Meansville

MEANSVILLE, TEXAS . Meansville was three miles southeast of the site of present-day Odem in south central San Patricio County. One of the first settlers in the area was William Means , who arrived before the Civil War . Means was elected county sheriff in 1862 and served until 1867. The center of the community seems to have been a two-story building erected in 1874 that doubled as a school and church on the lower floor and a lodge hall on the second. Methodists, Disciples of Christ, and Baptists held church services in the building. A Mr. Cherry operated a store nearby. A notation in the commissioners' court minutes in 1881 gave permission to sell the building for $300, saying that it had been abandoned as a school.