DRYER, TEXAS. Dryer (Dreyer), on Farm Road 443 in eastern Gonzales County, was named for Henry Dryer, one of a group of investors who in 1891 bought 6,568 acres from L. M. Kokernot and divided it into small farm lots. Dryer acquired a post office in 1897, but it closed in 1906. By 1936 the community had three businesses, two churches, and a school and was surrounded by scattered farms. In 1940 the settlement had 100 inhabitants and five businesses. Thereafter, it saw a period of sharp decline; by 1968 the population was forty. In 1988 and 1990 the community had twenty residents, two businesses, and a church.

Stephen L. Hardin