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Paxton
United Methodist Church
Photo courtesy Gerald
Massey, July 2009 |
History in
a Pinecone
Paxton was born
with the arrival of the railroad in 1885. A post office was granted
seven years later and the name comes from a family of early settlers.
Paxton had a population of 100 in 1914 and used its depot to ship
lumber, produce and cotton.
The town reached its high-water mark (estimated at 300) just as the
Great Depression was beginning and between exhausted timber and low
cotton prices, the populace abandoned the town in favor of greener
pastures. It did, however, drain population from the nearby Spivey,
creating a ghost town from that community.
The post war population was back to 100 residents which has slowly
grown to the 161 people counted by the 2000 census. |
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Lula Massey appears
to be donating a huge watermelon to soldier June Rowe near Paxton,
Texas in 1951. Although it makes a wonderful Fourth of July photograph,
in truth, the family gathering was for Lula’s birthday. Lula is the
Grandmother of Gerald
Massey, Texas Escapes Photographer-at-Large. Soldier June
was Mr.
Massey’s cousin.
From
Gerald
Massey Collection |
Site
of Spivey Marker on US-84 about a mile
east of Paxton
Photo courtesy Gerald
Massey, July 2009 |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact
us. |
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