Sweet Home 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 ...

in Lavaca County,

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 ...

, United States. According to the

Handbook of Texas The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...

, the community had an estimated population of 360 in 2000.

Geography

Sweet Home is located at (29.3452449, -97.0716517). It is situated at the junction of Farm Roads 318 and

531 __NOTOC__ Year 531 ( DXXXI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in the Roman Empire as the Year after the Consulship of Lampadius and Probus (or, less frequently, year 1284 ''Ab urbe condita ...

in Lavaca County, approximately one mile east of U.S. Highway 77A. Cities within a radius of Sweet Home include Hallettsville (to the northeast), Shiner (to the northwest), and Yoakum (to the southwest).

History

In June 1853,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

native Solomon West purchased of land along Mustang Creek in Lavaca County. A year later, his family made the long journey to Texas. Upon their arrival, Solomon's daughter Mary exhaustingly exclaimed, "Pa, this would be a sweet home," and the name Sweet Home took root. In 1860, George West established a store, hotel, and stables at the site. During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, Sweet Home served as a winter camp for freight and cotton wagon trains carrying supplies from Alleyton (in Colorado County) to Brownsville – the only

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

port that remained open throughout most of the war.

Czechs The Czechs (, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavs, West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common Bohemia ...

and

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

began arriving in the community during the 1870s. The San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad laid tracks from Hallettsville to Yoakum in 1887, approximately five miles south of Sweet Home. Most of the residents and businesses relocated to a new location along the rail line. A few Czechs opted to stay at the original site. In 1890, the community had six stores. The first public school in Sweet Home was established in 1891. It was housed in the local Masonic Lodge hall. A two-story frame school house was constructed on the corner of Hallettsville and West streets in 1919. It was replaced by a newer facility in the 1930s. The railroad that had served Sweet Home for years and contributed to its growth, closed its agency in 1937. The population was estimated at 350 in 1948. There were also twelve stores and a recreational hall in the community at this time. On September 20, 1967, a tornado spawned by Hurricane Beulah destroyed Sweet Home's post office and damaged homes, businesses, and the Queen of Peace church. By the mid-1980s, around 360 people lived in the community. That figure remained steady through 2000. Sweet Home presently has two churches, a volunteer fire department, several businesses, and a new school. Although Sweet Home is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 77987.

Education

Public education in the community of Sweet Home is provided by the Sweet Home Independent School District. The district has one campus, Sweet Home Elementary, which serves students in grades pre-kindergarten through eight. Students in grades nine through twelve are eligible attend either Yoakum High School ( Yoakum ISD) or Hallettsville High School ( Hallettsville ISD), with most opting for Yoakum.

References

External links

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Sweet Home Independent School District
– Official site. {{authority control Unincorporated communities in Lavaca County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas