GUSTINE, TEXAS. Gustine, in southeastern Comanche County, was
settled about 1873 by H. H. Blankenship and M. B. Odell. The
first settlement, which was called Old Evergreen, was about
three-quarters of a mile northeast of the present site. The post
office was established on January 6, 1888, with Samuel Gustine,
for whom the town is named, as first postmaster. Religious
services were held under a tree until a union church was built.
The first store was built in 1889. In the early 1890s the town
was moved to its present site to take advantage of a newly
opened road between Comanche and Hamilton. By 1895 the town had
eight or ten residences, a school, a cotton gin, a corn mill,
and a general store. Aided by the arrival of the Cotton Belt
line (officially known as the St. Louis Southwestern Railway of
Texas) in 1911, Gustine thrived; its three churches, two banks,
one newspaper, and other businesses served a population of 900
in 1914. The next year Gustine was incorporated. In 1940 its
population was only 409, but