Reilly Springs, Texas, Hopkins County. (original) (raw)

James Reily is the community namesake. Reily saw an opportunity to buy bonus land from Texas War of Independence veterans who wanted to turn their land into cash. He acquired the properties in the early 1840s.

Being a source of water on a popular trail from Shreveport, a campground gradually developed into a permanent settlement. After the Civil War, the residents built a brick kiln which in turn allowed for other buildings.

The community was given a post office in 1871 but the name was misspelled (as Reilly) by authorities � hence the two spellings of the name.

The population in 1885 reached 200 with most essential business in place.

The community peaked at 300 residents in the 1920s but the Great Depression dealt the town a severe blow, reducing it to a mere 60 people by the end of the 1930s.

Reilly Springs was a voting precinct after WWII and kept at least one store. Postwar progress lured others away and by the early 50s there were just 40 residents left.

The store and school closed although the school became a community center. Forty-four people called it home for the 1990 census � and that same number was used for the year 2000.