Luella, Texas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Luella, Texas
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 Luella, Texas
Location in Texas
Luella, Texas
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Grayson |
| Population
(2000)
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| • Unincorporated community | 639 |
| • Metro | 120,877 |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
Luella is a small place in Grayson County, Texas, USA. It's called an unincorporated community, which means it doesn't have its own city government. In 2000, about 639 people lived there. Luella is near the cities of Sherman and Denison.
Contents
Where is Luella?
Luella is found in the middle of Grayson County, Texas. It is located along State Highway 11. This is about four miles southeast of the city of Sherman.
Luella's Story: A Town's Journey
Luella has an interesting history. It started small, grew, faced challenges, and then changed again.
How Luella Began
Luella's story began in the 1880s. In 1888, train tracks from the St. Louis Southwestern Railway reached this area. A businessman named J.L. Hughes built a store and a train station there. He named the new post office "Luella" after his oldest daughter.
Soon, Luella had many businesses. It also had a public school that was used as a community center. The railroad, also called the Cotton Belt Line, carried both goods and people. A passenger trolley ran daily from Sherman through Luella to Commerce and back. By 1914, about fifty people lived in Luella.
A Quiet Time for Luella
Luella stayed small and started to decline in the 1920s. The post office closed in 1924. Train service stopped in the early 1950s. The county bought the old railroad land. The dirt path next to the tracks became Farm to Market Road 1281.
Luella Gets a Boost
In 1964, things started to look up for Luella. Fifty local residents created the Luella Water Supply District. Each person gave $50 to help get water service to the area. This new water system helped the community grow again.
Because Luella was a quiet area near Sherman, it became popular for new homes. Four new neighborhoods were built in the 1970s. These were Luella Heights, Chamberlain Ridge, Golden Acres, and Highland Meadows. They offered country-style living with large yards.
Becoming an Official Town
Even though Luella was not a city, it was close to Sherman. When Sherman started drilling water wells nearby, people in Luella worried. They thought Sherman might try to make Luella part of its city. They feared they wouldn't get the same services as other Sherman residents.
So, a group decided to make Luella an official town. This is called incorporation. On April 11, 1978, people voted on this idea. Out of 99 votes, 89 people voted for Luella to become a town. Residents also chose a mayor, J.C. Rich, and a five-member town council. In 1980, Luella had 371 people.
After becoming a town, the local government could provide basic services. This included fixing roads. However, over time, there wasn't enough money to keep the roads in good shape.
One big problem was Watkins Road Bridge. School bus drivers refused to cross it because it was in such bad condition. When it rained heavily, the bridge would flood. School officials worried about getting children home safely. The town tried to get help to fix the bridge. A state grant seemed like a good idea, but the project cost more than expected. By the time it was done, Luella was almost out of money. Other bridges still needed repairs.
Mayor Dolores Bernhardt suggested raising taxes to fix the roads. But this plan didn't guarantee other services.
Luella Becomes Unincorporated Again
On May 1, 1993, people in Luella voted again. This time, they voted on whether to stop being an official town. Out of 312 registered voters, 213 came to vote. A total of 128 people (60.1%) voted to end Luella's fifteen years as an incorporated community. Only 85 people (39.9%) wanted to stay an official town.
Today, Luella is once again an unincorporated community. It serves as a quiet place for people who work in nearby Sherman. In 2000, about 639 people lived there. The Luella Special Utility District provides water service to about 1,000 homes in the area.
Learning in Luella
Students in Luella attend public schools run by the Tom Bean Independent School District [1].
- Tom Bean Elementary School serves students in kindergarten through 5th grade.
- Tom Bean Middle School is for students in grades 6-8.
- Tom Bean High School is for students in grades 9-12.
