Mark in Texas History: Railroad caused Mineola’s growth

MINEOLA, Texas (KLTV) - The City of Mineola is rich with Texas history and is the subject of this weeks’ Mark in Texas History by Mark Scirto.

The city of Mineola has been tied historically to the transportation industry and you can read all about that in a nearby historical marker to this one, which is dedicated to the city.

Those rail lines brought impressive growth to Mineola and made the city a shipping center for agricultural Wood County. This sparked the establishment of a newspaper, churches and a public school system.

An 1888 fire destroyed many buildings downtown, but the community quickly recovered. In the early 1900s, the federal government built U.S. Highway 80 through the town.

Saloons were also popular. There were at least 14 different ones in the area and eight at one time. However, residents voted to outlaw the sale of alcohol in the county in 1903. A marker memorializing the saloon era was erected in 2009.

The city received a historical marker in 2008. That marker is close to two more markers. The saloon marker and another, honoring C-W Raines, a county judge and later a state librarian. That marker was erected in 2001.

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