WASKOM, TEXAS

Harrison County, East Texas

32°28'42"N 94°3'50"W (32.478416, -94.063769)

I-20 at the Louisiana State Line
FM 134 and FM 9, Highway 80
18 miles SE of Marshall
12 miles N of Panola
20 miles from Shreveport
Population: 2,160 (2010) 2,068 (2000) 1,812 (1990)

Waskom, Texas Area Hotel › Marshall Hotels

Waskom mural - a tribute to those who serve
Photo courtesy Julia Foley Bey
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History in a Pecan Shell

Founded around 1850, the community had first been known as Powell Town, after an early settler. From 1850 through 1872 it had a post office under the name Powellton. With the arrival of the Southern Pacific, the name was changed to Waskom Station in after a railroad official. The name was shortened to Waskom in 1881.

By 1884 the population was estimated at 150 and by 1904 it had increased to 207.

The Missouri, Kansas and Texas ran a branch line through Waskom about 1900. When oil was discovered near Waskom in 1924, the population increased accordingly. From a few hundred people it jumped to 1,000 and appears to have reached a peak in 1933 with 1,117 people.

The Great Depression thinned the population back to 564 by 1941. It has since grown past the 1933 level - reaching 2,182 in 1988.

Waskom is home to one of Texas' welcome stations.

Waskom-Lorraine Logging Train
Courtesy Julia Foley Bey

"Waskom was an early logging center. Logs were cut from the piney woods of East Texas and hauled by mule trains or steam engine to Waskom mills.... The mill was owned by William Madison Waterman.... The evolution of the mill was ownership by Waterman from 1918 to 1929, and then Olin Mathison Chemical Corp., which bought the mill and closed it in 1953. According to the publication "Waskom, Gateway to Texas." The mill itself was much like a small town with a large commissary, hotel, gasoline station, offices and many homes."

Waskom 1939 Depot
Vintage photo courtesy Julia Foley Bey
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1936 Texas State Highway Department Map
Photo courtesy Julia Foley Bey

A closed gas station in Waskom
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2006
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Take a road trip

From Longview & Marshall: A metropolitan Sunday Drive by Bob Bowman:

"From Scottsville, continue on 1998 until you reach the intersection of Farm Road 134. Head south on 134 to the one-time cotton community of Jonesville...

From Jonesville, continue on 134 to Waskom. Here, head south on Farm Road 9 until it intersects with Farm Road 2625. Follow 2625, passing through Crossroads, Rosobrough Springs, Darco and Gailee, until it reaches Farm Road 968. Head west back into Longview." more

Harrison County 1907 post map showing
Waskom, Jonesville, Scottsville, Marshall & Longview
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

Waskom, Texas Area Towns:
See Harrison County | Marion County | Panola County

East Texas

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