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BURKEVILLE,
TEXAS
First Newton County
Seat
Newton County, East
Texas
31° 0' 0" N, 93° 40' 5" W (31, -93.668056)
State Hwy 87 and State Hwy 63
10 Miles W of the Sabine River
About 21 Miles E of Jasper
Aboutt 14 Miles NE of Newton
About 70 Miles NE of Beaumont
Population: 603 Est. (2010) 515 (2000, 1990)
Burkeville, Texas Area Hotels ›
Jasper
Hotels |
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History in
a Pecan Shell
Although there
were settlers here prior to the arrival of John Burke, it was Burke
who platted the town in the mid 1840s. The county court first met
at nearby Quicksand Creek, but it was pointed out that this was in
violation of state law concerning the centering of county seats.
In 1847, the residents of Burkeville applied for county seat status
which was granted the following year. John Burke donated land for
a courthouse to be built, but the “centering” question was brought
up again. An election in 1853 granted county seat status to the more
centrally located “upstart” town of Newton.
The transfer upset many citizens who announced Burkeville was again
the county seat in 1855. But the county bureaucrats remained in place
at Newton and in 1856 the Texas legislature
put an official end to the debate.
During the Civil War, Burkeville was the site of a Confederate arsenal
and unlike other former county seats that lost elections – Burkeville
didn’t die. It remained a cotton shipping point and when lumber mills
opened, Burkeville prospered.
The population was estimated to be between 200-300 residents in the
late 1800s.
A fire in 1906 wiped out the town’s business district but Burkeville
stayed the course, even as the timber played out. The population grew
to an estimated 800 at its peak. The oil boom of the late 20s and
early 30s made up for the declining timber industry.
By the mid-1960s, Burkeville’s population declined to around 400 residents.
It has risen slowly to report 515 residents for the 1990 census –
with the same figure used for 2000. |
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"First
Newton County courthouse,
ca 1848, Burkeville."
Photo
courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December, 2012 |
Site of First
Newton County Courthouse in Burkeville
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson
,
November 2010 |
Site of First
Newton County Courthouse Centennial Marker
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, November 2010 |
Recreation:
Toledo
Bend Reservoir
by Archie P. McDonald, PhD
"Toledo Bend Reservoir resulted from damming the Sabine River.....
The reservoir occupies parts of Newton, Sabine, Panola, and Shelby
counties in Texas and Sabine and DeSoto parishes in Louisiana.....
Construction on the dam, which is located just above Burkeville
in Newton County, began in 1964 and was completed in 1969... [T]he
lake hosts recreational fishing, boating, and swimming and helps
prevent the devastating floods that formerly visited such cities
as Orange down river." more
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Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact
us. |
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