The History of Redwater, Texas
Redwater sits about twelve miles southwest of Texarkana in southeastern Bowie County, in the rolling timber country of far northeast Texas. Its history runs from a frontier sawmill town with a freethinker's name to a community renamed by a religious revival — and a footnote in American medical history along the way.
Here's how Redwater came to be.
A Sawmill Town Called Ingersoll
Redwater grew up in the mid-1870s around a sawmill operated by two men named Daniels and Spence. They named the community Ingersoll, in honor of Robert Ingersoll — the famous orator and agnostic of the era — an unusual choice for a small East Texas settlement. A post office was established under that name in 1881, and by 1884 the town had an estimated population of about fifty.
The timber and farm country around the settlement supplied the mill and the early economy, and for its first decade Ingersoll was a modest crossroads in the southeastern corner of Bowie County, a short distance from the growing railroad city of Texarkana.
The Revival and the Red Water
The town's name changed because of a religious awakening. In 1886 a big revival meeting was held in the community, resulting in about 110 conversions. Afterward, residents — no longer wishing to honor an agnostic — decided the town's name had to go. As it happened, they had just finished digging a new well that yielded reddish water, and they renamed the town Redwater for this distinctive feature.
The new name caught on locally, though the post office was not officially changed to Redwater until 1894. It's a fitting origin story for the area: the reddish water of the area's springs and wells gave the town both its name and its identity, replacing a borrowed honorific with something drawn straight from the ground beneath it.
Army Installations and Steady Growth
For much of its early life Redwater stayed small, a farming and timber community of a few hundred people. The biggest change came with World War II, when the federal government built two massive installations just north of town — the Red River Army Depot and the Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant — on tens of thousands of acres in the heart of Bowie County.
These facilities provided thousands of jobs for county residents, and Redwater's population jumped from about 250 in the early 1940s to 457 by 1950. The Lone Star plant was deactivated in 2009 after nearly 70 years of making ammunition, while Red River Army Depot remains an active installation. Today Redwater is a small, tight-knit bedroom community in the Texarkana metro area, anchored by its Redwater ISD 'Dragons' and its quiet, wooded setting near Wright Patman Lake.
Timeline
Mid-1870s
A sawmill run by Daniels and Spence anchors a new settlement, named Ingersoll for the agnostic orator Robert Ingersoll.
1881
A post office is established under the name Ingersoll.
1884
The town has an estimated population of about fifty.
1886
A revival meeting yields about 110 conversions; residents decide to rename the town, choosing Redwater for a new well's red water.
1890
The Page quadruplets — the first recorded quadruplets in the United States — are born in Redwater.
1894
The post office name is officially changed from Ingersoll to Redwater.
Notable People
The Page Quadruplets
Born in Redwater on January 8, 1890, the four Page sisters, born when the town was still called Ingersoll, are recognized as the first recorded set of quadruplets born in the United States, giving the small town a place in American history.
Robert Ingersoll (namesake of the original name)
The 19th-century orator and famous agnostic for whom the town was first named, Ingersoll. He never lived here; founders Daniels and Spence simply chose to honor him — a name the town later shed during an 1886 revival.
FAQ: History of Redwater
Redwater was named for a well that yielded reddish water. The town was originally called Ingersoll, after the agnostic orator Robert Ingersoll, but after an 1886 revival its residents no longer wished to honor an agnostic and renamed it Redwater for the new well. The post office name officially changed in 1894.
Redwater was originally named Ingersoll, in honor of the famous orator and agnostic Robert Ingersoll. The town grew up in the mid-1870s around a sawmill run by two men named Daniels and Spence. The name was changed to Redwater after an 1886 religious revival.
Redwater is known as the birthplace of the Page quadruplets, born in 1890 and recognized as the first recorded set of quadruplets in the United States. It's also remembered for its unusual name change from Ingersoll to Redwater following an 1886 revival.
During World War II, the federal government built the Red River Army Depot and Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant just north of Redwater, providing thousands of jobs. Redwater's population grew from about 250 in the early 1940s to 457 by 1950. Red River Army Depot remains active today.
East Texas guides
Region-wide guides that put Redwater in context — where to go, what things cost, and how people actually live here.
A Brief History of East Texas
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