This Texas Town Vanished Overnight, Here’s Why

About 10 miles from Cuero and 19 miles southeast of Gonzales sits what’s left of Cheapside, Texas, a once-busy little community that now stands quiet and forgotten.

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Rumors have swirled for years about what happened here. Some say the town burned down, others swear the residents vanished without a trace. The truth is, no one  disappeared overnight, but what did happen is strangely sad.

According to local historian Marge Cacir, Cheapside started in the late 1800s when Dr. E.R. Henry moved from Cheapside, Virginia, and insisted the new settlement share the same name as a warm reference to a famous street in London where “cheep” meant “market.”

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In its prime, the town had everything you’d expect from a small Texas success story: a one-room hotel, a stable, a broom factory, three stores, a cotton gin, and not one but two saloons.

Over the decades, the population dwindled as families moved away and businesses closed. Eventually, squatters started sneaking into abandoned homes, and overly curious people would peek around a little too much. One well-known incident involved a trespasser finding a little girl’s report card inside a house and posting it online.

There are still a few signs of life: a church building, a community building once used as a schoolhouse, and the faint layout of the streets that used to be home. Cheapside isn’t necessarily a ghost storyjust a town that quietly faded away.

If you decide to visit, don’t bring ghost gear or cross the fences; the land’s still private. Just take a slow drive and remember to look with your eyes and not your hands.