| Official Name: | Duke, Texas |
| Settlement Type: | Ghost town |
| Pushpin Map: | Texas#USA |
| Pushpin Relief: | yes |
| Pushpin Label: | Duke |
| Pushpin Label Position: | top |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location within the state of Texas |
| 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: | 62 |
| Coordinates: | 29.5047°N -95.4861°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 77583 |
| Area Code: | 281, 713, 832 |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 1378234 |
Duke is a ghost town in Fort Bend County, in the U.S. state of Texas. The former settlement's location was west of Arcola along the BNSF Railway near Houston Southwest Airport. In 2014 the town site was no longer accessible by public roads.
The town of Duke grew up on the Sugar Land Railroad as a shipping point for sugar cane. Water from conveniently nearby Clear Lake was used to service the railroad locomotives. Postal service began in 1883 with John R. Fenn as postmaster. The bustling community consisted of a hotel, stock yard, store and sugar mills. The town was named after Duke Hessey, who operated the store.[1] On October 19, 1888 there was a political rally at Duke that nearly resulted in violence between the contending factions. During the tense political struggle which later erupted in the Jaybird-Woodpecker War there was an attempt at civil debate. However, when Woodpecker candidate Kyle Terry took the stage at Duke, he had harsh words for his opponent Ned Gibson, a Jaybird. Though Gibson was not there, one of his brothers took vigorous offense. Terry brandished a pistol but was prevented from using it by an elderly African-American man, a former slave of the Terry family. The organizers of the event had taken the precaution of asking participants to leave their weapons at Fenn's store or in their buggies. So the flash point waited another ten months.[2] Postal service ended at Duke in 1922.[1]
On the 1955 Almeda, Tex. United States Geological Survey 1:24,000 scale map, Duke was located on the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad west of Arcola on the northern side of Clear Lake. On the map, the town was connected by road to what is now McKeever Road to the north.[3] Duke Road crosses Southwest Houston Airport property a few yards from the western end of the runway. Public use was blocked by a fence in January 2014.[4]