SHARPSBURG, TEXAS. Sharpsburg was located on a slight rise one mile north of the Nueces River in south central San Patricio County, near where U.S. Highway 77 and Interstate Highway 37 cross the river. The earliest settlement in the area was a small Mexican community called Ramirena. Around 1867 S. G. Borden settled near Ramirena and built a two-story building for a store and home. He renamed the settlement Sharpsburg, apparently after a man named Sharp who owned a nearby sheep ranch. A post office was opened on December 23, 1874, with Albert G. Caldwell as postmaster. A school was operating by 1875, and the town was platted in 1876.
Sharpsburg's location on the river enabled it to become a supply point and shipping center for wool, hides, cotton, and wine. Soon after settling in Sharpsburg, Borden began to operate a ferry on the river; service continued until 1914, when a bridge was constructed. In 1881 Borden established a cotton gin at nearby Hart's Lake. He also planted wine grapes and sold wine in South Texas under the names Sharpsburg's Best and Rachal's Choice. At its height in the mid-1890s the town had a gristmill, blacksmith and wheelright shops, and a population of approximately 300. By the end of the 1890s, however, the community was in decline. After the railroad bypassed Sharpsburg most of the town's residents and businesses moved to Odem and other larger communities. The post office was closed in 1908, and the school was closed in 1912. By the 1920s Sharpsburg was a ghost town. In 1988 a ranch headquarters existed on the site of the old town.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Keith Guthrie, History of San Patricio County (Austin: Nortex, 1986).
