Cayote in Bosque County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Cayote Community

Photographed by James Hulse, January 11, 2025

1. Cayote Community Marker

Inscription. Located near Childress Creek, the Cayote community grew around a grocery store, later known as Cayote Store, established about 1866. The store supplied settlers and drovers herding cattle to markets. In 1879, the store applied for a post office under the name Evans Cross Roads; however, inexplicably the name was changed to Cayote, likely a misspelling of the animal. By the 1880s, prairie settlements increased and the town grew with a school (1884), church (1880s), cotton gin, blacksmith shop and community building. The town thrived until the 1960s when several businesses closed. Today, all that remains of this small rural community is the Methodist church and community building.

Erected 2019 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 22477.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1866.

Location. 31° 46.142′ N, 97° 27.457′ W. Marker is in Cayote, Texas, in Bosque County. It is on Farm to Market Road 56 0.1 miles north of County Road 3356, on the right when traveling south. The marker is located at the front of the Cayote Methodist Church. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3343 FM 56, Clifton TX 76634, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Prairies & Lakes Region.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the Republic of Texas,

and one of the Confederate States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 8 miles of this

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marker, measured as the crow flies: Coon Creek Community (approx. 6 miles away); Election Oak (approx. 6.2 miles away); Gary Cemetery (approx. 6.2 miles away); Clifton Whipple Truss Bridge (approx. 7 miles away); Site of Clifton Mill (approx. 7.2 miles away); Valley Mills Cemetery (approx. 7.4 miles away); Roden Taylor Crain (approx. 7.4 miles away); Site of Clifton Lutheran College (approx. 7½ miles away).

Also see . . . Cayote, TX. Texas State Historical Association (TSHA)

Cayote is on Farm Road 56 by Childress Creek seven miles north of Valley Mills and twenty-three miles northwest of Waco in southeastern Bosque County. The community was founded in 1866–67 when John Cox built a grocery store two miles southwest of the future townsite. Cox sold his store in 1870, and the new owners moved the store to the town's present location to be close to a good source of water. Shortly thereafter, the town was designated Coyote because of the number of these animals in the area, but a spelling error changed the name to Cayote. The store acquired a post office in 1879. In the mid-1880s Cayote had the store, a gristmill and cotton gin, and a population estimated at fifty. Its population rose to 100 during the 1890s; by the end of 1909, however, the local post office had closed. Cayote's estimated population
Photographed by James Hulse, January 11, 2025

2. The Cayote Methodist Church and Marker
was twenty-five in 1933; its population estimate remained constant at seventy-five from 1943 through 2000.

(Submitted on January 13, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)

The view of the Cayote Community Marker along the street image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, January 11, 2025

3. The view of the Cayote Community Marker along the street

Credits. This page was last revised on January 13, 2025. It was originally submitted on January 12, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 468 times since then and 100 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on January 13, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.