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King Wallis
Vidor, Son of Charles S. Vidor was born in Galveston.
He sold tickets at a Galveston
movie house before driving to California, having a remarkable career
as a film director.
Wikipedia Photo |
History in
a Pecan Shell
Charles Shelton
Vidor, lumber magnate, is the town’s namesake. Vidor either owned
or was a partner in the area’s most productive sawmills. The community
began with the railroad (The Texarkana and Fort Smith Railroad) around
1896 and in turn the railroad facilitated the shipping of lumber of
which there was plenty.
Huge tracts of pine became available and with several sawmills in
operation, unemployment was nearly non-existent. A post office was
opened sometime before 1909. But nothing lasts forever and as the
forests were clear cut, the population declined. The concept of farming
trees was decades in the future.
By 1920 the population had fallen to just 50 die hard residents. Vidor
was on the ropes and was on the verge of oblivion. With the building
of a subdivision in the late 1920s, it managed to increase its population
to 700 by the 1940 census. After WWII,
it exploded with people wanting to move away from crowded Beaumont
and Port Arthur. The 1950 census
reported over 2,000 residents.
The town received its own weekly paper in the mid 1950s as the population
increased. The 1970 census reported nearly 10,000 people and over
12,000 in 1980. 11,440 residents were counted for the 2000 census. |
| 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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