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ORE
CITY, TEXASUpshur
County, East Texas
US 259 and FM 450
10 miles S of Lone Star
6 miles N of Diana
14
miles NE of Gilmer
12 miles SW of Avinger
Population: 898 (1990)
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History
in a Pecan Shell
The name comes from the ore deposits found
here prior to the Civil War. Various small mining operations extracted small amounts
of the ore from the 1860s through 1900 but it wasn’t until 1910 when large-scale
mining was envisioned.
In 1911 the Santa Fe railroad signed an agreement
to lay rails from (the freshly-platted) Ore City to distant Port Bolivar. By 1914
the line had completed the first 30 miles, connecting Ore City with Longview.
Growth
was immediate and with a population of 400, the town had most essential businesses
although little work was done on extending the rails due to the US entry into
World War One. The line was abandoned
just short of the beginning of the Great Depression. Ore City did survive the
Depression and in 1935 it still retained 500 residents. After WWII,
the population had decreased to less than 400 but the town incorporated by 1952.
It added new residents and from an estimated 800 people in the mid 1960s, it grew
to 900 by the mid 1970s making it Upshur County’s “second city.” |
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Where
to Stay
Gilmer
Hotels
Texas Escapes,
in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing Texas, asks that
anyone wishing to share their local history, stories, and vintage/historic photos
of their town, please contact
us. | |
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