Center Point is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

settled in 1865 by freed slaves. It is located in Camp County in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, nine miles southeast of

Pittsburg Pittsburg may refer to: Places United States Cities, towns, townships and counties *Pittsburg, California * Pittsburg, Florida *Pittsburg, Kansas, Crawford County *Pittsburg, New Hampshire * Pittsburg, Oklahoma *Pittsburg, Texas *Pittsburg Coun ...

at the intersection of Farm to Market Road 2057 and County Road 4247. In 1979,

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (RTHL) is a designation awarded by the Texas Historical Commission for historically and architecturally significant properties in the U.S. state of Texas. RTHL is a legal designation and the highest honor the st ...

No. 9790 was designated to commemorate the founding of Center Point.

Settlement

Center Point was settled by freed slaves in 1865 as one of the Freedman's settlements that resulted from the

Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War. The Proclamation had the eff ...

. The origin of the settlement's name is said to be from Farm to Market Road 2057 crossing County Road 4247. The 1983 county highway map showed two churches, a cemetery, and a community center. It had a population of 41 in 2000. The Center Point Baptist Church was established in 1873. The community supported a brick kiln, sawmill, and cotton gin.

School

A one-room school established in 1887 served thirty-one black children, during each 100-day term. The school, however, was initially not a very good one. Later school bond improvements brought the educational institution up in 1916 to a four-room building, raising the school quality to one of the best in Camp County by 1936. The first school principals on the 14-acre campus were Mr. and Mrs. L. B. Cash. At its peak, the school accommodated 279 students. Because of the declining community population and enrollment, the school consolidated with

Pittsburg Independent School District Pittsburg Independent School District is a public school district based in Pittsburg, Texas (USA). In addition to Pittsburg, the district serves the town of Rocky Mound; both are located in Camp County, and the district includes all of that co ...

in 1955. In 1996, Recorded Texas Historic Landmark No. 9791 was designated to commemorate the school.

Cemetery

The Texas Historical Commission has noted Center Point Cemetery as CP-C010.

Notable person

* Barbara Smith Conrad:

Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

Conrad has performed with opera companies around the world.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Center Point, Camp County, Texas Geography of Camp County, Texas Ghost towns in East Texas Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks Unincorporated communities in Texas Populated places established in 1865