Once you arrive at GZ you'll see that this one definitely doesn't require a hint or clue.
"Prairieville is on Farm roads 1836 and 90, near the Van Zandt county line eight miles north of Mabank and fourteen miles southeast of Kaufman in southeastern Kaufman County. In 1848 part of the Texas colony of Norwegians, under the leadership of Johan R. Reiersen, moved from Henderson County to the Four Mile Prairie in Kaufman and Van Zandt counties. There they built their homes and farms and established Prairieville. The colony fell on difficult days in the 1850s, when an epidemic swept through the settlement, and many of the survivors moved to Bosque County. Prairieville survived, however, and reached a population of 206 by 1900 before declining to fifty by 1924. Over the years the community had a variety of stores and services-gristmills, cotton gins, general merchandise stores, carding and furniture factories, and blacksmith shops. The post office was opened in 1854 and operated with only one brief interruption until 1954. A school existed as early as the 1850s, and it survived until it was joined with the Mabank district in 1949. By the mid-1980s Prairieville was a quiet neighborhood of rural homes with one country store and a historical marker. In 1990 and again in 2000 the community reported fifty residents."
The above was quoted from: http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hnp54
"Johan Reiersen and a portion of The Texas Norwegian Colony transmigrated here from Henderson County in 1848. The grasslands were originally referred to as Four Mile Prairie and straddled the line between Van Zandt and Kaufman counties. It was here that the settlers established Prairieville. They built their homes and plowed their fields; looking forward to a bright future.
Disaster soon arrived in the form of disease in the early 1850s, the epidemic killing many and causing some survivors to abandon East Texas for the under-populated regions of Bosque County.
Enough settlers remained, however to keep the town on the map. By 1900 the population had reached just over 200 which was a respectable number for a town without a railroad. By the 1920s the town was down to one quarter of the 1900 population. The economic history of Prairieville was typical of most Texas towns of its size – with the usual essential business.
A post office was granted in 1854 and continued (with one short-lived closing) until 1954 – closing on its centennial. During the postwar school consolidations, Prairieville schools merged with those in Mabank.
Prairieville remains today, with a reported 50 residents for both the 1990 and the 2000 census. Due to the significance of Norwegian immigration, Prairieville has been given a historical marker by the Texas Historic Commission."
The above information was quoted from: http://www.texasescapes.com/CentralTexasTownsNorth/Prairieville-Texas.htm
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Please, as with all Geocache, remember...
1. CITO if needed
2. When taking an item please trade even or up.
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