Matagorda County History & Genealogy page
Preston was established in 1838 in the northeastern part of Matagorda County at the head of Bay Prairie.
It was on the road from Matagorda to Columbus and San Felipe and was within four-and-a-half miles of the Colorado River and two-and-a-half miles of Caney Creek.'
Serving the plantation owners in that vicinity, the small community existed for some twenty years and then slowly became a ghost town to be replaced by Waterville and later by Wharton.
It was some ten miles south of present Wharton in the vicinity of Iago.
In the Matagorda Bulletin dated February 5, 1838, the proprietors, D. Davis D. Baker, John Huff, and Charles DeMorse, had an advertisement telling of the new town and that lots were available.
All three of these men were prominent in the affairs of the government during the days of the Republic.
Baker fought in the Battle of San Jacinto, Huff was a blacksmith, and DeMorse fought in the Texas Revolution.
He was also a lawyer in Matagorda.
For many years Preston was the only town between Matagorda and Egypt and was a stopping place for the weary traveler.
Isham Thompson was the first postmaster, being appointed May 22, 1846, to be followed by T.H. Petty in October of that same year.
Maclin S. Stith became the postmaster in July, 1847, when Wharton County was formed out of Matagorda County.
Phillimon H. Petty was the postmaster from August 21 , 1849, to April 11, 1856; Shadrach Cayce became the postmaster and served until Preston was discontinued in February, 1857.
Among the earliest settlers in Preston were Isham Thompson, P. H. Petty, Maclin Stith, Shadrach Cayce, A. E. Thomas, W. T. Stevens, the Rowe family, and the Manleys.
Preston was probably at its height during the days of the Republic as it served as a trading center for those who lived along Caney Creek in the upper part of Bay Prairie.
By 1859 the area was known as Waterville (because of Water Hole Creek near by).
There was a post office at Waterville from 1858 until 1867, which was reestablished in 1872.
These two ghost towns were important in the early history of Matagorda County and later Wharton County as they were stopping places for those traveling from Matagorda to Columbus and San Felipe.
They also served the early settlers in the northern part of Bay Prairie.