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OAK FOREST, TEXAS. Oak Forest is on Farm Road 90A in west central Gonzales County. A post office opened there in 1877 and closed in 1925. An early dam supplied power for a gin and in the twentieth century generated energy for the Central Power and Light system. In 1892 the town's population of 100 had semiweekly mail delivery and was served by a general store, a wagonmaker, a blacksmith, a gin, and a hotel. By 1896 Oak Forest reported 200 residents, including a physician and a music teacher, and a community telephone was located in J. J. Bradbury's general store. Oak Forest enjoyed daily mail delivery by 1914. Thereafter its population declined sharply. In 1936 the town had a population of seventy-five and three businesses. By 1965 it reported no businesses and a population of twenty-five; its population was recorded as twenty-five through 2000.

Stephen L. Hardin

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/OO/hno3.html (accessed January 9, 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).

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Last Updated: January 18, 2008
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