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History in
a Pecan Shell
The town came into
being as a crossroads community in the 1880s. The intersection of
four "lanes" furnished the town's name. The town was granted a post
office in 1888. According to the entry for Laneville in the Handbook
of Texas, nothing much happened in Laneville from it's beginning until
1950. The big "event" that year was being included on the list of
Rusk County's 14 operating
post offices. Laneville's population reached its high-water mark with
320 people. |
WPA
came to Laneville
by Bob
Bowman
A few weeks ago, we reported of the
resurgence of outhouses as historical landmarks in East Texas.
Shortly after the column appeared, we learned of what may be the only
existing East Texas outhouse ever built by the old Work
Projects Administration, a Depression-era federal program which
put the jobless to work building public projects.
In 1935, the WPA came to Laneville, a crossroads community in southern
Rusk County, and began building rock fences, bridges and other needed
projects.
J.M. (Murph) Bryan was the county's Precinct 4 commissioner at the
time, and convinced the WPA's local foreman to build an outhouse for
his family on a small farm east of Laneville. Bryan paid fifteen dollars
for the one-holer.
Today, Bryan's daughter, Mary Lou Bryan, still lives on the family
farm -- and has kept Murph's outhouse in tip-top condition....more
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Laneville Methodist
Church
Photo courtesy Gerald
Massey, April 2011 |
| 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. |
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