History of Cranz, Gonzales County: A Ghost Town Overview


By: Stephen L. Hardin

Published: 1952

Updated: November 4, 2017

Cranz, apparently named after a local family, was just east of the Caldwell county line in northwestern Gonzales County. A post office operated there from 1905 to 1913. By 1914 Cranz had a telephone connection, a cotton gin, a blacksmith shop, and a population of fifty. In 1922 the town had three businesses and continued to report fifty inhabitants. By 1948 its population was still listed at fifty, but the number of businesses had dropped to one. Cranz was no longer shown on the county highway map by 1965, and the remaining population had likely merged with the nearby community of Thompsonville.

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The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry.

Stephen L. Hardin, “Cranz, TX,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed April 11, 2026, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/cranz-tx.

TID: HRCAD

1952
November 4, 2017