|
Not
that many us living here care, but the city of Houston was almost
established in East
Texas -- not once, but twice.
When brothers J.K. and A.C. Allen, who founded Houston,
purchased land in 1837 on Buffalo Bayou in what is now Harris
County, they also purchased 640 acres at Town Bluff on
the Neches
River, a location they considered as promising as the one on Buffalo
Bayou.
But it wasnąt in the cards for Town Bluff to become a metropolis.
Instead, it became a ghost town.
Wyatt Hanks, a San
Augustine merchant, saw the need for a crossing on the Neches
in 1833 and moved to Tyler
County to establish a ferry. A cluster of homes and businesses
sprouted around the crossing. Hanks sold hundreds of lots in the new
town, which he often called "Natchez on the Neches." Hanks'
town attracted a number of prominent businessmen, including J.K. and
A.C. Allen, who were looking for sites to build a new town.
Town Bluff twice came close to being Tyler
County's seat of government, once in 1834 when it was named temporary
seat of the Republic of Texas' Menard District for judicial
affairs, but the district was declared unconstitutional by the Republic's
Supreme Court.
A second crack at prominence came in the 1840s when Texas was admitted
to the United States and the Texas Legislature created Tyler
County. Three sites -- Town Bluff, a second site on Wolf
Creek, and a third on Turkey Creek -- were considered county
seat candidates. Voters selected the Turkey Creek site and named it
Woodville.
Town Bluff died when Woodville
grew, but began to attract new residents when Dam B Reservoir
(Steinhagen Lake) was built.
A
second aborted effort to establish Houston in East
Texas..... Fort Houston
› next page |
 |
Tyler
County 1907 postal map showing Townbluff
E of Woodville
From Texas state map #2090
Courtesy
Texas General Land Office |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and vintage/historic photos, please contact
us. |
|
|
HOME
