Greenvine, Texas

The first German Baptist Church in Texas was established there in 1861 after J. Frank Kiefer, a German Baptist evangelist, led a revival there in 1860. When neighboring Vinegrove began to deteriorate, Greenvine, which had its own post office from 1879 until 1907, began to flourish. The community served as a supply hub for the nearby agricultural region by 1879. In that year, Greenvine businessman and farmer William Seidel found natural gas and used it as fuel for the first time in Texas. The community prospered thanks to cotton production, processing, and agricultural trade. 300 people were living there in 1882, mostly German with a small minority of Anglo. Greenvine had a Grange store and a justice of the peace by 1884. The Greenvine Lutherans founded Emmanuel Church in 1884. The community's population had dropped to 150 by 1890. The settlement was home to the region's first five-and-dime store. In 1915, the Texas Lutheran Synod convened in Greenvine. By 1904, 182 people were living there, but the Great Depression and county urbanization caused that number to fall to 100 by 1936. Six businesses existed in 1890 compared to fifteen, including a hotel. The three gins and the enterprises had been reduced to one store and one business by 1949. Greenvine reported a population of 35 between 1980 and 2000. Greenvine's Baptist and Lutheran churches provided for the community in the 1980s despite losing its business district status. There are two Texas historical markers there, one of which honors the first time natural gas was used as fuel and the other of which marks Ebenezer Baptist Church.[2]

Greenvine is located on FM 2502 near Pond Creek, 5 mi (8.0 km) south of Burton and 10 mi (16 km) southwest of Brenham in southern Washington County.[3]

Greenvine had its own school in 1884. Since 1943, the community has been served by the Burton Independent School District.[2]