event had asked everyone to leave their weapons at Fenn's store or in their buggies. This helped prevent a bigger fight that day. The postal service in Duke stopped in 1922.
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Three historical markers on Highway 6 near Arcola tell about the Duke Community and early settlers from the Perry, Fenn and Fitzgerald families.
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Duke Road is fenced off where it crosses Houston Southwest Airport property. Duke was located just beyond the BNSF Railway freight train in the distance.
Where Duke Was Located
According to a 1955 map from the United States Geological Survey, Duke was located west of Arcola. It was on the northern side of Clear Lake, along the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad.
On the map, a road connected Duke to what is now McKeever Road. Today, Duke Road goes across the property of Houston Southwest Airport. In January 2014, a fence blocked public access to the area where Duke used to be.
