Lemonville, Texas, Orange County ghost town. (original) (raw)

History in a Pecan Shell

When the Texarkana and Fort Smith Railway arrived in 1898, things in SE Texas were jumping. The forests were deemed limitless (although they started to thin out a bit toward Waco) and towns in the region were being born (Mauriceville) or being renamed (Deweyville).

The naming of Lemonville might�ve been continuing the theme of citrus � as in Orange and Orange County, but whatever the reason for its name, it was platted in 1901 and immediately lumber magnate Alexander Gilmer started buying lots for his Lemon Lumber Company.

A post office was granted to the community in 1902 and the sawmills in the area were bought and traded by the same large companies that dominated other towns in the region. The trees were cut, hauled to the mills and cut into lumber and everyone thought (or wished) that it would last forever � or at least through their lifetime. In less than 20 years the party (had there ever been one) was over.

Lemonville peaked with about 300 residents � nearly all of them employed by the mills. The Lemon post office was discontinued in 1928, and today the town, once proudly on the maps, is nearly forgotten.

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