Stranger, Texas Explained

Official Name:Stranger, Texas
Settlement Type:Unincorporated community
Pushpin Map:Texas#USA
Pushpin Label:Stranger
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2: Falls
Unit Pref:Imperial
Population As Of:2000
Population Total:27
Timezone:Central (CST)
Utc Offset:-6
Timezone Dst:CDT
Utc Offset Dst:-5
Elevation Ft:528
Coordinates:31.3269°N -96.7244°W
Postal Code Type:ZIP code
Postal Code:76661
Area Code:254
Blank Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank Info:1380613

Stranger is an unincorporated community just north of Highway 7, and ten miles from Marlin[1] in eastern Falls County, Texas, United States.

History

The area was first settled in the 1840s. The community is also called Upper or North Blue Ridge, being linked to Blue Ridge from south of town. Stranger first started to grow after the Civil War, being granted a post office in 1879. The most accepted story of how Stranger derived its name was when a local blacksmith was asked what the name of the town was. The response of the man was he did not know, he had just moved to the area, and that he was a stranger to town.[2] In 1884, 200 people called Stranger home. Four churches called the place home, as did a school, steam cotton gin, corn mill and a hotel. Thereafter, the population declined. By the 20th century, the town was down to 107 residents. By the 1940s, only one business was remaining in Stranger, and only half of the 107 people who were there forty years before. In the 1960s, the schools closed and consolidated with Marlin I.S.D. In 2000, the population was reportedly 27.

References

31.3269°N -96.7244°W

Notes and References

  1. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hns94 Stranger on the Handbook of Texas
  2. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hns94 Stranger History at TSHA Online