Verdi

Duane's take

The official marker for Verdi, in Atascosa County, tells it this way, and I'm just the one passin' it along. By 1855, folks were putting down roots in a stretch of South Texas that would one day carry a very different name. They came from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee, and some came from Spanish-origin families, and together they looked around at the land near Lucas Creek and said: we'll call ourselves the Lucas Community.

Simple as that, and it held for a good long while. The community wasted no time building the things people build when they mean to stay. A Church of Christ was organized in 1858.

A Methodist church followed in 1859. The Lucas Schoolhouse, right on this very site, became a county polling place in 1860. By 1870 a Roman Catholic congregation had established St.

Augustine Church. St. Augustine and Liberty schools were both up and running before 1888, and Friendship Baptist Church was organized that same year.

All of that, in a community of farmers and ranchers growing their own produce, their own grains, their own dairy and meats. Cotton was the chief crop. These were people who fed themselves and prayed together and voted together and educated their children, all within a few miles of each other.

Now, here is where the name gets interesting. In 1890, a man named Sydney S. Smith applied for a United States post office.

He wanted to call it Lucas. The trouble was, the name Lucas was already in use somewhere else in the country. So the community needed a new name, and according to local legend, a French settler by the name of Joseph Peynagrosse stepped in with a suggestion.

He chose the name Verdi, for a river in his homeland. That is the legend, and the marker is careful to call it that. Whatever you call it, the place kept growin.

By the early twentieth century, Verdi boasted schools, churches, a store, a post office, a blacksmith shop, and cotton gins serving a large rural population. The old Lucas school had a hundred and one students in 1904. By 1913 it was going by the Verdi school, and enrollment had climbed to a hundred and thirteen students with five teachers.

Then came the losses, one by one, the way they tend to come. The Verdi post office closed in 1916. The first high school senior class didn't graduate until 1933.

And in 1954, the school was annexed to Pleasanton, and the community declined. But here is the part of the story that tends to catch people off guard. In 1979, the Verdi Community Center was established, and the community came back to life around it.

A new focal point. Another chapter. From a creek-side settlement of Alabama and Tennessee farmers to a named community with cotton gins and five teachers, and then quiet, and then a revival.

That is Verdi, and it is, as the marker says, a vital part of Atascosa County's heritage and Texas history.

What the marker says

By 1855, settlers primarily from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee, as well as some of Spanish origin, were making their homes in this area and calling themselves Lucas Community because of their proximity to Lucas Creek. In 1858 a Church of Christ was organized, followed by a Methodist church in 1859. Lucas Schoolhouse, located on this site, became a county polling place in 1860. A Roman Catholic congregation established St. Augustine Church in 1870. St. Augustine and Liberty schools were established before 1888. Friendship Baptist Church was organized that year. Lucas Community was home to a farming and ranching population. They grew and raised their own produce, grains, dairy and meats. Cotton was the chief crop. In 1890, Sydney S. Smith applied for a U. S. post office in Lucas. The name Lucas already was in use elsewhere. According to local legend, French settler Joseph Peynagrosse chose the name Verdi for a river in his homeland. By the early 20th century, Verdi boasted schools, churches, a store, a post office, a blacksmith shop and cotton gins serving a large rural population. The Lucas school had 101 students in 1904. In 1913 it was called the Verdi school and had 113 students and five teachers. The Verdi post office closed in 1916. The first high school senior class graduated in 1933. In 1954 the school was annexed to Pleasanton and the community declined. It was revived in 1979, when Verdi Community Center was established and became another focal point for the community. The story of the Verdi community is a vital part of Atascosa County's heritage and Texas history. (2000)