Off The Beaten Path - La Vernia, Texas

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LA VERNIA, TEXAS. La Vernia is on the south bank of Cibolo Creek at the junction of U.S. Highway 87 and Farm Road 775, fifteen miles north of Floresville in northern Wilson County. The town was first settled around 1850. W. R. Wiseman of Mississippi, who organized a Presbyterian church at the site around 1851, is said to have named the place Live Oak Grove for a grove nearby.

In 1853 a post office was established under the name Post Oak, which was changed to La Vernia in 1859. The origin of the name is uncertain. The Brahan Masonic lodge was established at La Vernia in 1859. German and Polish immigration brought the population to 110 by 1885, when the community had three churches, a steam gristmill, and a cotton gin. H. Suhre, owner of the general store, was the first postmaster.

In 1890 La Vernia had a population of 200. Construction of the San Antonio and Gulf Railroad across the area in 1893 brought the population to 343 by 1900. A two-teacher school was in operation by 1896, when the enrollment was sixty-six. In 1915 the town had two gins, a bank, four churches, a pottery plant, a brick works, and a population of 500. In 1947 it had seventeen businesses. In 1965 it had 700 residents and twenty-five businesses. The community incorporated around 1980 and in 1990 had a population of 639 and thirty-six businesses. In 2000 La Vernia had 136 businesses and a population of 931.