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Settled in the years following the Civil War, post Oak was an agricultural community for most of its history. Its name, derived from trees which are common in Somervell County, was solidified by 1896, when School District No. 2 took the name Post Oak. The lives of Post Oak residents revolved around a number of community institutions. Three churches have served as spiritual and social establishments: Pleasant Point Missionary Baptist Church, founded in 1893; a Christian church, established in 1895; and a Primitive Baptist church, organized in 1907. Of the three, the Missionary Baptist church played the largest role in Post Oak's development. The Rev. Seaborn J. Foust, who pastured a number of churches in Hood and Somervell counties, donated adjoining parcels of land that formed the center of Post Oak community with land for Post Oak School (1892), a community church building (1905), and a cemetery (1913), although residents had used the burial ground several years earlier. In 1931, the church and school buildings burned. The church disbanded, but the community rebuilt the schoolhouse the following year. Later, the Mitchell family restored the former school building as a community chapel in memory of Post Oak pioneers. Most early residents grew cotton, though many diversified by also planting fruit trees. Later, peanuts became a vital crop, and some landowners also raised cattle. By the 1940s, many residents left this rural area and moved to cities. In 1972, however, Texas Utilities began construction of the Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant on the settlement's eastern edge, reviving Post Oak's population and ensuring the continued growth of this historic community. (2007) |
