CALAVERAS, TEXAS. Calaveras (Spanish for "skulls") is at the junction of U.S. Highway 181 and Farm Road 3444, eight miles northwest of Floresville in northwestern Wilson County. It was originally in Bexar County and was called Wright when it was established in the early 1860s. A boundary change put the site in Wilson County in 1869, and the name was changed when a post office was granted in 1882. The population was twenty in 1885, when B. Johnson was postmaster and mail was brought by horse from San Antonio. The San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway reached the area in 1886. By 1892 the town had a hotel, three brickyards, a saloon, a barber shop, a bakery, two general stores, a meat market, and a reported 250 residents. A Calaveras school was in operation by 1896, when it had an enrollment of sixty-three. The town reached a peak population of 369 in 1900. In 1925 the post office was closed, and the station was reduced to a flag stop. In 1947 Calaveras had one business and a population of 100. Since that time the population has remained steady, and in 2000 Calaveras still had 100 residents.

The community had originally been in Bexar County prior to 1869. It was established around 1860 when the community was named Wright, Texas. The current name is the Spanish word for "skulls.” The opening of the post office in 1885 required the change of name. The town only had a population of 20 and at that time the community’s mail came from San Antonio.

All of that changed with the arrival of the railroad (the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway in 1886. The population increased and businesses opened. By 1892 the population had increased ten fold to 250 and Calaveras had most essential businesses, including three brickyards and a new hotel.

It reached its population high-water mark in 1900 with 369 residents.

The post office closed its doors in 1925 and the railroad demoted the town to a flag stop. After WWII, the town was reduced to a single business, although they have kept the same population estimate for the last 60 years (100 residents).

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