Newark, Texas, Wise County. (original) (raw)

History in a Pecan Shell

The region was first settled in the mid-1850s. Benjamin B. Haney is generally believed to be the first settler. Originally the community was known as Caddo Village for the residual population of Caddo Indian that remained along the West Fork of the Trinity River.

It also went by the name of Odessa and indeed, a post office opened under that name, closing by 1866. Other (informal) In 1893 the names ranged from Huff Valley and Sueville (after the surname of the family Huff and the Christian name of Sue Gary).

Finally, with the arrival of the Rock Island Railroad in 1893, Newark was platted and a post office reapplied for. G. K. Foster, the railroad civil engineer is thought to have named it after his hometown in New Jersey.

Newark prospered until the decline in cotton farming in the 1920s. It survived the Great Depression and regained its status briefly after WWII. The 1951 population was just under 300. It took the next four decades to reach 651 residents.

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