Ozro (Nation Town)   Ozro was first called Nation Town, but later named for either Ozro High, a son of an early leader, or Ozro Cheatham, son of T. O. Cheatham.  It is an old community in the extreme western part of the county about one mile west of FM 157 on Ozro Road and about 3 miles northwest of Maypearl. Many prominent families located around this rural community in the early days and some of their descendants still remain in the area. At one time it was a thriving community with several stores, a school and postoffice. The name was changed when the post office was established in 1899, since there was already a Nation Town in Texas. Postmasters were: James O. Hightower, Jan. 14, 1898; Jesse C. Barnett, Aug. 25, 1898; Thomas B. Skipper, June 14, 1899, James N. Newman, Dec. 31, 1903. The office was discontinued Feb. 29, 1906 and mail sent to Venus in Johnson County. There was a school from 1915 to 1944 when it consolidated with the Maypearl school district. In 1858, J. P. Gilmore and Richard D. Graves gave land for Pleasant Hill Methodist Episcopal Church South and for the Ozro burial ground. The earliest marked graves date from 1870. J. H. L. Jackson donated additional land in 1895. Mr. Jackson came to the Auburn area with his father in 1854. From there the family spread, and his land was on what is now Jackson Road off Ozro Road about two miles northeast of Auburn. He and a few family members are buried in a family cemetery on his property. There were only two markers remaining the last time I visited the cemetery - his and one other. Descendants still live on the Jackson property and maintain the cemetery. After the International & Great Northern Railroad reached this area in 1902, many residents moved to Maypearl and Ozro began to decline. Today the cemetery is the only remnant of its past. References: Waxahachie Enterprise, 1933, Article by R. E. Sparkman, Italy, Texas "OZRO, TX" The Handbook of Texas Online Cemetery records of Ozro and Jackson Cemeteries Visits to cemeteries and interviews with citizens of the community   Copyright © 2002-2016, Ellis County TXGenWeb. All Rights Reserved. This page was last modified: Thursday, 01-Jul-2021 13:17:20 MDT