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| History
in a Pecan Shell
The community dates from the mid 1840s when
J.H. Thomas arrived and built his homestead. Other residents joined him and it
soon became a farming community with cotton
as the main crop. The
nucleus of the community was a commercial center which went by the name of Zuber
since the post office opened under the name. When the railroad connecting
Timpson and Carthage
built through the county, they reached the farm of Thos. Hull. Hull saw the advantage
of being a stop on the line and went into partnership with S, Garrison. Hull donated
20 acres for a town to be platted and Garrison named the town after his grandson,
Gary (Sanford).
The new town grew rapidly to a respectable population
of 300. In need of a post office, residents found one in nearby Mount Bethel and
moved it to town in 1899, reopening it as Gary.
In the early 1900s the
East Texas timber was still pristine.
Gary opened a sawmill and had both cotton and
lumber as economic engines. The timber started playing out but cotton
held out until WWII. The
East Texas oil and gas discoveries
of the 30s stabilized the community through the Great Depression and the population
peaked between 400 and 500 residents for the 1940 census.
By the 1990
census the population was just under 300 and most residents worked in Carthage
or neighboring towns.
The 2000 census reported 303 residents.
Photographer’s Note:
“Gary is located in Panola County at the intersections of FM-999, FM-10. And FM-2260,
9-miles south of Carthage,
9-miles north of Timpson, 10-miles northwest of
Tenaha, 20-miles northest of Mt
Enterprise.” - Gerald
Massey |
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