Borden, Texas

Borden is an unincorporated community in southwestern Colorado County, Texas, located four miles northeast of Weimar.[1]

Not to be confused with Borden County, Texas.
Gail Borden, the namesake of the community

The community was known as Harvey's Creek Settlement before the U.S. Civil War. After the war ended Gail Borden returned to Texas and, at what would become Borden, built houses for himself, his brother, and his sons. He renamed the settlement Bordenville. The Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway opened its line through the Borden area in 1872.[1]

In 2000, Borden had 60 residents.[1]

Government and infrastructure

The area post office opened on January 19, 1874, and John P. Borden became the postmaster. In 1905 the post office closed and mail was rerouted through Weimar.[1]

In 1938, the Texas Highway Department announced plans to construct a lake and roadside park in Borden. The lake and roadside park are the only visible infrastructure of years gone by in Borden. The lake was to be constructed along US 90, then called the Houston-San Antonio State Highway No. 3. The Feb. 18, 1938 Eagle Lake Headlight announced that the new seven-acre lake “destined to become one of the main attractions,” along the Houston-San Antonio highway. Work began on the project by February, 1938, with “a modest beginning as a roadside park,” according to The Headlight. The lake was to be placed approximately 440 yards from what was the existing highway and directly west of State Highway 3, which eventually became Interstate 10. State Highway 3 bypassed Borden at what is now Haterman Lane. A creek then running through the site was to be dammed to fill the lake. “Workmen are busy now in damming up the creek, pulling down a hill in this vicinity, and utilizing dirt from this elsewhere to form baks for the new lake,” M.B. Hodges, state highway division engineer from Yoakum told The Headlight in 1938. Initial plans for the lake included eventual stocking with fish, and a multi-year moratorium on fishing prior to opening the lake to “sports enthusiasts.”[2]

Education

During the boon times of the 1870s, Borden also built a school for white children and a freedmen's' school for black children. The Weimar Independent School District serves Borden. In 1948 the Borden area schools were consolidated into the Weimar Independent School District.[1]

References
  1. Borden, Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online
  2. "Eagle Lake Headlight". The Eagle Lake Headlight. February 18, 1938. Retrieved 5/10/2019. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)


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