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Post
Office building in Crockett
TE Photo, 2002 |
History
in a Pecan Shell
The town was named after Davy Crockett who reportedly had camped nearby
on his way to the Alamo.
The site was very near the Old San Antonio Road. A family of Tennesseans
donated the land for the town and named it after Crockett, who they
had known back in Tennessee.
The town was incorporated in 1837, and a post office was granted the
following year. Crockett was connected to Nacogdoches
by stage service.
In 1839 raids by the Alabama-Coushatta and Cherokee Indians forced
the town's residents to take shelter in the fortified log courthouse.
Crockett was a training center for Confederate conscripts during the
Civil War.
The railroad came through in 1872 enabling Crockett to exploit the
county's timber resources.
By 1885 the town was thriving with a population of 1,200 and the following
year a school was opened for black girls. It evolved into Mary Allen
Junior College, which operated into the 1970s. |
In 1904 lignite
mining started and it peaked about 1910. The stands of timber were
seriously depleted by the 1920s.
The population was over 3,000 in the mid 20's and by 1936 it was nearly
4,500.
Crockett population increased while most of East
Texas declined after WWII. It reached 5,000 by the 1960 census.
Crockett
Hotels >
Book Your Hotel Here & Save |
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Crockett's
Ritz Theatre
TE Photo, 2002 |
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An old
neon sign in Crockett
TE Photo, 2002 |
Crockett
Landmarks / Chronicles
Restoring
Davy’s Spring by Bob Bowman ("All Things Historical"
Column)
An East Texas landmark remembered by motorists from the last century
has been given a long-deserved facelift at Crockett...
Crockett's
Cafe and Music Hall by Bob Bowman ("All Things Historical"
Column)
A
Statue for Lightnin' (Lightnin' Hopkins) by Bob Bowman ("All
Things Historical" Column)
Crockett
News by Mike Cox ("Texas Tales" Column)
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Coca
Cola Billboard in Crockett
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2006 |
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