Grow, Texas

Grow is an unincorporated community in King County, Texas, United States. It lies in the north-central part of the county, approximately 85 miles east of Lubbock.

History

In response to the growing number of families settling in the northern part of King County at the start of the twentieth century, a school was established in 1901 to serve area students. A woman by the name of Ora Blackwell served as the first teacher in the community, which was then known as Bala. Her sister, Mrs. Charles Davidson, was the local postmaster; the Bala post office was housed in the Davidson family home. A man by the name of Jim Goodwin built a cotton gin in Bala in 1908, stimulating limited growth. Sometime between 1911 and 1912 the community's name was changed from Bala to Grow.

As was the case with all of the other communities in sparsely populated King County, Grow has remained a largely rural community throughout its existence. Its population hovered at twenty-five or so residents throughout the 1920's and 1930's and though the post office closed in 1930, the population high mark came in 1941 when Grow was reportedly home an estimated 150 people. However, economic changes led most residents to relocate to urban areas and by the end of the 1950's, almost half of Grow's inhabitants had moved away.

By 1970, the Grow school had long since consolidated with Guthrie schools, and local estimates suggested the population had fallen to eighty-five; by 1980 this had fallen to seventy, a figure Grow has maintained consistently since.

Education

Grow is served by the Guthrie Common School District.

References

* [http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/GG/hng37.html Handbook of Texas Online entry for Grow]