SWENSON, TEXAS. Swenson, at the intersection of U.S. Highway 380 and Farm Road 1646, in west central Stonewall County, was laid out in 1908 by Thomas C. Hoy in anticipation of the arrival of the Stamford and Northwestern Railway and dedicated in 1910. Pioneers included Thomas C. Hoy, John W. Hoy, Theo Hoy, Jim Gregory, R. T. Green, and W. H. Billinsley. The town was named for Swante M. Swenson,^qv a prominent rancher. In 1910 rail service began on the Stamford and Northwestern, and by 1912 Swenson had a post office, two hotels, a bank, and other businesses. The school was established in 1908 and was consolidated with the Aspermont schools in 1945. The population was 175 in 1920 and 400 in 1940, when the town had twenty businesses. Afterward the town declined. Of the three churches, Baptist, Methodist, and Church of Christ, only the last remained in 1980. The post office was closed in the early 1960s, and by 1979 there were only three businesses left, two gas stations and a grocery. The reported population was 185 in 1980 through 2000.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: A History of Stonewall County (Aspermont, Texas: Stonewall County Historical Commission, 1979).

William R. Hunt