The History of Huntington, Texas
Huntington sits in central Angelina County on U.S. Highway 69, about ten miles east of Lufkin in the heart of the East Texas Piney Woods. Its story is a classic of the region: virgin pine forests, a railroad, and the sawmills that turned a forested crossing into a town in a single year.
Here's how Huntington came to be.
Pine Forest and a Failed Townsite
Long before there was a town, the rich stands of longleaf and shortleaf pine around the site drew the attention of timber men. In the 1880s, Lewis Baird and Alvin Russell tried to establish a townsite near these forests, but their efforts came to nothing — there was no railroad to carry the timber to market, and without it a town could not take hold.
The land waited. It was the railroad, more than any settler, that would finally call a community into being here, and it would do so quickly once the rails were laid through the central part of the county.
The Town the Railroad Built
In June 1900, E. A. Blount of Nacogdoches and W. J. Townsend, Sr., of Lufkin laid out a townsite where the new rail line crossed the pine country. They considered naming it 'Old Homer' after Angelina County's former county seat, but settled instead on Huntington — for Collis P. Huntington, the chairman of the Southern Pacific Railroad, whose line ran through the new town. Lots were sold at public auction, and a post office opened that same year with R. D. Chapman as the first postmaster.
The railroad arrived in force when the Beaumont-to-Dallas line was built through Huntington in May 1903. With the rails came the means to ship timber and farm goods, and lumbering and farming became the little town's economic mainstays.
Sawmills, Incorporation, and Steady Growth
Lumbering built Huntington. In 1900, A. F. Smith put up a sawmill two miles east of town, and a few years later Joe Burnaman built a larger mill nearby. The Huntington Baptist Church was organized in 1902, and over the following decades Pentecostal, Church of Christ, and Methodist congregations joined it. A telephone exchange came in 1907 and electric service in 1927.
Huntington incorporated in 1937, with Fowler Burris as its first mayor. Lumbering and farming remained the economic mainstays, and the town grew despite a Depression-era dip to about 400 — from about 600 people in 1904 to over a thousand by 1960 and roughly 2,000 by 2000. Today Huntington is a quiet Angelina County town near Lufkin, home of the Red Devils, and known as a gateway to the great Lake Sam Rayburn just to the east.
Timeline
1880s
Lewis Baird and Alvin Russell try to establish a townsite near the pine forests, but without a railroad the effort fails.
1900
E. A. Blount and W. J. Townsend, Sr., lay out the townsite in June; lots are auctioned, a post office opens, and A. F. Smith builds a sawmill two miles east.
1902
The Huntington Baptist Church is organized.
1903
The Beaumont-to-Dallas railroad line is built through Huntington in May.
1927
Electric service reaches the town, following a telephone exchange in 1907.
1937
Huntington incorporates, with Fowler Burris as its first mayor.
Notable People
Collis P. Huntington
The railroad magnate and chairman of the Southern Pacific Railroad for whom the town was named in 1900; his rail line ran through the new townsite, though he never lived there.
E. A. Blount & W. J. Townsend, Sr.
The founders who laid out the Huntington townsite in June 1900 — Blount of Nacogdoches and Townsend of Lufkin — and who first considered naming the town 'Old Homer.'
FAQ: History of Huntington
Huntington was named in 1900 for Collis P. Huntington, chairman of the Southern Pacific Railroad, whose line ran through the new town. Founders E. A. Blount and W. J. Townsend, Sr., had first considered naming it 'Old Homer' after the county's former seat.
The Huntington townsite was laid out in June 1900 by E. A. Blount and W. J. Townsend, Sr., when the railroad reached the central Angelina County pine country. A post office opened that year, and the town incorporated in 1937 with Fowler Burris as first mayor.
Lumbering. The town rose with the southern pine timber boom — A. F. Smith built a sawmill two miles east in 1900 and Joe Burnaman built a larger mill nearby. From then on, lumbering and farming were the mainstays of the local economy.
Earlier attempts to found a town here failed for lack of a railroad. It was only with the arrival of the railroad that the town took hold in 1900, named for a railroad chairman; the Beaumont-to-Dallas line was built through Huntington in May 1903, and lumbering and farming became its mainstays.
East Texas guides
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