For well over 30 years, bluegrass lovers from all across the great state of Texas and from neighboring states have made the journey to the small community of Pearl each month to participate in and simply enjoy Bluegrass music.
The Pearl Bluegrass jam welcomes all musicians, no matter their playing abilities. The monthly event is held in the old Pearl schoolhouse, which is now known as the Pearl Community Center. In 1958, when the Pearl school was consolidated with Evant, the old schoolhouse was later used for weddings, reunions, and eventually became the home of bluegrass where the monthly “Pearl Bluegrass Jam” is held.
According to online documents, prior to the enormous recognition of being the home of bluegrass music in central Texas, the small community came from very humble beginnings.
On their website, the Texas Historical Association published the following article about Pearl: “Located twenty-two miles west of Gatesville, Pearl was originally known as Wayback. A petition was sent for the establishment of a post office with the name Swayback, for Swayback Mountain, which was near the community. A clerical error resulted in the post office being named ‘Wayback’ in 1884. The post office continued under that name until March 1890, when the community was renamed Pearl after Pearl Davenport, the son of a local store operator.
“In the early 1900s, three doctors in Pearl: Dr. H. Davenport, Dr. Taylor, and Dr. Ralph Bailey waged a ‘price war’ for services. As a result, a baby could be delivered at that time for a mere $2.50. The last country doctor in the area was Dr. B.F. King, who moved to town in 1920 and died in 1947.
“Several churches were organized in the Pearl community, including the Methodist Church in 1854, the Church of Christ in 1878, the Baptist Church in 1889, the United Baptist Church of Jesus Christ in 1896, and the Nazarene Church in the early 1900s.
At one time, Pearl had a steam-powered cotton gin, a flour mill, and a gristmill. In 1908, the “Price System” telephones came to Pearl. People had to buy their own telephone boxes, wire, posts, and string and maintain their own lines. The average monthly bill was forty cents.
In May of 1875, Ellen Reily deeded a tract of land for a school, which was named Cowhouse School. By the 1890s it was known as Sweet Home School. In July of 1917, voters passed a $4,000 bond to build a new school – a four-room brick building was constructed and named Pearl School.”
When the school was consolidated with Evant in 1958, the building was used as a community center.
Today, the Pearl community is primarily known for its monthly Bluegrass Jam. Residents of Pearl always welcome visitors and encourage music lovers to attend the bluegrass event on the first Saturday of each month. The Pearl Bluegrass stage show begins at 1 p.m., and bands are welcome to sign up to play in the Pearl Community Center. A bookstore located on the property opens at 9 a.m. and closes at 3 p.m. and is stocked with over 6,000 books. Everything in the bookstore is “buy what you want, pay what you want,” and all money collected goes toward the store’s local charities. There is homemade food in the Bluegrass Kitchen for reasonable prices (cash only). Jamming goes on all day. It’s free to see the stage show and jam, but donations are appreciated to help pay the Community Center bills.
There’s no place like Pearl, and everyone is welcome to attend.