Macedonia, Liberty County, Texas facts for kids
Macedonia is a small place in Liberty County, Texas, in the United States. It's not a city or a town with its own government. Instead, it's an "unincorporated area." This means it's a community that is part of a larger county. Macedonia is located about 5 miles (8 km) northeast of where two roads, Texas State Highway 321 and Farm to Market Road 1008, meet. It's also about 16 miles (26 km) northwest of the city of Liberty.
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The Idea for Macedonia
In 1914, a group of business people from Chicago, Illinois, bought a large piece of land. They purchased about 12,000 acres (4,856 hectares) near the Beaumont, Sour Lake and Western Railway. Their big idea was to create a new community for people from Greece.
A Farming Community
The plan was for this new community to grow "truck crops." These are vegetables and fruits grown to be sold and shipped to markets. The group wanted to supply fresh food to the cities of Galveston and Houston. They named the community "Macedonia." This name came from a Baptist church that had been in the area since 1845.
The Plan Changes
However, the community didn't quite turn out as the founders had hoped. Some people who moved there from Greece found work at local sawmills instead of farming. The community didn't organize in the way the original group had planned.
Life in Macedonia
A post office opened in Macedonia in 1915. This was an important service for the people living there. However, the post office only stayed open for a few years. It closed down in 1922.
Population Changes
After the post office closed, the number of people living in Macedonia stayed quite small. For many decades, estimates showed the population was usually between 15 and 25 people. By the 1950s, most of the people living in Macedonia were African-American. In 1984, only a few scattered buildings and a church remained at the site.
