Stockman, Shelby County, Texas. (original) (raw)

History in a Pecan Shell

H. J. Stockman is the namesake of the community. It can be assumed he was a landowner or was a popular personality locally. Founded in the 1890s, Stockman acquired a post office in 1899.

The town did have a railroad connection, albeit a spur and not on the main line. Having a method of shipping cotton, it prospered as a shipping point for both cotton and lumber.

It had two stores, a gin and an on-site cotton buyer by 1914 when an estimated 150 people called it home. It peaked in the late 1920s at 200, but a collapsed cotton market and the Great Depression sent it spiraling down to a mere 20. The community was literally decimated.

It took years to climb back to 80 (1964) and in 1988, fifty two people were counted as residents. That number has been used through the year 2000.

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