The History of Como, Texas
Como sits on East Caney Creek in southeastern Hopkins County, about eight miles southeast of Sulphur Springs in the rolling farm-and-timber country of Northeast Texas. Its history runs from a frontier teamsters camp through four different names to a railroad town and a lignite-coal boom — a classic small-town East Texas story of settlement, the railroad, and changing fortunes.
Here's how Como came to be.
A Teamsters Camp on the Jefferson Road
Como traces its roots to about 1846, when Ferdinand Carroll established a teamsters camp on East Caney Creek along the Jefferson Road — a frontier wagon road. A community slowly grew up around the spot. Red Collins and Lonnie Ticer opened a store in 1858, and a second store followed in 1866.
The early settlement went by several names. A post office was established as 'Bacchus' in 1870, then renamed 'Carroll's Prairie' in 1876, carrying forward the name of Ferdinand Carroll. It was a rural farming locale in the wooded, creek-laced country of Hopkins County, waiting on the railroad that would set its course.
The Railroad and the Name 'Como'
In the late 1870s the East Line and Red River Railroad was built through the community, and in 1879 the name was changed again — this time to 'Carrollton,' once more echoing the Carroll name. The railroad turned the settlement into a real trade center. By 1885 Como counted about 200 residents and supported six general stores, two steam gristmills, cotton gins, a wagonmaker, a blacksmith, and a saloon.
The town's modern name came in 1894. To avoid confusion with the Carrollton near Dallas, residents renamed the community 'Como' — a name suggested by settlers who had come from Como, Mississippi. So the town that began as a Carroll family camp ended up named for a faraway Mississippi home, a fitting twist for a place that went by four names in about a generation.
Coal, Fire, and a Town Rebuilt
Como's fortunes rose with lignite coal. After lignite was discovered on the property of J. F. Smith, mining grew into one of the town's leading industries by 1900, and the population swelled — reaching about 900 residents by 1914, when Como had an electric light plant and its own newspaper, the Como Headlight. A major fire in 1910 destroyed much of the original town south of the railroad, and residents rebuilt north of the tracks around a town square with a central bandstand.
The boom did not last. Most of the mines closed in the early 1930s, and the population fell sharply — to about 392 by 1933. Como incorporated in 1932 and settled into life as a small, steady community, recovering to roughly 450 by 1948 and growing slowly to 621 by 2000. Today Como is a quiet Hopkins County town of around 700, home of the Como-Pickton Eagles and surrounded by the farms and woods that have always defined it.
Timeline
1846
Ferdinand Carroll establishes a teamsters camp on East Caney Creek along the Jefferson Road.
1870
A post office is established under the name 'Bacchus.'
1876
The post office is renamed 'Carroll's Prairie' for the Carroll family.
1879
The East Line and Red River Railroad arrives, and the town is renamed 'Carrollton.'
1894
The name is changed to 'Como,' suggested by settlers from Como, Mississippi.
1932
Como incorporates, as its lignite mines were closing.
Notable People
Ferdinand Carroll
Established the 1846 teamsters camp on East Caney Creek that grew into Como; the Carroll name carried through the early community as 'Carroll's Prairie' and 'Carrollton.'
J. F. Smith
Lignite coal was found on his property, the find that made mining one of Como's leading industries by 1900 and fueled the town's growth into the early twentieth century.
FAQ: History of Como
Como took its current name in 1894, suggested by settlers who had come from Como, Mississippi, to avoid confusion with the Carrollton near Dallas. Before that the community was known as Bacchus, then Carroll's Prairie, then Carrollton — the last two carrying the name of Ferdinand Carroll, who founded the original 1846 teamsters camp.
Como traces back to about 1846, when Ferdinand Carroll set up a teamsters camp on East Caney Creek along the Jefferson Road. Stores followed in 1858 and 1866, a post office opened in 1870, and the East Line and Red River Railroad arrived in the late 1870s, turning the settlement into a trade town.
Lignite coal mining was one of Como's leading industries. After lignite was discovered on the property of J. F. Smith, mining became one of the town's leading industries by 1900 and helped its population reach about 900 by 1914. Most mines closed in the early 1930s, and many residents moved away.
A major fire in 1910 destroyed much of the original town, which stood south of the railroad. Residents rebuilt north of the tracks around a town square with a central bandstand, giving Como the layout it carried forward as it incorporated in 1932.
East Texas guides
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