Edward M. Rabb (1855-1908), a native of La Grange in Fayette County, Texas, was the son of William and Prudence Smalley Rabb. In the 1880s, Dr. Edward M. Rabb settled in this area and purchased 2089 acres of land from S. W. Campbell. At his death, Dr. Rabb left a will directing that a wood and water switch be established to serve a railroad built on part of his land. The San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad crossed the Navidad River in 1887, and the switch was constructed. Local residents cut and loaded firewood there for shipment to Houston, and the land cleared of firewood was then farmed in cotton and corn, the area's primary sources of income. Two stores opened at Rabb Switch, and a school built in the 1800s was moved to the community in 1919, where it served 30-35 students. The railroad ceased operations during the 1950s as U.S. Highway 90-A was improved, and after the school closed in 1953 and students were transferred five miles west to the Hallettsville Independent School District, the population declined as businesses closed.