McNeil, Texas

McNeil
—  Unincorporated community  —
Post Office and Austin White Lime Company Store
McNeil Location within the state of Texas
Coordinates: 30°27′11″N 97°43′14″W / 30.45306°N 97.72056°W / 30.45306; -97.72056Coordinates: 30°27′11″N 97°43′14″W / 30.45306°N 97.72056°W / 30.45306; -97.72056
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Travis
Elevation	830 ft (253 m)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes	78651
FIPS code
GNIS feature ID

McNeil is an unincorporated community in Travis County, Texas, United States. Its elevation is 830 feet (253 m).^[1] Although McNeil is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 78651.^[2]

McNeil arose at the junction of two rail lines (I&GN and A&N), being named for a regional manager on the A&N. The community's post office was established in December 1888. McNeil High School was built in 1991.^[3]

The "McNeil" name is currently used mostly for the Austin White Lime Company facility and railroad junction. The surrounding areas have Austin, Texas mailing addresses. Austin White Lime operates a limestone quarry and a plant for the production of lime products.

The current rail lines are owned by the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Cap Metro) and the Union Pacific Railroad (UP). The Cap Metro lines are the former A&N rail lines. Cap Metro currently runs commuter rail and freight rail operations through McNeil. Freight operations on Cap Metro are operated under contract by Austin Western Railroad. Commuter rail operations use an overpass built in 2007 over the UP tracks.^[4] Freight operations use a diamond crossing with UP. Freight is interchanged between UP and Austin Western. BNSF serves Austin Western via trackage rights over UP.

Note: McNeil also refers to a small settlement located in Caldwell County, Texas, approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) northeast of the town of Luling. Settled mostly by immigrants after the American Civil War, McNeil was once a thriving farm community with its own school. Harvey King was known as the unofficial "Mayor of McNeil". As of 2010, a few original places of interest remain including McNeil Baptist Church founded in 1888 and McNeil Cemetery which occupies land first donated to Soda Springs Methodist Church by Margaret Smith Hinds circa 1867. Benton I. McCarley, who was killed in World War I, is buried in the cemetery and the American Legion Post in Luling is named in his honor.

References

1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: McNeil, Texas
2. ^ Zip Code Lookup
3. ^ McNeil, Texas (Travis County), Handbook of Texas Online, 2008-01-18. Accessed 2008-08-10.
4. ^ Austin American Statesman 2007-05-31. Accessed 2010-05-19.

External links

• Profile of McNeil from the Handbook of Texas Online