Bedias Kept Its Name When the Railroad Came Through

Bedias moved without surrendering its name. In 1903, a branch of the International and Great Northern drew people from Old Bedias, Pankey, and Cotton to a new townsite. Residents rejected a plan to name the place for a railroad official, so New Bedias kept the old name.

The name reaches further back. North and South Bedias creeks were named for the Bidai people. It also turns up in geology: glassy Texas tektites found in the region are called bediasites. The railroad changed where the community gathered, but its name stayed on both the map and the stones.

The area has a flag connection too. Sarah Bradley Dodson moved to Grimes County in 1844 and is buried near Bedias. Nine years earlier, she had sewn a red, white, and blue flag for her husband's Harrisburg volunteer company. It went to Bexar and later flew at Independence Hall when Texas declared independence. The railroad got its new townsite. Bedias kept its name.