Oakland

The name Amasa Turner insisted on keeping came from David G. Burnet's home; Turner had named his post office in Lavaca County for it. Prairie Point already had a store on the stage line between Columbus and Gonzales by 1844, and a small log schoolhouse in the 1850s. A Masonic lodge formed in 1861 and later met upstairs in the two-story schoolhouse of the 1870s, which also served as a church. In 1884 Oakland had 200 people, three general stores, a saloon, a steam cotton gin and grist and saw mills. By 1950 it had about a hundred.

What the plaque says

Oakland Originally known as Prairie Point, a town was platted at this site in 1856 by A. C. Hereford. A native of Virginia, Hereford was a veteran of the Mexican War who had arrived in this area in the early 1850s. Located on part of the original James Bowie Survey, the community is the second oldest in Colorado County. When Hereford applied for a post office for Prairie Point in 1861, his request was denied because of the settlement's close proximity to an existing post office on the plantation of Amasa Turner (1800-1877). Turner agreed to relocate his post office to Prairie Point upon the condition that its name, Oakland, be retained. The town was thereafter known as Oakland. Oakland was a stop on the Old Gonzales Road, an important early route form San Felipe to Gonzales. As settlement in the town increased, a school was established in 1859. Soon churches, stores, business, and fraternal organizations were also in operation. The town became a major trading and social center for the farm families of western Colorado County. The population of Oakland began to decline in the 1870s when the railroad bypassed the community in favor of Weimar. (1988)

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Oakland Normal School — steps away
• Site of Former Town of Lyons — 5.9 mi
• Schulenburg — 7.1 mi
• John Pettit Borden — 7.2 mi