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History in
a Pecan Shell
Named
to honor Southern Pacific chairman of the board Collis P. Huntington
in 1900, the tracks connecting Dallas
with Beaumont
passed through here in 1903.
In the heart of the East Texas
forest, the area had resisted attempts at town building in the 1880s
and it took the arrival of the railroad to form Huntington.
E. A. Blount of Nacogdoches and
W. J. Townsend, Sr., of Lufkin
are credited with founding Huntington. Lots went on sale at the new
townsite in June of 1900 and the post office opened that same year.
Soon sawmills were built to harvest the forest. Huntington's was a
lumber economy with farming coming in a distant second.
In 1902 the Huntington Baptist Church was organized and was soon followed
by Pentecostal, Church of Christ and Methodist congregations.
The town had a healthy population of 600 by 1904., falling to 400
for the Great Depression but rebounding when it was over.
The population reached just over 1,000 for the 1960 census, and nearly
1,700 for the 1980 count. From 1,800 in 1990 it rose to 2,068 by 2000,
and 2,118 by 2010. |
Texas
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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