Oakalla

Historical marker location:

Oakalla, Texas

( Main St. (FM 963))

Marker installed: 1979

The first settlers in this rich farm and ranch land arrived in the 1850s. Oakalla Post Office was established May 19, 1879. Schools were private until a cooperative was built which provided classrooms on the second floor. Oakalla boasted a doctor, drugstore, blacksmith shop, and a cotton gin by 1881. The two-acre school site was deeded in 1890. Worship was held in the schoolhouse and in brush arbors until 1908 when Oakalla Baptist Church erected a meetinghouse. The school consolidated in 1958 with Lampasas and the building became a community center.

cities and towns

In the late 19th century, Texas became known for its cattle drives, in which cowboys would move herds of cattle from Texas to railheads in Kansas and other northern states. The cattle drives were dangerous and difficult work, but they played a key role in the development of the American cattle industry.