Sebastopol, Texas

Sebastopol is an unincorporated community in Trinity County, Texas, United States. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had a population of 120 in 2000. It is located within the Huntsville, Texas micropolitan area.

History
When Texas was still in its late antebellum period, Sebastopol was a significant Trinity River port. Bartholomew was the name of the town when it was first founded in the 1840s or early 1850s. Russian traders moved into the area in the middle of the 1850s, renaming it Sebastopol after the Sebastopol Black Sea port. Russians purchased cotton from nearby plantations and sent it to their country by ship from the shore after first transporting it by barge down the Trinity. After being created in 1860, a post office ran until 1872, with a few minor pauses. Sebastopol reportedly had 500 residents in the years leading up to the Civil War, and the town featured a turpentine distillery in addition to its ports, warehouses, and several shops. Despite a yellow fever outbreak that resulted in the deaths of many locals, Sebastopol thrived until the late 1860s, when competition from the recently constructed railroads caused the river commerce to dwindle. In the late 1860s and early 1870s, most of the population left, and by the early 1880s, only a store and a few dwellings were still standing. A fisherman's cabin and the keel of the Memphis Belle, the last ship to travel up the river, were all that was left of the town in 1936 when a historical marker was erected nearby. Sebastopol, a scattered rural town with a recorded population of 31, was present in 1990. In 2000, the population increased to 120.

A grocery and bait store closed down in 2010 and two Dollar General stores were added recently.

Geography
Sebastopol is located on Farm-to-Market Roads 355 and 356, 14 mi southwest of Groveton, 49 mi southwest of Lufkin, and 30 mi northeast of Huntsville in southwestern Trinity County. It is also near Lake Livingston.

Education
Today, the community is served by the Groveton Independent School District.

Notable person
Cody Johnson, country singer.