Doucette, Texas, Tyler County. (original) (raw)

History in a Pecan Shell

In the 1830s the site had originally been a land grant to a man called Elijah Hanks. Whatever improvements (if any) built by Mr. Hanks have been lost to history. The first growth occurred in the early 1890s when a man (Alva Carrolls) built a sawmill here and the community grew around it. First known as Carrolls' Switch, the mill was sold to investors, one of them a Peter Doucette who was honored by a renaming of the town.

A post office opened in 1893, and the sawmill was resold many times, finally closing in 1944. But prior to its closing, Doucette was firmly established and considered to be an East Texas success story. In the mid 1950s, the interests were bought by International Paper, a company that continues operations to this day.

The population peaked in the 1920s at 1,800 but during the Great Depression it had fallen to just 500. It declined further to just 250 residents from the 40s through the 60s and by the late 1980s, it bottomed out at around 130 residents - where it remained for the 2000 census.

Tyler County 1920s map showing Doucette just N of Woodville
From Texas state map #10749
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

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