History and Growth of Stockdale, Texas


By: Claudia Hazlewood

Published: 1952

Updated: June 1, 1995

Stockdale is at the junction of U.S. Highway 87 and State highways 97 and 123, thirteen miles northeast of Floresville in eastern Wilson County. The town was named for Fletcher S. Stockdale, lieutenant governor when the town was established in 1863. A post office was established in 1871. German and Polish immigration brought the population to 300 by 1885, when the town had four churches, a school, two mills, two blacksmith shops, two general stores, a grocery, and a drugstore. In 1898 the San Antonio and Gulf Railroad reached Stockdale, and by 1914 the population had grown to 900. By 1925 industries included a planing mill that manufactured furniture and cabinets. In 1929 the estimated population was 1,000. The population declined during the 1930s; in 1939 the town reported 696 residents and thirty-five businesses. Since that time Stockdale has grown steadily, reaching 1,100 in 1965 and 1,264 in 1990. The number of businesses, however, had fallen to twenty-nine by 1990. In 2000 the population was 1,398.

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The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry.

Claudia Hazlewood, “Stockdale, TX,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed March 09, 2026, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/stockdale-tx.

Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

TID: HJS27

1952
June 1, 1995

Find out more about this place from our Texas Almanac.

Place
Stockdale
Currently Exists
Yes
Place Type
Town
USGS ID
2411986
Town Fields
  • Has post office: Yes
  • Is Incorporated: Yes
Belongs to
  • Wilson County
Associated Names

Free Timbers

Coordinates
  • Latitude: 29.23575320°
  • Longitude: -97.96336800°
Population Counts
People Year
1,268 1990
1,398 2000
1,442 2010
1,687 2019
1,413 2020
1,435 2021

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