The History of Woodville, Texas
Woodville sits in the rolling Piney Woods of deep East Texas, the county seat of Tyler County on the edge of the Big Thicket. Its story runs from a frontier courthouse town carved out of 200 donated acres to a sawmilling center that thrived on the surrounding timber — a classic East Texas tale of forests, railroads, and small-town endurance.
Here's how Woodville came to be.
A New County Seat
Woodville was established in 1846, the year the Texas legislature created Tyler County out of the old Menard District. The new town was named in honor of George T. Wood, the second governor of Texas, and that same year it won the election for county seat over the temporary seat at Town Bluff and a proposed site on Wolf Creek.
The townsite was laid out on 200 acres in the Turkey Creek area, land donated to the county by Dr. Josiah Wheat — the first physician of record in the area, who had moved his family to Tyler County from Alabama. A post office followed in 1847, the first courthouse, a two-story log building, was completed in 1849, and Woodville was formally incorporated in October 1856.
Timber and the Sawmills
Woodville grew up surrounded by the vast pine forests of the Big Thicket country, and timber became the lifeblood of the area. The arrival of the Texas and New Orleans Railroad opened the region to sawmills, and sawmilling dominated the life of the area through the first half of the twentieth century.
The mills shipped poles, pilings, and lumber out by the railcar, and operations like the Woodville Lumber Company employed scores of workers. The town's population grew with the industry — from a few hundred in the late 1800s to more than 1,500 by 1940 — making Woodville a steady trade and government center for the farmers, loggers, and millhands of Tyler County.
Courthouse Town and Modern Woodville
As the county seat, Woodville has long centered on its courthouse square. The original 1849 log courthouse gave way to a frame building, and then to the brick Tyler County Courthouse erected in 1891 and remodeled in 1935 — still the anchor of downtown today.
In the twentieth century Woodville added the institutions that give it its character: the Tyler County Dogwood Festival, born from a 1938 highway barbecue and first held in 1940; the Heritage Village Museum, with its collection of relocated pioneer structures; and the Allan Shivers Library and Museum, honoring the Texas governor who spent his boyhood near town. Today Woodville is a quiet community of around 2,400, the gateway to the Big Thicket and the heart of Tyler County.
Timeline
1846
Tyler County is created from the Menard District; Woodville is established and wins the county-seat election over Town Bluff and Wolf Creek.
1846
The town is named for George T. Wood, second governor of Texas, and laid out on 200 acres donated by Dr. Josiah Wheat.
1847
Woodville receives a post office.
1849
The first Tyler County courthouse, a two-story log building, is completed.
1856
Woodville is formally incorporated in October.
1891
The brick Tyler County Courthouse is erected on the square (later remodeled in 1935).
Notable People
George T. Wood
The second governor of Texas, for whom Woodville is named when the town was established in 1846.
Dr. Josiah Wheat
The first physician of record in the area, an Alabama settler who donated the 200 acres on which the Woodville townsite was laid out.
Allan Shivers
The 37th governor of Texas (1949–1957), who spent his childhood at the family home near Woodville and is honored by the Allan Shivers Library and Museum in town.
FAQ: History of Woodville
Woodville is named for George T. Wood, the second governor of Texas. The town was established in 1846 when Tyler County was created, and laid out on 200 acres in the Turkey Creek area donated by Dr. Josiah Wheat, the area's first physician of record.
Woodville was established in 1846, the same year the Texas legislature created Tyler County from the old Menard District. It won the election to become county seat over Town Bluff and a Wolf Creek site, received a post office in 1847, and was incorporated in October 1856.
Timber. Surrounded by the Big Thicket's pine forests, Woodville became a sawmilling center after the Texas and New Orleans Railroad arrived. Sawmilling dominated the area through the first half of the twentieth century, with mills shipping poles, pilings, and lumber by rail.
Woodville is the county seat of Tyler County, a role it won in 1846. The town centers on its courthouse square, anchored by the brick Tyler County Courthouse erected in 1891 and remodeled in 1935.
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