Mars, Texas

Mars, Texas
Ghost town
Mars, Texas
Mars, Texas
Coordinates: 32°21′34″N 95°43′33″W / 32.35944°N 95.72583°W / 32.35944; -95.72583Coordinates: 32°21′34″N 95°43′33″W / 32.35944°N 95.72583°W / 32.35944; -95.72583
Country United States
State Texas
County Van Zandt
Elevation 459 ft (140 m)
Time zone UTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-5 (CDT)
GNIS feature ID 2034766[1]

Mars is a ghost town in Van Zandt County, Texas, United States.[1]

Once a retail center for the surrounding community, all that remains of the settlement is a church.

History

Mars was settled by brothers John and Henry Marrs.[2]

The settlement included a retail trading center, and had two mercantile stores, a blacksmith shop, a cotton gin and a grist mill.[2][3][4]

The Pleasant Ridge Church and school were established in Mars in 1871.[4] In 1916, the school consolidated to form the Clower Common School District (Clower is located approximately 15 mi (24 km) north of Mars).[4][5][6]

In 1891, a post office was established, originally called "Acme". The name was changed to "Mars" seven years later. The post office closed in 1907.[4][7]

The population of Mars was over 100 in 1915, and had declined to 50 in 1945.[2]

The Pleasant Ridge Church is now all that remains of the settlement.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 "Mars". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Kleiner, Diana J. (June 15, 2010). "Mars Community, TX". Handbook of Texas Online.
  3. ↑ "Marrs Community". Van Zandt County Texas. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Mars Community". Uncovered Texas. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  5. ↑ Riley, Andrew J. (August 1941). How the Trend Towards Centralization has Affected the Schools in Van Zandt County (M.Sc. thesis). University of North Texas.
  6. ↑ "Clower". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
  7. ↑ Gannett, Henry (1902). A Gazetteer of Texas. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 102.
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