Interesting Facts

Historic Downsville

Nestled against the eastern side of Robinson is the small community of Downsville. History records that the land thereabouts belonged to one William Woods Downs who used slaves to farm the Brazos River bottomland in the early 1800's. After the Civil War, Downs reportedly gave each former slave family a house and some adjacent land, creating a small settlement. A railroad was laid through the area in the 1880's and a post office was established in 1890 when the community was officially named Downsville in honor of Downs and his son, John Wesley Downs.

Downsville had a school, 3 flour mills, a general store, 2 grocery stores and 100 residents around the end of the 1800's. In the 1900's, the post office closed, the railroad line was abandoned and the school was consolidated, leaving Downsville in the 2000's a picturesque, mostly residential central Texas village with a rich history.

Source: Handbook of Texas Online (University of Texas)

Early Day Post Offices

McLennan County once had dozens of post offices that provided service to early Texas pioneers. A U. S. Post Office named Hague opened on April 17, to 1878. With a name change Robinson(ville) on Jan. 14, 1879, the facility continued to operate until 1906 when the mail service was transferred to Waco, a condition that exists to this day.

Rosenthal had a post office from 1888 until 1907 at which time service was handed over to the Lorena office.

Downsville also had a post office in that era until service was transferred to Waco in 1907.

Other Post Offices

Other communities with post offices during the last half of the 19th century include: Acomb, Amanda, Aquilla, Artesia, Axtell, Baggett, Banks, Battle, Baffle Institute, Bishop, Blue Bluff, Bold Springs, Bosqueville, Bowling Green, Bruceville, Chase, China Spring, Coke, Comanche Springs, Cordova, Cow Bayou, Crawford, Eddy, Elk, Elm Mott, Erath, Farr, Gerald, Gholson, Fryar, Gilbert, Gilpin, Golinda, Greenock Hallsburg, Harrison, Hermoson, Hewitt, Hillside, Hoen, Hog Creek, Hurstland, Jackson, Jaynes, Leland, Leroy, Levi, Line Creek, Lorena, Lusk, McGregor, Mart, Mastersville, Middle Bosque, Montero, Moody, Mount Olivet, NalleyNicholsville, North Waco, Norwood, Ocee, Patrick, Patton, Perry, Price, Prospect, Richie, Riesel, Ross, Ryan, Sardis, Searsvitle, Sheid, South Bosque, Speegleville, Stark Grove, Teka, Tours, Vernal, Waco, Waco Village, Waldo, Wayside and West.

Only a few of these villages survived into the 21st century and even fewer made it with their post office designations intact.

SA & AP Railroads

Along portions of the present-day eastern city limits of Robinson once ran the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad. Nearby communities such as Satin, Chilton, Lott, and Rosebud owe their early existence to the pioneer railroad which built into Waco from Yoakum between 1887 and 1891. Originally chartered in 1884 to connect San Antonio to the Aransas Pass waterway, the line eventually consisted of 849 miles of track running from the southern tip of Texas to Waco. The operational headquarters for the line was at Yoakum, near Victoria.

The Falls County town of Lott is named for Uriah Lott, the principal promoter of the line.

Source: Handbook of Texas Online Graphic