NUBIA
1874-2000s
Nubia
By Alice W. Specht
Nubia, pronounced "Nuby" by locals, was in western Taylor County, 10 miles south of Merkel on Nubia Creek. Farm Road 126 crosses County Road 353 at what was the center of Nubia, the only community in Mulberry Canyon.
Nubia was settled in the mid-1880s. It consisted of a gin, drugstore, bank, two grocery stores, a blacksmith shop and a doctor’s office. A post office, located in one of the stores, operated from 1888 to 1917.
A school opened in 1900 and a Methodist church was founded in 1906. The economy of the area was based on raising sheep and cattle, as well as farming cotton, goose-neck maize, wheat and sugar cane.
The Handbook of Texas online reports in 1947 Nubia had one business and a population of less than 20. By 2000 the population was two.
Sources:
Merkel Area History, Pat and Larry Gill, editors, Windmill City Publishers, Merkel, TX, 2002, Vol. 1, pages 58-61.
A History of Rural Taylor County, Juanita Daniel Zachry, Eakin Press, Austin, Texas 1995, pg. 124.
Handbook of Texas Online, Tammy Riggan, accessed June 7, 2021, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/nubia-tx.
Image:
Our Homes and Country Illustrated, published by Chambers and Anderson, Abilene, Texas, copyright 1903, Collection of The Grace Museum, Museum Purchase