The History of Diboll, Texas
Diboll is the quintessential East Texas lumber town — built from scratch in 1894 around a sawmill, owned for generations by one family's timber company, and shaped down to its street grid by the rhythms of the mill. Its story is the story of the Piney Woods lumber industry itself, preserved today in the archives of Diboll's History Center.
Here's how Diboll came to be.
A Sawmill in the Pines
In 1893 Thomas Lewis Latane Temple organized the Southern Pine Lumber Company and bought 7,000 acres of pine timberland from J. C. Diboll; the town grew up around his sawmill from 1894. The town that grew up around the mill took the Diboll name, and on US Highway 59 just north of the Neches River in southern Angelina County, it became a center of the booming East Texas timber industry.
The operation grew fast. By 1908 Temple had added a second sawmill and enlarged his timberland holdings to more than 209,000 acres. Diboll was, from day one, a town built on timber.
A Classic Company Town
For its first half-century, Diboll was a true company town. Many of its homes were built from lumber produced by the Southern Pine mills and owned by the lumber company, which rented them to its employees. The company maintained a large commissary — with a drugstore, post office, grocery, and feed store — along with doctors' offices, the railroad station, and the lumber company's offices, all woven into daily life.
Nearly everything in Diboll revolved around the mill and the Temple family's company. It was a self-contained world typical of the East Texas lumber era, when whole towns lived and worked within a single company's orbit.
Modernizing and Moving On
Diboll's transition from company town to independent community came under Arthur Temple Jr., a grandson of the founder, who became manager and vice president in 1948 and later president. He sold company-owned houses to the residents who lived in them, encouraged private home building, and invested in the town — a medical clinic, ambulance service, improved streets, a new fire station, and new homes.
In 1973, Time, Inc. acquired the company, then called Temple Industries; in 1984 Time spun off its forest-products business as Temple-Inland, a major national corporation with deep Diboll roots. The town's population was 5,470 by 2000 before settling to 4,457 at the 2020 census. Today Diboll preserves its remarkable history at the renowned History Center, even as the forest-products industry that built it remains part of the local economy.
Timeline
1894
T. L. L. Temple's Southern Pine Lumber Company, organized in 1893 after he bought 7,000 acres of timberland from J. C. Diboll, starts its sawmill in June 1894, founding the town of Diboll.
1908
A second sawmill is added and timberland holdings grow past 209,000 acres.
1948
Arthur Temple Jr. becomes manager of Southern Pine Lumber Company and goes on to sell company houses to residents and modernize the town.
1973
Time, Inc. acquires Temple Industries in 1973; Time spins off Temple-Inland in 1984.
2020
Diboll's census population is 4,457, with the History Center preserving the town's lumber-era heritage.
Notable People
Thomas Lewis Latane (T. L. L.) Temple
Lumber baron who organized the Southern Pine Lumber Company in 1893 and founded Diboll around its mill, building one of the most important timber operations in East Texas and the family enterprise that shaped the region for over a century.
Arthur Temple Jr.
Grandson of the founder who modernized Diboll beginning in 1948 — selling company houses to residents and investing in the town — and built the family business into the major corporation later known as Temple-Inland.
FAQ: History of Diboll
Diboll grew up from 1894 around the sawmill of the Southern Pine Lumber Company, which Thomas Lewis Latane Temple organized in 1893 after buying 7,000 acres of pine timberland from J. C. Diboll. The town grew up around the mill as a center of the East Texas timber industry.
Yes. For its first half-century, Diboll was a classic company town: many homes were built from the company's lumber and rented to employees, and the lumber company ran a large commissary that housed a drugstore, post office, grocery, and more. Arthur Temple Jr., who took over management in 1948, later sold houses to residents.
The Southern Pine Lumber Company was the timber operation T. L. L. Temple organized in 1893 and built at Diboll. It grew into one of East Texas's largest lumber companies, later becoming Temple Industries and, after Time, Inc.'s purchase in the 1970s, Temple-Inland.
The Temple family founded and ran Diboll's lumber industry for generations. T. L. L. Temple started the Southern Pine Lumber Company in 1893, and his grandson Arthur Temple Jr. modernized the town and built the company into the major corporation Temple-Inland.
East Texas guides
Region-wide guides that put Diboll in context — where to go, what things cost, and how people actually live here.
A Brief History of East Texas
From Caddo settlements to the oil boom and beyond, discover how centuries of history shaped East Texas communities like Tyler, Kilgore, and Henderson.
Read Guide →Best Day Trips from Tyler and East Texas
Drive-time guide to day trips from Tyler: state parks, small towns, museums, and lakes within about 30 minutes, an hour, and up to three hours.
Read Guide →East Texas Festivals and Annual Events
Season-by-season guide to East Texas festivals and events — Canton's First Monday Trade Days, the Texas Rose Festival, the Yamboree, Wonderland of Lights and more, checked against each host's own site.
Read Guide →East Texas State Parks Guide
Twelve East Texas state parks from TPWD: Tyler, Caddo Lake, Atlanta, Lake Bob Sandlin, Tawakoni, Purtis Creek, Cooper, Martin Dies Jr. and more. Camping, cabins and passes.
Read Guide →Business Owner?
Want Your Business Featured in Diboll?
People are searching for businesses like yours in Diboll. Get listed in our city guide and local directory so they can find you.