Driftwood, Texas
Encyclopedia
Driftwood is an unincorporated community
in northern Hays County
, Texas
, United States
. It lies along FM 967 north of the city of San Marcos
, the county seat
of Hays County. Its elevation is 1,043 feet (318 m). Although Driftwood is unincorporated, it has a post office
, with the ZIP code
of 78619; the ZCTA
for ZIP Code 78619 had a population of 1,585 at the 2000 census
, which is far larger than the population of the center of the community itself.
Although the earliest settlers arrived in the area now known as Driftwood around 1850, the community was really established in the 1880s. A post office was among the results of the community's significant growth in that decade. Driftwood shrank almost to a ghost town
by the early twentieth century; although it grew somewhat by the middle of the century, it returned to its almost-deserted state by the 1970s.
Driftwood is also home to The Salt Lick
, a relatively well-known barbecue
restaurant and the Lazy 8 Ranch which had its dry mix products featured by the Texas Department of Agriculture in the 2010 Texas State Fair.
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
in northern Hays County
Hays County, Texas
Hays County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2010, its official population had reached 157,107. It is named for John Coffee Hays, a Texas Ranger and Mexican-American War officer. The seat of the county is San Marcos....
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It lies along FM 967 north of the city of San Marcos
San Marcos, Texas
San Marcos is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, and is the seat of Hays County. Located within the metropolitan area, the city is located on the Interstate 35 corridor—between Austin and San Antonio....
, the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Hays County. Its elevation is 1,043 feet (318 m). Although Driftwood is unincorporated, it has a post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
, with the ZIP code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
of 78619; the ZCTA
ZIP Code Tabulation Area
ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are statistical entities developed by the United States Census Bureau for tabulating summary statistics from Census 2000. This new entity was developed to overcome the difficulties in precisely defining the land area covered by each ZIP code...
for ZIP Code 78619 had a population of 1,585 at the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
, which is far larger than the population of the center of the community itself.
Although the earliest settlers arrived in the area now known as Driftwood around 1850, the community was really established in the 1880s. A post office was among the results of the community's significant growth in that decade. Driftwood shrank almost to a ghost town
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
by the early twentieth century; although it grew somewhat by the middle of the century, it returned to its almost-deserted state by the 1970s.
Driftwood is also home to The Salt Lick
The Salt Lick
The Salt Lick is a barbecue restaurant in Driftwood, Texas, US.-History:The Salt Lick was opened in 1969 by Thurman Roberts, Sr. and his wife Hisako T. Roberts. It quickly grew in popularity and went from being open just a few times a year to seven days a week. Roberts and Hisako built the Salt...
, a relatively well-known barbecue
Barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
restaurant and the Lazy 8 Ranch which had its dry mix products featured by the Texas Department of Agriculture in the 2010 Texas State Fair.
External links
- Profile of Driftwood from the Handbook of Texas OnlineHandbook of TexasThe Handbook of Texas is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Texas geography, history, and historical persons published by the Texas State Historical Association .-History:...