Woodlake, Texas
Encyclopedia
Woodlake is an unincorporated populated place
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in Trinity County, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Located on U.S. Route 287
U.S. Route 287
U.S. Route 287 is a north–south United States highway. It is long. It serves as the major truck route between the Texas cities of Fort Worth and Amarillo...

, it lies 4 miles southeast of Groveton
Groveton, Texas
Groveton is a city in Trinity County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,107 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Trinity County.-Geography:Groveton is located at ....

. In 1990, the estimated population was 301 residents.

Historical development

The town was originally settled around the mid 1860’s, but did not see any real growth until the 1880’s when the Thompson and Tucker Lumber Company was established there. The post office opened in 1889 under the name Willard, and would remain open until 1910. By the time World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 occurred, the timber in the region was exhausted, and the sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....

 was dismantled. The name Woodlake was chosen for what remained of the town in 1925, after the small reservoir that had supplied the mill. The Great Depression and the downfall of the Waco, Beaumont, Trinity and Sabine Railway impacted the local economy. In 1934 the United States Government took over an unsuccessful agricultural project started by Helen Kerr Thompson (a relative of the former mill owner), and new housing would be built. The project failed and many of the residents moved away. A youth camp was established there as the Baptist Church of East Texas purchased the community buildings. Although Woodlake is unincorporated, it has a post office with an address of 5923 US Hwy 287 Woodlake,Tx 75865-9600
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