Looneyville, Texas, Nacogdoches County. (original) (raw)

History in a Pecan Shell

First settlers started appearing in the 1860s. Storekeeper John Looney was honored with having the town named after him in the early 1870s. Like most early towns, the post office was set up in the local store and in 1874 the Looneyville post office opened in John Looney's store. The office closed in 1878, reopened eleven years later and then closed for good in 1905.

Lumber was the town's main industry and several sawmills operated in and around Looneyville in the late 19th Century. The town reached a population zenith in the 1890s with just 100 Looneyvillians. A Looneyville school was in operation in 1900 and the population decline started just after WWI. It managed to survive the Great Depression with 40 people. After the closing of the school in the 1960s, only a church and store were left.

The town has been declared a "dispersed rural community" in the 1990s and the store has been destroyed by fire in recent years.

Former gas station in Looneyville
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, January 2006

The former Looneyville Store
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, January 2006

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