Prairie Hill

Prairie Hill is at the intersection of Farm Roads 339 and 73, about twenty-two miles northwest of Groesbeck in northwestern Limestone County. The town was named for a rise in the prairie between Christmas Creek and the Navasota River. According to one account the first store at the site was established by Marquis Perry; when the settlement was granted a post office in 1884, Perry became the first postmaster. By 1890 about twenty-five people lived in the town, which by then included a general store, a gristmill, and two cotton gins. A Masonic temple was organized in 1892, a school was established in 1894, and about that time the town also had a blacksmith shop. By 1896 Prairie Hill had grown to a population of about 200 and had five churches and two hotels. By 1904, however, its population had declined to 152. Its post office was discontinued in 1906. A Church of Christ was built in Prairie Hill in 1913, but the community remained without a post office until 1925. The town continued to grow during the late 1920s and early 1930s. By 1929 Prairie Hill had a bank and about 300 residents; though the bank closed in 1931, by 1933 the town had ten businesses, and its population had grown to about 500. The population level remained fairly stable until the early 1940s, when the community began to decline again. Its estimated population dropped to 400 by 1945 and to 350 by 1947. A 1957 map showed three churches, a high school, and a number of dwellings at the site. The local Church of Christ closed in 1962. As the older residents died and others moved away, the Prairie Hill population continued to decline, dropping to about 200 by 1966 and to 150 by 1975. That year the old Church of Christ building was leased by the town and converted into a civic center, which helped to strengthen the community. In 1990 through 2000 the town had an estimated 150 residents.