Premont is a city in Jim Wells County, Texas, United States.
[4] It is situated at along U.S. Highway 281 (Future Interstate 69C) in south central Jim Wells County, 27 miles (43 km) south of Alice and 9 miles (14 km) north of Falfurrias, two towns that Morgan Smith of the Texas Tribune refers to as "relative hubs".
[5] According to the United States Census Bureau, Premont has a total area of 1.7 square miles (4.4 km2), all land.
[6] The site was part of the Los Olmos y Loma Blanca land grant issues to Ignacio de la Peña on December 9, 1831.
[8] He then subdivided the land into 5-and-10-acre (20,000 and 40,000 m2) tracts to entice residents from the northern U.S. to invest in South Texas, citing the region's warm climate and ideal planting conditions.
A section of the community, located east of the railroad, was set aside for Mexican and Mexican-American families.
Halderman sold hundreds of lots to Charles Premont, who in turn served as the real estate agent for the Mexican families, as he was fluent in Spanish.
Several businesses, including a post office and a general store owned by Andrés Canales, opened in the community during its early years.
That figure had risen to approximately 1,000 by 1914, the same year that the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway built a stop at Premont.
[9] At the time of its creation, Premont ISD was the largest school district in Jim Wells County.
With its revitalized and oil-based economy, Premont continued to grow and prosper during the early post-war years.