Guys Store, TX

Guys (Guy's) Store is on State Highway 811 six miles west of the Trinity River and eight miles southeast of Centerville in southeastern Leon County. It was named for the man who owned the store where the post office was established in 1871. In 1884 and 1890 Guys Store reported a population of 100, which had dropped to twenty-five by 1892. During the 1890s the settlement had Baptist and Methodist churches, a cotton gin, a gristmill, a general store, and a blacksmith. In 1907 the area had six schools, three for White and three for Black students, with a total enrollment of 205. Postal service to Guys Store was discontinued in 1927, and the community's mail was routed to Nineveh. In the 1940s Guys Store had one business and a number of scattered dwellings. The community was popular with gamblers and sportsmen; horse racing and card games were the principal attractions. Stock raising was the main local industry. Guys Store reported a population of 128 in 1904 and fifty in 1925 and 1933. The 1983 county highway map showed a business at the site, with a cemetery nearby.