Zabcikville: A Historical Overview of the Czech Community in Bell County
Published: 1952
Updated: July 1, 1995
Zabcikville is located at the intersection of State Highway 53 and Farm Road 437, about thirteen miles east-southeast of Temple in eastern Bell County. Founded by Czechs in the late nineteenth century, this hamlet on Possum Creek was originally named Marekville after the Marek family who owned a store in the area. In the early 1900s members of the Zabcik family, also area residents, married into the Marek family. After the community store changed hands from the Mareks to the Zabciks, the sign of the town’s name—Marekville—posted on the store, was changed to Zabcikville. In 1940 Zabcikville had a population of sixty and three businesses. The community reached a high of eighty residents and four businesses in 1949 but declined during the second half of the twentieth century. Zabcikville had a population of thirty-eight in 1990 and 2000. At that time the community store building was still standing with the Zabcikville sign posted on it.
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The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry.
Laurie E. Jasinski, “Zabcikville, TX,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed March 09, 2026, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/zabcikville-tx.
Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
TID:
HNZ01
- 1952
- July 1, 1995
