El Campo was known as "Prairie Switch" when it was established in 1881 as a siding and shipping point on the New York, Texas and Mexican Railroad, where cattlemen rounded up their herds for shipping. It was also a station for construction gangs working on the railroad. These workers frequently referred to it as "The Camp", and the name was officially changed to "El Campo" in 1890.
The town was laid out by the railroad and not by the compass, with two main streets that crossed each other north of the tracks. In the 1890's herds of cattle were bedded down on this very site, now named Evans Park.
This replica of an open depot is sponsored by the Beautify El Campo Extension (BEEs) of the Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture and the El Campo Museum Society. It is dedicated to the hardy men and women who settled this community, and commemorates El Campo's rich heritage during the Texas Sesquicentennial year of 1886.
Others making this project possible are Sorosis Club, Rotary Club, Women's Club, Sesame Club, Pilot Club, Lions Club, Jaycees, BLS Construction, Inc. and the El Campo Leader-News.

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Show me all markers in:  El Campo, TX  |  Wharton County  |  77437  |  Texas  |  United States of America

First National Bank of El Campo
El Campo Library Building Historical
El Campo Historical
Danevang
Ansgar Evangelical Lutheran Church and Cemetery
Danevang Lutheran Church
Danevang Pioneer Monument
Danevang Community Hall
Wharton County Courthouse Historical
City of Wharton

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