LA PARITA, TEXAS. La Parita is just east of Farm Road 1332 and seven miles southeast of Charlotte in west central Atascosa County. It is named for the La Parita School, which was established in that area in 1875 and was then abandoned in 1884. The La Parita community was founded by John and Joe Chupick around 1922, when they purchased land in the neighborhood of the abandoned school for development. They established a store and a lumberyard to attract settlers. In 1924 a new school was completed on land donated by John and Rosey Matocha. It grew from its original two rooms to three by 1933, when it had about 100 students and three teachers. There was also a business that served area residents, and the site of the bridge over La Parita Creek provided a popular location for regional gatherings such as Fourth of July picnics. During the 1940s La Parita also was the headquarters of a Four-H Club. Although oil was discovered near La Parita in 1950, the community did not develop. Its store stayed open until 1956, but its school was consolidated with those of Jourdanton during the early 1950s. By 1987 La Parita consisted only of a few scattered dwellings. The population was recorded as forty-eight in 2000.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Atascosa County Centennial, 1856-1956 (Jourdanton, Texas: Atascosa County Centennial Association, n.d.). Atascosa County History (Pleasanton, Texas: Atascosa History Committee, 1984). Margaret G. Clover, The Place Names of Atascosa County (M.A. thesis, University of Texas, 1952). Vertical Files, Barker Texas History Center, University of Texas at Austin (Atascosa County).

Linda Peterson