Calvert, Texas
| Calvert, Texas | |
|---|---|
| City | |
Calvert Historic District (2013)
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| Nickname(s): Calvy | |
 Location of Calvert within Texas |
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| Coordinates: 30°58′42″N 96°40′22″W / 30.97833°N 96.67278°WCoordinates: 30°58′42″N 96°40′22″W / 30.97833°N 96.67278°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Robertson |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3.9 sq mi (10.1 km2) |
| • Land | 3.9 sq mi (10.1 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 328 ft (100 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 1,192 |
| • Density | 310/sq mi (120/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 77837 |
| Area code | 979 |
| FIPS code | 48-11992 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1353586 |
Calvert is a city in Robertson County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,192. It is located approximately halfway between Waco and Bryan-College Station at the intersection of Texas State Highway 6 and Farm to Market Roads 1644 and 979, on the Southern Pacific line nine miles north of Hearne in west central Robertson County. For the last 35 years, Calvert has enjoyed a relative success as an antique “capital.” The town is named for Robert Calvert, an early settler who served in the Texas Legislature representing Robertson and Milam Counties.
The earliest known white settler in the area was Joseph Harlan, whose 1837 land grant laid five miles south of what is now the City of Calvert. In 1850, Robert Calvert, for whom the town was named, established a plantation west of the town. Calvert, who was a former Texas Representative and area farmer urged the Houston and Texas Central Railway to build through the area. The Houston and Texas Central Railroad agreed to stop in the town, at the encouragement of town leaders, in 1868.
In January 1868, a group of investors purchased land at the townsite and platted the community; by February of that year, merchants from the nearby communities including Sterling and Owensville were uprooting and moving to the community. A post office also opened in Calvert in 1868. The first trains arrived in Calvert in 1869, and the town was incorporated the next year with an aldermanic form of municipal government. Although the Stroud family owned most of the land, the town was named for Robert Calvert because he was a driving force behind getting the railroad to stop in the town. The order of election for the incorporation of Calvert was issued July 5, 1869, but a majority actually voted against incorporation. This election was set aside because it was believed that "a fair expression of the qualified voters was not had," and a new election was held Saturday, July 24, 1869, a majority voted for incorporation, and the town was ordered incorporated on August 13, 1869.
After the railroad made Calvert the major trading center of the area, it was reported that:
It was a common sight to see six or eight wagons drawn by oxen slowly passing through the one and only street of these towns enroute to Houston to dispose of their cotton. These wagons averaged ten miles a day. The team-masters usually owned their teams and were paid so much per hundred pounds for hauling freight.
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