By 1855, settlers primarily from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee, along with some of Spanish origin, had made their homes in this area and called themselves the Lucas Community because of nearby Lucas Creek. A Church of Christ was organized in 1858, followed by a Methodist church in 1859, and Lucas Schoolhouse on this site became a county polling place in 1860. A Roman Catholic congregation established St. Augustine Church in 1870, and St. Augustine and Liberty schools were established before 1888, the year Friendship Baptist Church was organized. Lucas Community was home to a farming and ranching population that grew and raised its own produce, grains, dairy, and meats, with cotton as the chief crop. In 1890, Sydney S. Smith applied for a U.S. post office in Lucas, but because the name Lucas was already in use elsewhere, local legend holds that French settler Joseph Peynagrosse chose the name Verdi for a river in his homeland. By the early 20th century, Verdi had schools, churches, a store, a post office, a blacksmith shop, and cotton gins serving a large rural population. The Lucas school had 101 students in 1904, and in 1913 it was called the Verdi school and had 113 students and five teachers. The Verdi post office closed in 1916, the first high school senior class graduated in 1933, and in 1954 the school was annexed to Pleasanton and the community declined. Verdi was revived in 1979, when Verdi Community Center was established and became another focal point for the community.