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WINONA, TEXAS
Smith
County, East Texas
32°29'27"N 95°10'16"W (32.490836, -95.171100)
FM 16 and Highway 155
About 2 Miles N of I-20
About 14 Miles NE of Tyler
the county seat
Population: 605 Est. (2018)
576 (2010) 582 (2000) 457 (1990)
Winona, Texas Area Hotels › Tyler
Hotels |
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History in
a Pecan Shell
The town dates
from 1870 when it was established on the old Shreveport-Dallas Road.
Later that decade it became a stop on the railroad – a branch line
running from Tyler.
The community’s first post office operated from 1878 to 1879 but reopened
the following year. The population was reported as 150 in 1892 and
in 1914 the town had an estimated 600 citizens.
That same year Smith
County’s first hard surface road connected Winona to Tyler.
On the eve of the Great Depression Winona reported 800 residents which
was soon reduced by half.
The construction of Camp
Fannin during World
War II gave the town a shot in the arm and a slight increase in
population. It remained at 450 into the 1960s, declining to a mere
155 in the early 1970s.
With the completion of Interstate 20 in the late 1970s the population
increased back to 450 and slowly increased to the present (2010) 576. |
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Elisha Everett
Lott Historical Marker
On State Hwy 155, 2 miles S of Winona
Photo
courtesy Gerald
Massey, July 2011
More People
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Historical Marker:
Elisha Everett
Lott
(February 24, 1820
- January 17, 1864)
Moved to Harrison
County, Texas in 1840. Elected to the Republic of Texas Congress
in 1842, he helped open this area of Texas for settlement. He moved
here in 1845, and in 1846 was instrumental in the organization of
Smith County and
the selection of Tyler
as the county seat. He helped promote steamboat navigation of the
Sabine River and in 1853 was elected to the State Senate. A Confederate
veteran of the Civil War, Lott died at his Starrville
home in 1864 and is buried near this site in the Lott Family Cemetery.
1991 |
Winona, Texas
Landmarks
Photo Gallery |
The Kay House
historical marker
Photo
courtesy Gerald
Massey, July 2011 |
Historical Marker:
The Kay House
South Carolina planter Francis Lemuel Kay (1814-1867) settled in Smith
County in 1856. Between 1856 and 1860, Kay bought 640 acres of
land and built this two-story home for his wife Mary Ellen (Black)
(1826-1896) and their eleven children. By 1860 Kay owned and operated
1300 acres of farm and ranchland. The Kay family sold the property
to the Combination Orchard Company in 1909, and the house became the
headquarters for the company's pecan orchards. In 1937 the Hunt Oil
Company bought the house and land and has continued to operate the
pecan business.
1983 |
Smith
County 1920s map showing Winona & Tyler
From Texas state map #10749
Courtesy
Texas General Land Office |
| 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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