San Gabriel, Texas

In an effort to convert the local Indian tribes to Christianity, many Spanish missions were built close to the site in the 1730s and 1740s; but, by the middle of the 1750s, these initiatives had been abandoned. By the end of the 19th century, little was left of the mission buildings, which had quickly fallen into disrepair. Jesse and Peter Mercer built cabins on the San Gabriel River in 1843 or 1844, marking the beginning of the settlement of San Gabriel. In 1850, the community received a post office. San Gabriel had 130 people, a church, and a steam gristmill-cotton gin by the middle of the 1880s. The main crops farmed by local farmers in the area were cotton, corn, and oats. San Gabriel's population estimates ranged from a low of 25 in 1890 to a high of 350 in 1929. By the early 1940s, there were 200 residents, and by the late 1950s, there were 75. In the late 1960s, the San Gabriel post office was shut down. In the 1980s, the location was indicated on county highway maps as housing two churches, a business, and a community hall. 100 people called it home in 1990. In 2000, the population was unchanged.[2]

In 2010, Burning Flipside held an event at the Apache Pastures near San Gabriel.[3]

The Sharp General Store in the community is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[4]

On April 6, 2019, an EF0 tornado struck the community, severely damaging a business.[5]

San Gabriel is located on Farm to Market Road 486, 17 mi (27 km) southwest of Cameron and 6 mi (9.7 km) north of Thorndale in western Milam County.[6]

San Gabriel had two schools in the mid-1880s. The community served as a school district until it joined the Thorndale Independent School District in 1960.[2]

• U.S. Route 79 in Texas