DeWalt, Missouri City, Texas explained

Official Name:DeWalt,
Missouri City, Texas
Settlement Type:Neighborhood
Pushpin Map:Texas#USA
Pushpin Label:DeWalt
Pushpin Relief:yes
Pushpin Label Position:top
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Texas
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Fort Bend
Unit Pref:Imperial
Timezone:Central (CST)
Utc Offset:-6
Timezone Dst:CDT
Utc Offset Dst:-5
Elevation Ft:72
Coordinates:29.5567°N -95.5567°W
Postal Code Type:ZIP code
Postal Code:77459
Area Code:Mostly 281 also 713, 832
Blank1 Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank1 Info:1334312

DeWalt or Dewalt was an unincorporated area in Fort Bend County, in the U.S. state of Texas. The former community was located on State Highway 6 (SH 6) between Oilfield Road and Farm to Market Road 1092 (FM 1092). DeWalt has been absorbed by the municipality of Missouri City, a Houston suburb. Though Dewalt was noted on highway signs as late as 2013, there are few surviving structures and locations from the original community. In 2006, the Dew Plantation's house was moved from DeWalt to nearby Kitty Hollow Park to preserve it as a museum. The private Dewalt Cemetery still exists within the Lake Olympia subdivision.

Geography

DeWalt was situated along SH 6 near its junctions with Oilfield Road (now Scenic Rivers Drive), which goes west, and DeWalt Road (now Lake Olympia Parkway), which heads east. A second source placed DeWalt about a mile northeast at SH 6 and FM 1092.[1] Both intersections are surrounded now by commercial and residential areas. DeWalt was about 5miles southeast of U.S. Route 59 (US 59) in Sugar Land. Lake Olympia Parkway crosses southeast-flowing Oyster Creek by a bridge about 0.1miles east of SH 6.

The private, gated DeWalt Cemetery is located 1.8miles east within a neighborhood near Lake Olympia Parkway. DeWalt (as "Dewalt") is still used in FCC records as the geographical location for some services broadcasting from the several tall towers northeast of the original community.[2]

The historic Dew Plantation House had been in DeWalt. It was moved about 3miles southeast to county-operated Kitty Hollow Park in 2006 by Fort Bend County and the Fort Bend Museum Association. The building was renovated and now serves as the DeWalt Heritage Center. The DeWalt Heritage Society was formed as part of the Fort Bend County Museum Association to oversee preservation.[3]

History

There was a sugar plantation in the vicinity in the 1850s owned by Thomas Waters DeWalt. After the Civil War, which ended in 1865, the plantation was subdivided and populated by an African-American community. By 1914, 100 people lived in DeWalt. The Sugar Land Railway passed through the town starting in 1912 until about 1980.

Missouri City acquired the previously unincorporated area with annexations[4] in 1965 and 1980.

Government and infrastructure

Fort Bend County does not have a hospital district. OakBend Medical Center serves as the county's charity hospital which the county contracts with.[5]

Education

DeWalt had been in Missouri City Independent School District prior to its consolidation into Fort Bend Independent School District in 1959.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Odintz . Mark . Handbook of Texas Online: DEWALT, TX . . December 13, 2013 .
  2. Web site: KUVM . June 19, 2015 .
  3. Web site: DeWalt Heritage Center . Fort Bend Museum . December 13, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150822053832/http://www.fortbendmuseum.org/dewalt-heritage-center.html . August 22, 2015 . dead .
  4. http://ims.ci.mocity.tx.us/smpdf/annexation11X17.pdf "Annexation History Map"
  5. Web site: Knipp. Bethany. Fort Bend County lacks hospital district. Community Impact Newspaper. 2016-11-02. 2021-10-18.