Edna, Did You Know?
The Houston Natural Gas Company was the first company under contract to provide natural gas to the City of Edna. The city passed an ordinance in 1927 approving the contract.
The photo above shows a group of ladies at the service counter inside of the Houston Natural Gas Company building.
- “The Cavalcade of Jackson County, Third Edition,” page 122.
- Photo Courtesy of Mr. Jim Chase and Mr. Roy Ortolon.
Edna, Did You Know?
While an empty, 0.3 acre lot inside the City of Edna might list on Realtor.com today at $30,000, in 1882 when the railroad came through, prices for lots were much different.
According to I.T. Taylor in his book, “The Cavalcade of Jackson County, Third Edition,” the Killough corner lot sold for $125, the Allen corner lot for $75, the Utzman corner lot for $90, and A.A. Egg’s warehouse site for $234. Lot sizes were 50x140 feet.
Pictured is the Allen Bank Building, built in 1896 at the corner of Main Street and Wells Street. The Egg Grocery Store is to the right of the bank.
- “The Cavalcade of Jackson County, Third Edition,” page 111.
- Photo courtesy of Mr. Roy Ortolon and Wells Fargo Bank.
Edna, Did You Know?
City government and services expanded in 1929.
E.D. White was elected Mayor in April 1929, with W.R. Farquhar and W.I. Marvin elected as Commissioners. Later that year, W.M. Fooshee was named Engineer to build the city’s first water and sewer system, and J.W. Wheeler was chosen as the first City Attorney.
- “The Cavalcade of Jackson County, Third Edition,” page 122.
- Photo courtesy of City of Edna.
Edna, Did You Know?
The Dr Pepper Museum in Waco just celebrated its 35th birthday with the unveiling of the world’s largest Dr Pepper bottle.
But there’s plenty of vintage Dr Pepper bottles around Edna, due to the city being home to one of the regional bottling facilities.
According to information from local historians Frank Condron and Roy Ortolon, as well as the Dr Pepper Museum, Edna businessmen and brothers Dewey and Schley Strane opened a bottling facility in 1925 on E. Main Street, close to where Efficiency Air is located today. The plant acquired the Dr Pepper franchise in 1931 and bottled Dr Pepper, 7UP, and Delaware Punch. It was regarded as one of the better facilities in the region.
In December 1943 the brothers acquired the Victoria bottling facility, and around 1945 or 1946 they moved their operations to S. East Street near where Kotlar Plumbing is located today. In 1955 Schley bought out his brother and combined the Edna and Victoria operations so the Edna plant was closed.
- Information and photos provided by Roy Ortolon, including text from Frank Condron
- Dr Pepper Museum historical information pinned at https://www.historypin.org/pins/92081/
Edna, Did You Know?
On Jan. 2, 1926, Edna residents voted 212-69 to for a “Commission Government”, thus becoming an incorporated city with S.G. Drushel elected as Edna’s first mayor.
According to I.T. Taylor’s book, “The Cavalcade of Jackson County, Third Edition,” P.W. Clement and J.M. Hutcheson were elected as the Commissioners, but when Hutcheson did not qualify to serve, E.T. Rose was appointed to the position. In addition, A.E. Lovett was appointed City Clerk, Treasurer, Assessor, and Collector for the city.
- “The Cavalcade of Jackson County, Third Edition,” page 122.
- Photo Courtesy of City of Edna.
Did we mention it's FREE??
Mark your calendars for Sat., June 13, between 3 PM and 9 PM in downtown Edna to catch performances by Emma New, Chris Zuber, Adysen Malek, and Greg Morales. They're performing as part of the First Annual Flag City Celebration.
Come join us!
Edna, Did You Know?
Railroad owner Count J. Telfener loved his daughters so much that we recognize their names nearly 150 years later.
As the Count built the New York, Texas and Mexico Railroad between Victoria County and Wharton County, he named railway stations in his daughters’ honor. Those stations grew to be the towns of Edna and Inez. Louise, however, is a slightly different story. Although "The Cavalcade of Jackson County" lists Louise as a daughter, other records available at the Texana Museum show her to have been Count Telfener's sister-in-law and an aunt to Edna and Inez.
Nonetheless, Telfener’s 1881 map shows the entire length that he originally planned to build, prior to the creation of the stations that later became Louise and Inez.
- Texana Museum
- “The Cavalcade of Jackson County, Third Edition,” page 110.
- Map By Giuseppe Telfener - UTA Libraries Cartographic Connections: map / text, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=106360262
Edna, Did You Know?
Have you ever driven or walked on Ed Linn Street by the theater and wondered what that large metal object in the pavement is?
It formed the base that held a stop sign before the signs were moved to the side of the road. They were installed in 1937 around town, but only the one by the Edna Theater remains. As traffic lights were installed, the signs in the middle of the roads were removed.
- Photos courtesy of Mr. Roy Ortolon.
Edna City Manager Gary Broz, along with Victoria Economic Development Corp. Regional Partnership President Jonas Titas, CEcD, and Operations Director Diane Drussell, traveled to Washington, D.C. for the 2026 SelectUSA Investment Summit where Bauner Inc. announced it will build a $15 million facility in Edna. The facility will be located at the old rice dryer on Fannin Street and will produce aluminum siding products.
The Antique Car Show is rolling into downtown Edna as part of the First Annual City of Edna Flag City Celebration on Sat., June 13, 2026.
The show starts at 3 p.m. on Main Street by the Jackson County Courthouse Square. Come check out the cars that would have cruised the streets back in the day!
City of Edna Cleanup is closed for today. We will reopen tomorrow from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., weather permitting. Thank you for your understanding.
Come Learn to Use AI Confidently & Responsibly
https://AI_Ethics_Governance_Edna.eventbrite.com
