Oakwood, Texas, Leon County. (original) (raw)

Some of the remaining buildings on Main Street
Photo courtesy Terry Jeanson, August, 2009

History in a Pecan Shell

Established in 1872 as a stop on the International-Great Northern Railroad, the name first given was Oakwoods but the "s" was dropped in later years. The community was granted a post office that same year.

First located closer to the river, flooding mandated a move two miles west. The population of 542 in 1904 grew to a high of 1,100 by 1925.

Early cotton crops were flat-boated down the Trinity to Houston and Galveston but the railroad helped make Oakwood the region�s shipping center.

The boll weevil infestation in the 20s and the Great Depression severely depleted the population. By 1931 there were less than 900 people and by the 1970 census it had bottomed out at 400. It has since grown to 527 for the 1990 census.

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