| Official Name: | Fentress, Texas |
| Settlement Type: | Unincorporated community |
| Pushpin Map: | Texas#USA |
| Pushpin Label: | Fentress |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Texas |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Caldwell |
| Timezone: | Central (CST) |
| Utc Offset: | -6 |
| Timezone Dst: | CDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -5 |
| Elevation Ft: | 446 |
| Coordinates: | 29.7561°N -97.7764°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 78622 |
| Area Code: | 512 & 737 |
| Blank Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank Info: | 1357289 |
Fentress is an unincorporated community in Caldwell County, Texas, United States. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had an estimated population of 291 in 2000.[1] It is part of the Austin - Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area.
It was the setting for the novel The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate.
A settlement called Riverside was founded at the site in 1869. A Cumberland Presbyterian church was established there that same year. A horse-powered cotton gin was built in Riverside around 1870 by Cullen R. Smith and Joseph D. Smith. Nine years later, after being moved to the riverfront it was converted into waterpower, continuing to be operated by family members until its closure in 1968.
In 1892, the community was renamed Fentress in honor of local doctor and landowner James Fentress, who also had participated in the Battle of Plum Creek. A post office was established in 1893 in a general store owned by W.A. Wilson, who became the first postmaster. Mail was then routed between Luling and San Marcos. By 1896, the population was estimated at 150; a doctor and a blacksmith were listed in its business directory. The Fentress Waterworks began operating in 1898, and the community became electrified four years later. In 1900, a telephone company was established. Around 1904, the Fentress Indicator newspaper was inaugurated. A Methodist congregation was organized in 1905, and a church was built four years later.
In 1915, the number of residents had grown to 300 and there were three general stores, a mercantile company, a meat market, a confectionery, a pharmacy, a gin, and a blacksmith shop. That same year, Josh Merritt and his partner C.E. Tolhurst created a resort with swimming and camping facilities including a waterslide, bathhouses, and wooden-floored screened tents. The facilities were sold within two years and expanded under the new leadership. Local churches became greatly concerned that dancing took place (on the maple-floored skating rink).[1] A water tower collapsed onto the community's bank in 1918 and the cashier saved himself by running into a vault. It was only six years old; some locals viewed it as divine judgment.
The population peaked at around 500 during the late 1920s, as the economy benefited from local nearby oilfield activity that lasted for four decades. The Great Depression severely impacted Fentress; the community had lost half of its population by 1940, dropping to 250 residents. Fentress continued to decline during the latter half of the twentieth century, with most of the businesses disappearing in the 1990s. A hog farm supplying pigs that performed in the Aquarena Center disappeared at that time. By 1990, there were 85 residents, two businesses, two churches, a post office, a recreational facility that attracted campers and tubers, and a landing strip for skydivers. The population rose to 291 by 2000[1] but had declined to 86 in 2010.[2]
After the death of President George H. W. Bush, skydivers above Fentress made the number 41 in the sky as a tribute to him.[3]
Fentress is situated at the junction of State Highway 80 and FM 20 in southwestern Caldwell County, approximately eight miles northwest of Luling and 15 miles southeast of San Marcos. The nearest major city is Austin, 42 miles to the north. Also along the San Marcos River[1] is Lockhart, located 11 miles northwest.[2]
A one-room school building that offered instruction for three months each year opened in 1895. In 1922, a two-story, five-classroom facility with an auditorium was opened to replace the original building, but it was shut down in the 1940s with a merger into the Prairie Lea Independent School District, which continues to serve the community.[1]