Turtle Bayou, Texas

Turtle Bayou is an unincorporated community in Chambers County, Texas, United States. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had a population of 42 in 2000. It is located within the Greater Houston metro area.

History
In 1827, James Taylor White made his home in Turtle Bayou's lower reaches. Several farms were situated along the stream by the 1840s, and five years later, the Turtle Bayou Resolutions were signed in the vicinity. From 1847 until 1859, a post office in the region was called John's Post Office. Thomas B. Chubb promoted a settlement called New Boston in 1848, describing it as "handsomely situated at the mouth of Turtle Bayou," but it appears to have failed immediately. The size of the Turtle Bayou precinct may have been comparable to that of Anahuac in the 1850s. The majority of the traffic to Anahuac was carried by the first Turtle Bayou ferry, and several shipwrecks found close to its location suggest that shipping was important in the past. After the establishment of the Turtle Bayou post office in 1879, the town's population rose steadily, from 29 in 1880 to 127 in 1900, but the expansion slowed, and in 1914 the post office was shut down. A modest oil company camp was established after oil was discovered in the Turtle Bay field in 1935, rekindling interest in the region. Turtle Bayou, a tiny oilfield, was discovered in 1952. About 100 people lived in Turtle Bayou when the J. F. Simon sawmill opened its doors in 1939. The population had dropped to 42 by 1970. In 1974, the location was identified by a group of buildings near the intersection of Farm Road 563 and the Turtle Bayou stream. Most of the old Turtle Bayou townsite is now part of White's Park, a well-liked park, pavilion, and arena maintained by the county. The population was 42 in 2000.

During the Battle of Velasco, Texas troops withdrew from fighting in Turtle Bayou after the Anahuac Disturbances. Mexican officers agreed to release their prisoners into civilian custody in exchange for the cavalry officers and the withdrawal of the Anglos. They had awaited a cannon from Brazoria. Frank W. Johnson and Juan Davis Bradburn were among them.

Geography
Turtle Bayou is located on Farm to Market Road 563 on a stream of the same name, 40 mi southwest of Beaumont in northern Chambers County.

Education
Anahuac Independent School District operates schools in the area.