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LONE STAR,
TEXAS
East Texas Ghost
Town
Cherokee County
FM 235 and FM 2274
13 miles NE of Rusk
Population:
0
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History in
a Pecan Shell
Once called "Skin Tight" after the business tactics of early trader
and storekeeper Henry L. Reeves, the more acceptable name of Lone
Star was submitted when a post office was applied for in 1883. The
office was granted and Lone Star was off to a great start. With 160
people and a gristmill, cotton gin, a sawmill, store and school, the
future looked bright. But "downtown" Lone Star burned in an 1893 fire.
Rebuilding was immediate and the town doubled its population by the
mid-1890s.
But with the new century, Lone Star started to dim. In 1903 the Texas
and New Orleans Railroad bypassed the town and most residents moved
to Ponta. The 1915 population was down to 200 and the post office
closed in 1916.
Oil was discovered in 1939 and it seemed as though it might resurrect
the town, but production was anemic and hopes were dashed.
Still, 73 people remained in Lone Star through WWII. The post-war
population drifted away and except for a lone building, and a state
historical marker, Lone Star joined a long list of former East Texas
towns.
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© John Troesser |
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