Egypt represents the survival of a rural community that never coalesced into a formally surveyed town. In 1824 Stephen F. Austin awarded title to a league of land on the east bank of the Colorado River to John C. Clark, who had settled here in 1822. Egypt, which lies on the east bank of Peach Creek at the northeast corner of Clark's league, began to be settled in 1829. Its name derives from the tradition that during a drought in 1827 families from surrounding communities were able to obtain corn only from Clark and they paid tribute to the fertility of this locale by acclaiming it in biblical terms. Egypt consists of the homesteads of its elite Anglo-American families and building complexes associated with their properties, especially their general stores. The long tenure of these families and the conservatism of the community's substantial African American population have preserved the distinctive cultural and landscape continuity of Egypt.
Writing Credits
If SAH Archipedia has been useful to you, please consider supporting it.
SAH Archipedia tells the story of the United States through its buildings, landscapes, and cities. This freely available resource empowers the public with authoritative knowledge that deepens their understanding and appreciation of the built environment. But the Society of Architectural Historians, which created SAH Archipedia with University of Virginia Press, needs your support to maintain the high-caliber research, writing, photography, cartography, editing, design, and programming that make SAH Archipedia a trusted online resource available to all who value the history of place, heritage tourism, and learning.