Editing Simonton, Texas (section)

=== From Busy Town to Quiet Crossroads Community ===
The next event shaping Simonton history was the advent, around 1888, of the '''San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad'''. It is said the company wanted the track to run through Pittsville (near what is now Fulshear) where the terrain was more level. However, the landowners in that area refused to sell the railroad a right-of-way because they believed the trains would scare their cattle. The line was therefore laid across the hills and creeks between Fulshear and Simonton. Water was as necessary as coal for the steam-powered locomotives, and Simonton became one of the main watering stops. With the tracks, came the people. With the tracks also came the opportunity to ship the area's farm produce to other parts of the country.

In subsequent years, Simonton developed into a robust agricultural community. Snap shots of this history have been noted in several oral historical accounts:<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite web|title=Simonton 77476|url=https://www.facebook.com/simontontx/posts/540770419734650|website=www.facebook.com|language=en|access-date=2020-05-03}}</ref>

* [[Red potato|Red Potato]] Farming.  In 1906, [[D.H. (Dave) Mullins]], who came to Simonton from Kansas, began growing potatoes on a commercial scale – 150 acres that first year. Later he and J.R. Spencer, also from Kansas, working together, planted 1000 acres of red potatoes. Other farmers followed suit; and during one of the best years, 800 railroad cars of potatoes were shipped out of Simonton to places like Chicago, Kansas City, and Cincinnati. The Simonton area became one of the country's major producers of red potatoes.<ref name=":4" />   Gradually the red potato demand dwindled due to the onset of a disease and [[Luther Burbank]]'s development of the white potato.  In its place, alfalfa, cotton, pecans, and pure-bred cattle ranching replaced the acres of potatoes.
* Pure-bred [[Cattle ranching|Cattle Ranching]].  The Simonton-Fulshear-Brookshire became known as the "River Oaks of the pure-bred cattle business" and was tied in closely with the annual [[Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo|Houston Livestock Show]].<ref name=":3" /> The pure-bred breeders in the community included the Diamond C Ranch ([[Hereford cattle|Herefords]]), Pecan Acres ([[Brahman cattle]]), Figure 4 Ranch ([[Charolais cattle|Charolais]], [[Brahman cattle|Brahman]], and [[Charbray cattle|Charbray]]), and the Bar C Ranch (Brahman, Charbray, and Charolais).<ref name=":3" />
* [[Prison farm]].  From 1898 to 1909, Simonton was the site of a prison farm. A Captain South was in charge of convicts who cleared the land from Simonton to the Brazos River for farming of ribbon cane for syrup. Until very recently, a barn used by these convicts as a mess hall, bars still on the windows, stood near the Simonton crossroads.<ref name=":4" />
* Busy Town. During the years that agriculture output was important, Simonton developed a busy "downtown". There were as many as three general stores. One, owned by A.A. (Tom) Mullins, offered a hotel on the second floor with potato buyers and railroad men as regular guests. Another hotel located in the Scruggs home, was run by a Mrs. Bentley, whose culinary skills made Simonton a favored meal stop for travelers. There was also a [[Blacksmith|blacksmith shop]], two [[cotton gin]]s, a [[lumber yard]], a post office and the [[Train station|railroad depot]].
* Education.  In 1893, the first school for white students was established in Simonton. A census of eligible school children taken in 1911 revealed 544 students.<ref name=":4" />  In 1925, noted Houston architect Louis Glover designed this two-story school for nine grades.<ref name=":7"/> The art deco-style building which exists today has a "stuccoed brick symmetrical façade with porticoes, grouped windows and ornamentation tiles."<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|title=Details - Simonton School - Atlas Number 5507016950 - Atlas: Texas Historical Commission|url=https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/5507016950|website=atlas.thc.state.tx.us|access-date=2020-05-13}}</ref> In subsequent years in the [[Great Depression]], the facility was used to host dances, suppers, elections, and church services, The school was annexed into the Lamar Consolidated ISD in 1950.<ref name=":7" />   The school for black students was also established.
* H. Berkman & Co. General Store.<ref name=":6">Goodsill, J, and B. Kelly. (October 7, 2010). "Oral Interview with Maurice Berkman." Fort Bend County Historical Commission Oral History Committee. Retrieved from https://www.fortbendcountytx.gov/home/showdocument?id=30518</ref><ref name=":3" />   It was built by Hyman "Harry" Berkman, who came to Simonton from Poland in 1913, during the agricultural boom in Simonton in the early 20th century.  The store contained the post office, the general store, and [[butcher shop]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=[Berkman General Store]|url=https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth611026/|last=Liberda|first=Frank|date=1925|website=The Portal to Texas History|access-date=2020-05-10}}</ref> Maurice and Flo Berkman (married June 24, 1956), who were members of the now defunct Jewish [[synagogue]] in [[Wharton, Texas|Warton, Texas]],<ref name=":6" /> operated store for more than 62 years until their retirement and subsequent move to Houston.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Berkman recalled as champion of abused and neglected children|url=https://www.fbherald.com/free/berkman-recalled-as-champion-of-abused-and-neglected-children/article_f6ec9390-3fc3-11e9-9f8a-57a2face1525.html|website=Fort Bend Herald|date=March 5, 2019 |language=en|access-date=2020-05-10}}</ref><ref name=":6" />
*Dwindling Population. As agricultural output declined and railroad traffic dwindled, people started moving away, mostly to [[Houston]] with its growing industry and higher wages. The depot closed in 1953; and it wasn't long before the last cotton gin closed down. Eventually, what was left was a small café, a pecan barn, the post office, a small liquor store and Berkman's general store.<ref name=":4" />

Gradually by 1957, Simonton had changed from a busy small town to a quiet crossroads community. Then came the beginnings of a new stage in the life of the town. Vernon Evans, owner of the nearby Rue Ranch, and his son-in-law, A.E. "Snake" Bailey, bought 850 acres of land along FM 1093 to be developed as a western community with stables and a small arena and club house, the hub around which houses would be built. The development was called Valley Lodge.  Valley Lodge subdivision was the first subdivision out of the city of Houston within commuting distance.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.fortbendcountytx.gov/home/showdocument?id=30518 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2020-05-10 |archive-date=2020-10-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020000328/https://www.fortbendcountytx.gov/home/showdocument?id=30518 |url-status=dead }}</ref><br /><gallery widths="300" heights="225">
File:Gathering potatoes in Fort Bend County, Tx LCCN2012646375.jpg|Harvesting potatoes in Fort Bend County, Tx 
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