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WASKOM, TEXASHarrison County,
East Texas
I-20 at the Louisiana State Line
FM 134 and FM 9, Highway 80
12 miles N of Panola
18 miles SE of Marshall
20 miles from Shreveport
Population: 1,975 (2000)
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A
closed gas station in Waskom
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2006 |
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History
in a Pecan Shell
Founded around 1850, the community had first been known as Powell
Town, after an early settler. From 1850 through 1872 it had a
post office under the name Powellton. With the arrival of the
Southern Pacific, the name was changed to Waskom Station in
after a railroad official. The name was shortened to Waskom in 1881.
By 1884 the population was estimated at 150 and by 1904 it had increased
to 207.
The Missouri, Kansas and Texas ran a branch line through Waskom about
1900. When oil was discovered near Waskom in 1924, the population
increased accordingly. From a few hundred people it jumped to 1,000
and appears to have reached a peak in 1933 with 1,117 people.
The Great Depression thinned the population back to 564 by 1941. It
has since grown past the 1933 level - reaching 2,182 in 1988.
Waskom is home to one of Texas' welcome stations. |
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