ALTAIR, TEXAS. Altair is on State Highway 90A in south central Colorado County. The community dates from the late 1880s. A post office was established there in 1888. The town was originally named Stafford's Ranch in honor of a leading local rancher. Because a Stafford, Texas, already had a post office, the name Altair, for the star, was approved by the residents in 1890. That same year Altair obtained service from a branch of the Texas and New Orleans Railroad. Stafford's Ranch has sometimes been mistakenly called Spafford's Ranch. During the 1960s Altair had a population of 200. From 1974 until 1986 its population was estimated at eighty. In 1986 the community supported a few stores and rice-drying facilities. In 1990 and in 2000 the population was thirty.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Colorado County Sesquicentennial Commemorative Book (La Grange, Texas: Hengst Printing, 1986 Fred Tarpley, 1001 Texas Place Names (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1980).
- The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation
for this article.
-
Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. ","
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/AA/hna28.html (accessed November 8, 2009).
(NOTE: "s.v." stands for sub verbo, "under the word.")
The Handbook of Texas Online is a project of the Texas State Historical Association (http://www.tshaonline.org).
Copyright ©, The Texas State Historical Association, 1997-2002
Last Updated:
November 2, 2009
Please send us your comments.