Mars, Texas

Mars is a ghost town in Van Zandt County, Texas, United States.[1]

Mars, Texas
Ghost town
Mars, Texas
Mars, Texas
Coordinates: 32°21′34″N 95°43′33″W
CountryUnited States
StateTexas
CountyVan Zandt
Elevation
459 ft (140 m)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
GNIS feature ID2034766[1]

Once a retail center for the surrounding community, all that remains of the settlement is a church.

History

Mars was settled by brothers John and Henry Marrs.[2]

The settlement was a retail trading center, and had two mercantile stores, a blacksmith shop, and a cotton gin and grist mill.[2][3][4]

The Pleasant Ridge Church and school were established in 1871.[4] In 1916, the school consolidated to form the Clower Common School District (Clower is located approximately 15 mi (24 km) north of Mars).[4][5][6]

In 1891, a post office was established, originally called "Acme". The name was changed to "Mars" seven years later. The post office closed in 1907.[4][7]

The population of Mars was over 100 in 1915, and had declined to 50 in 1945.[2]

The Pleasant Ridge Church is all that remains of the settlement.[2]

References
  1. "Mars". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
  2. Kleiner, Diana J. (June 15, 2010). "Mars Community, TX". Handbook of Texas Online.
  3. "Marrs Community". Van Zandt County Texas. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  4. "Mars Community". Uncovered Texas. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  5. Riley, Andrew J. (August 1941). How the Trend Towards Centralization has Affected the Schools in Van Zandt County (M.Sc. thesis). University of North Texas.
  6. "Clower". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
  7. Gannett, Henry (1902). A Gazetteer of Texas. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 102.
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