Stranger, Texas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Stranger, Texas
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 Stranger, Texas
Location in Texas
Stranger, Texas
Location in the United States
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| Country |  United States of America |
| State |  Texas |
| County |  Falls |
| Population
(2000)
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| • Total | 27 |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code |
76661
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| Area code(s) | 254 |
Stranger is a small place in Texas, United States. It's not a city or town with its own government. Instead, it's an unincorporated community. This means it's a group of homes and buildings without a formal local government. Stranger is located in eastern Falls County, about ten miles from the town of Marlin. You can find it just north of Highway 7.
Contents
History of Stranger
Stranger has a long history, starting way back in the 1840s. It was first settled by people looking for new places to live.
Early Days and Growth
The community was also known as Upper or North Blue Ridge. It was connected to another area called Blue Ridge, which was south of town. Stranger really started to grow after the American Civil War. In 1879, it even got its own post office! This was a big step for the small community.
How Stranger Got Its Name
Have you ever wondered how Stranger got its interesting name? There's a popular story about it. A local blacksmith was asked what the town was called. He replied that he didn't know because he had just moved there. He said he was a "stranger" to the town. And that's how the name stuck!
Life in Stranger in the 1880s
By 1884, about 200 people lived in Stranger. It was a busy little place! The community had:
- Four churches
- A school
- A steam cotton gin (a machine that separates cotton fibers)
- A corn mill (for grinding corn)
- A hotel
Changes Over Time
After this busy period, the number of people living in Stranger started to go down. By the early 1900s, only 107 residents remained. Forty years later, in the 1940s, there was only one business left in Stranger. The population had also dropped by half.
Schools Close and Population Today
In the 1960s, the schools in Stranger closed. Students then went to schools in the Marlin area. By the year 2000, the population of Stranger was reported to be just 27 people.
