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History
in a Pecan ShellThe
community dates from the 1850s when the Bethesda Baptist Church was organized.
It was later renamed the Woodlawn Baptist Church, which provided the name for
the community.
Things got rolling in the 1870s with arrival of the The
Texas and Pacific Railroad. A post office was granted in 1874 and ten years later
the population was reported at 100. The community shipped cotton
and fruit and was supported by two general stores, a gin and a gristmill. In the
1890s the number of gins and gristmills stood at four.
Woodlawn seemed
satisfied with the figure of 100 residents, for it continued to use that number
into the 1940s when it declined to just 70.
In the 1960s, the Woodlawn
gas field was developed and the population increased. From the mid 1960s through
2000, the estimated population has been given as 370. |
Starlight Baptist Church
Photo courtesy Gerald
Massey, January 2010 | |
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