China (Texas)

Jefferson County

48-14704

China is a city in Jefferson County, Texas. It has 1,112 inhabitants (as of 2000) and an area of 3.4 km ².

The city's name is derived from the Chinaberry tree (Melia azedarach ).

History

In 1860 the railway line Texas and New Orleans Railroad was completed. Near a group of Chinaberry trees a point of water supply for the steam locomotives under the name of China Grove was built. In 1887 a post office was established there. After its closure was the re- establishment of a post office, this time under the name of China, in 1893.

Three kilometers east of China, the place Nash country was founded, who brought it in 1900 to 174 inhabitants. In 1906, the water supply point and the Post Office were relocated there. Since the railway company wanted to keep the name of China, the place was renamed.

In 1939 it was discovered in the south of the village of oil. The population was at the beginning of the 1950s, about 200 in the mid- 1980s, about 1,350, 1,144 in 1990 and 1,112 in 2000.