The Grove, Texas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
The Grove, Texas
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The Grove
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 The Grove, Texas
Location in Texas
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| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Coryell |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP codes |
76528
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| Area code(s) | 254 |
The Grove is a small, unincorporated community in Coryell County, Texas, United States. This means it's a settlement that isn't officially governed as a city or town. The area is famous for its many beautiful Texas bluebonnet flowers that bloom every spring. In the year 2000, about 65 people lived there. The Grove is part of the larger Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood metropolitan area.
Contents
History of The Grove
The Grove was started in 1859. It got its name from a group of live oak trees nearby. For a while, it was even called Morrison Grove.
Early Days in The Grove
By the late 1860s, The Grove had two general stores, a mill, and a cotton gin. A cotton gin is a machine that quickly separates cotton fibers from their seeds. In 1870, a group of Wendish immigrants moved to The Grove. At that time, the community already had several churches, including Baptist, Methodist, Disciples, and Presbyterian.
The first post office opened with J. B. Coleman as the postmaster. By the mid-1880s, The Grove was home to about 150 people. It had three general stores and two grocery stores. Local farmers would send their cotton, animal hides, and grain from The Grove. By 1900, it was one of the richest towns in Coryell County.
Changes Over Time
In the 1940s, a new road, State Highway 36, was built. It bypassed The Grove, meaning it didn't go through the town anymore. This caused the community to start getting smaller.
Around the same time, Fort Hood was built. Some farmers in the area had to move, and others lost land when the Belton Dam was constructed in 1953. These changes in transportation and farming led to the town's decline.
The population of The Grove dropped from about 150 people in the 1940s to 140 in the 1950s and 1960s. By 1970, only 65 people lived there, and the population stayed around that number until 2000. In the 1980s, maps showed The Grove as having a church and a few businesses.
Where is The Grove?
The Grove is located in eastern Coryell County. You can find it on Farm to Market Road 1114 and Texas State Highway 36. It is about 16 miles (26 km) southeast of Gatesville.
It's also about 36 miles (58 km) southwest of Waco. If you travel north from Austin on Interstate 35, it's about 85 miles (137 km) away. The Grove is also about a two-hour drive from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
Schools in The Grove
In 1904, The Grove had a public school with two teachers and 60 students. A Lutheran school was also started there in 1908.
However, in 1948, the public school in The Grove closed. After that, children had to ride buses to schools in nearby towns. The Lutheran school also closed in 1962 because there weren't enough students. Today, students from The Grove attend schools in the Gatesville Independent School District.
Famous People from The Grove
- Ernest Winkler: He was a historian and librarian at the University of Texas. He was born in The Grove.
- Albert J. Winkler: He was a professor who studied viticulture, which is the science of growing grapes. He was also born here.
- Bernie Winkler: He was a football player for Texas Tech.
Pictures of The Grove
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The St. Paul Lutheran Church Cemetery at The Grove has graves from many of the early pioneers of the community.
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A field of Texas bluebonnets in The Grove
