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History in
a Pecan Shell
The
town came into being in the 1880s when one Richard Blair built a sawmill
here alongside the railroad. The railroad stop was known as Bodan,
after Frenchman Francis D. Bodan, a storekeeper on the "old Smugglers'
Road" some 20 miles W of Nacogdoches.
When the time came for a post office (1886) the name that was granted
was Pollok ( no explanation) and the name was accepted by and for
the town.
By the late 1880s Pollock was doing well for a town its size. A Union
Church was built in 1899 for Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian
congregations. The overworked building also served for elections and
entertainment. The Bodan Lumber Company dominated the economy and
when it burned, the town suffered accordingly. Two company shareholders
constructed a much smaller mill to finish cutting the available timber,
but that too closed.
Pollok did manage to survive and enough people remained to keep the
post office open. During the 30s the population was still 100 and
by 1964 it had increased to 350.
The TxDoT Angelina
County map shows three cemeteries near Pollock. |
Pollok, Texas
Forum
Subject:
Pollok TX
My mother came to Houston from Pollok. When I was a child I went there
just about every other weekend. In the deer season photo, Jack is
on the running board, Bob is on the right fender, with the rifle is
Teba and then my dad and mom on the bumper. Jack plowed, Bob hunted
and Teba was my aunt Rena's husband from Jeanerette La. The house
was on a hill.
In 1972 I named their road Edwards Loop (off Hwy 69). I also named
Rifle Rd. and Fenley Flat roads. I bought the signs from Safety Lights
Co in Houston and with 2 friends, we planted them at midnight. The
county later fixed bent or missing signs to perpetuate what I started.
- Ken
Rudine, January 30, 2007 |
| 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
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