Midfield, Texas: A Historical Overview
Published: 1952
Updated: January 6, 2022
Midfield (Midfields) is near the junction of Farm Road 2431 and State Highway 71, sixteen miles northwest of Bay City in northwestern Matagorda County. It was named for its location equidistant from El Campo, Palacios, Bay City, and Ganado. In 1904 Midfield secured its own post office, and the facility was still open in the early 1990s. Midfield was a stop on the Texas and New Orleans Railroad in 1914, when the town had two general stores, a lumber company, a bank, a telephone connection, and a reported population of 300. By 1925 the population had dropped to 150; by 1933 six businesses were reported there. In 1936 Midfield had a paved road, a church, six businesses, and twenty-three dwellings; also by this time the town had its own school district. During the 1937–38 school year 107 students were instructed by nine teachers. By 1949 the Midfield district had been incorporated into the Tidehaven Independent School District. The Midfield population was reported at 150 until 1950, when it dropped to sixty; at that time the town had two businesses. The population estimate remained unchanged at sixty until 1970, when it rose to 105. In 1985 the town had a population of seventy and two businesses. The estimated population was still seventy through 2000.
Bibliography:
Frank J. Balusek, Survey and Proposed Reorganization of the Schools of Matagorda County, Texas (M.Ed. thesis, University of Texas, 1939). Matagorda County Historical Commission, Historic Matagorda County (3 vols., Houston: Armstrong, 1986).
Places:
The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry.
Stephen L. Hardin, “Midfield, TX,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed March 09, 2026, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/midfield-tx.
Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
TID:
HNM39
- 1952
- January 6, 2022
