Vera is an unincorporated community

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 Knox County

Knox County, Texas

As of the census of 2000, there were 4,253 people, 1,690 households, and 1,166 families residing in the county. The population density was 5 people per square mile . There were 2,129 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile...

, 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 on U.S. Highway 82 in the east central portion of the county near the Baylor County

Baylor County, Texas

As of the census of 2000, there were 4,093 people, 1,791 households, and 1,156 families residing in the county. The population density was 5 people per square mile . There were 2,820 housing units at an average density of 3 per square mile...

 line, and has an estimated population of 50 as of 2000.

History

Vera was originally known as White Flat; its name was changed to Vera in 1890 to avoid conflicting with a post office elsewhere in Texas. G. W. Ballard, the first postmaster of the community, named the community Vera after Vera Kellogg, the daughter of an early settler of the community. Vera's economy became based on cotton

Cotton

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....

 production around 1900, and the community gained a cotton gin

Cotton gin

A cotton gin is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, a job formerly performed painstakingly by hand...

 in 1902. Vera had a school until 1960, when it merged with schools in Benjamin

Benjamin, Texas

Benjamin is a city in Knox County, Texas, United States. It is the county seat of Knox County. The population was 258 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Benjamin is located at . It is situated at the junction of U.S...

 and Seymour

Seymour, Texas

Seymour is a city in and the county seat of Baylor County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,740 as of the 2010 Census.-Geography:Seymour is located at ....

. The community's population was 276 as of 1990, but this figure fell to 50 by 2000.