A forgotten crossroads. That’s Long Point. A ghost town in Fort Bend County. Twenty-four miles southeast of Richmond it sits. Long Point isn’t marked on any road signs. You’d miss it. Unless you know its secrets.
Long Point. Its name whispers of a bygone era. Early settlers named it for a timber point jutting into the prairie. A visual reminder of a landscape long since altered.
In 1936 Long Point boasted a rural school. A sulfur mine stood nearby. Homes lined the road. The Gulf Colorado and Santa Fe Railway provided a connection to the outside world. A metal-surfaced road was a sign of progress. Long Point lacked a post office. Mail arrived via Needville.
The Long Point oilfield lay just east of the settlement. Active in 1936. Still pumping in 1987. Petroleum and sulfur fueled the town’s brief existence. Long Point’s legacy is tied to these resources. Extraction left its mark on the land.
Even though Long Point appeared on county maps as late as 1987 population figures remain elusive. No one knows how many people actually lived here. Yet its history survives. In the names of nearby roads. Fairchilds-Long Point Road. Whaley-Long Point Road. Guy-Long Point Road. These names are subtle echoes of a place that was.
Nearby a county landfill rises. A prominent hill. Electric transmission towers stand tall. They pass over the crossroads. They carry power from the W A Parish power plant. They stretch to the southwest. An abandoned railway right-of-way runs alongside these modern giants.
Long Point. A quiet place now. A whisper on the wind. Yet its story endures. A tale of boom and bust. Of a place that once was. A place that still holds onto its place name. A place you can almost feel. Even though you can’t see anything that shows its history. Long Point. Remember its name.