North Pleasanton

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about North Pleasanton, straight out of Atascosa County. Now settle in, because this one's got railroads, boom times, a depression, and a vote that changed everything. That's a lot of ground to cover, and North Pleasanton covered it all.

J.E. Franklin, chairman of the Crystal City and Uvalde Railroad, looked at what had been built in 1909 on bonus money and land donations, and decided the whole thing needed a bigger name and a bigger ambition. He changed the name to the San Antonio, Uvalde and Gulf Railroad, the S.A.U. and G. for short, and he extended those tracks toward Pleasanton.

By 1912, a brand new town called North Pleasanton had been established right at the division point, that sweet spot between San Antonio and Corpus Christi. President M.E. Leming and other officials of the Nueces Valley Townsite Company put it there on purpose, to accommodate railroad employees.

And they didn't do it halfway. The general operating offices went in. Machine shops went in.

A roundhouse. The works. Then came the crown jewel, a two-story depot built in the Mission Revival Style, designed by one Henry Phelps, the very same architect who designed the Atascosa County Courthouse.

That's a man who knew how to leave his mark on a county. Streets got surveyed and named. A bridge went up over the Atascosa River to connect North Pleasanton to Pleasanton just down the road.

Businesses lined First Street: the Gulf Coast Hotel, a post office, the First State Bank of North Pleasanton, multiple stores, other hotels. The town was humming. And in 1914, an advertisement in the San Antonio Light newspaper called North Pleasanton the fastest growing town in the south.

The fastest growing town. In the south. That's not a modest claim, but North Pleasanton wasn't in a modest mood.

Now, here's where the story takes a turn, the kind of turn you feel in your stomach. In 1927, the Missouri Pacific Railroad purchased the S.A.U. and G. And the shops began closing down.

The town that had roared to life on the strength of railroad work started to struggle, especially as the depression settled in like an uninvited guest who won't leave. But North Pleasanton didn't quit. In 1952, the citizens came together and created the North Pleasanton Community Club, a deliberate act of faith in their own future.

They built a new city hall, a fire station, a park, and a swimming pool. They were saying, we're still here, and we intend to stay. For almost fifty years, the residents of Pleasanton and North Pleasanton had lived side by side, two towns sharing a river crossing and a county.

But the idea of consolidation kept coming back around. And when it finally came to a vote, there was no argument, no split decision. On December 22, 1961, the citizens voted unanimously to consolidate with Pleasanton.

Unanimously. Every single vote pointing the same direction. Fifty years of living next door, and when the moment came, they chose to become one.

That's not a defeat. That's a community deciding it already knew where it belonged.

What the marker says

The Crystal City and Uvalde railroad was built in 1909 with bonus money and land donations. J.E. Franklin, chairman of the railroad, changed the name to San Antonio, Uvalde and Gulf (S.A.U. & G.), and extended the tracks toward Pleasanton. In 1912, a new town, North Pleasanton, was established at the division point by President M.E. Leming and other officials of the Nueces Valley Townsite Company to accommodate railroad employees. The division point, between San Antonio and Corpus Christi, made a suitable location for the general operating offices and machine shops, round house, etc. The two-story S.A.U. & G. Depot, designed by Henry Phelps, the architect who designed the Atascosa County Courthouse, was built in the Mission Revival Style. As the town began to grow, streets were surveyed and named, and a bridge was built over the Atascosa River to connect North Pleasanton to Pleasanton. Businesses opened along First Street, including the Gulf Coast Hotel, a post office, the First State Bank of North Pleasanton, multiple stores and other hotels. In 1914, an advertisement in the San Antonio Light newspaper named North Pleasanton as the fastest growing town in the south. In 1927, the Missouri Pacific Railroad purchased the S.A.U. & G. And the shops began closing down as the town struggled through the depression. In 1952, in an effort to improve the town, the citizens created the North Pleasanton Community Club. A new city hall, fire station, park and swimming pool were built. The residents of Pleasanton and North Pleasanton lived side by side for almost fifty years when the idea of consolidation resurfaced. Citizens voted unanimously to consolidate with Pleasanton on December 22, 1961.