Dodge Texas. (original) (raw)

History in a Pecan Shell

The town had its first settlers around 1825. Martin Parmer, who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence and was the namesake for Palmer County was an original landowner. In 1872 Martin�s son William granted right-of-way to the Houston and Great Northern Railroad.

In that year the railroad built a depot, naming it Dodge Station.

Phelps-Dodge was the company that physically built the railroad. The company also provided names for the twin towns of Phelps and Dodge. When the post office was established in 1881 Dodge Station became Dodge.

By the mid-1890s the population was 150; by 1914 it was 500.

Dodge experienced two devastating fires. One in 1924 and one the following year. The town never replaced the destroyed buildings.

Dodge served as a junction for the Trinity Valley Southern and IGN railroads, for 35 years � beginning in 1901. The town was still holding out as late as 1936 when the Great Depression took its toll on the lumber industry and sawmills closed all across East Texas.

Dodge has retained a population of 150 from 1943 until the present.