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Streets of Mexia

A popular local joke recalls two individuals (commonly Aggies) passing through town, arguing over the correct pronunciation of the city (one arguing for "muh-hay-uh" – the proper pronunciation; the other insisting on "mex-ee-uh" – the incorrect one). They stop in at a local eating establishment to settle the matter, asking, "how do you pronounce the name of this place?" The proprietor (waitress is also used in some versions) responds, "Deh-ree Kween." (from TexasEscapes.com)

115 miles W of Nacogdoches, 43 miles E of Waco, Mexia, Texas is named for a Mexican general, José Antonio Mexía, who joined an unsuccessful uprising against Santa Anna and died before a firing squad. A gas discovery in 1912 and an oil gusher in 1921 made it a boom town. From just 3,482 people the population exploded to an estimated 35,000 in 1922. It became so rowdy that martial law was imposed.

photograph from Mexia Blackcats 1959 (The Unofficial Blog of the Mexia [Texas] Graduating Class of 1959)

After the initial boom, the population decreased to a more manageable 10,000 by the mid-20s, but the onset of the Great Depression forced people to leave Mexia to find greener pastures. The population stabilized around 6,500 in the early 1930s, but the number of businesses reported fell by one third. A German Prisoner of War Camp was built in Mexia in 1942. The population was given as 6,618 in the early 1950s, not far from today's figure of just under 7,000. (History from TexasEscapes.com and The Roads of Texas)

Commerce Street in the 1930s or early '40s
photograph from Mexia Blackcats 1959 (The Unofficial Blog of the Mexia [Texas] Graduating Class of 1959)

Quite frankly, Mexia seemed pretty rundown. There was a fairly clear demarcation line separating what was left of the old downtown, and the virtual ghetto just a block away. I turned a couple of corners (on foot) I wasn't sure I should have taken.




Safeway?


City Hall/Civic Center

Ghosts in Mexia:




"Bull Durham" - do you see it?

1898 First Presbyterian Church



What lured me to Mexia:

Now a Spanish, Pentecostal church



And finally, I drove right past this lonely, little place as I pulled in to Mexia, and I just had to stop and take its picture as I left:


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This entry was posted on Thursday, January 04, 2007 at 9:06 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.

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11:47 PM

As a geophysicist living in boring East Texas, I always loved going thru Mexia because it has a fault zone. Inactive today, but it was pretty active not that long ago. Is Anna Nicole Smith the most famous person from Mexia?h    



6:12 PM

That's cool. I didn't know about the fault line! Perhaps that explains the quality of the streets and general condition of many of the structures. Thanks for the info.

I also had no idea she was from Mexia. I knew she was from Texas. She probably is the most famous person from there. I think Mexia is wise not to advertise that fact...    



6:41 PM

How cow, that place is a virtual ghost town....

Great pictures!    



7:12 PM

There's a fault line that runs through the East side of Beaumont, right across Calder Road. My father delighted in mentioning that to me every time we went over the bump in the road the shifting earth casused.

At a thrift store in Mexia, when I was hugely, obviously pregnant, an old geezer shambled up to me and told me, "If your baby isn't born perfect, it's of the devil." That rivals the old Mexican lady that came up to me (still pregnant) at a Fiesta Food Store in Houston and said to me, "If you hear your baby laugh in your dreams, the baby will be a witch."

Pregnancy inspires people.    



10:02 PM

It was very nearly deserted, that's for sure.

Don't tell me you grew up in Mexia, Dorothy! Wow, pregnancy inspires people to be koo-koo.    



11:39 AM

Enjoyed looking at the pictures, sad though they are to those of us who grew up there and attended many a movie in the Mexia Theater. It's not really a ghost town, however. Go out to Wal-Mart, and you'll find some signs of life.    



12:08 PM

Just wait a couple more years. It will be 10,000 - 15,000 Mexicans.

Then we can move to Mehico (Meee hi co)and away from Ma heeeee ah.    



9:46 PM

Hey Bill! I enjoyed your Mexia High School reunion blog! Great stuff there. I hope you don't mind my using a couple of your scans.    



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