Deweyville
Deweyville, Newton County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Original site, called "Possum Bluff," was purchased with a team of oxen by Pierre Lavine from Bill Morrison, 1886. Town was renamed for Admiral George Dewey during Spanish-American War. Leading industry, sawmill, was built by Sabine Tram Co., 1897; and was owned 1919-1943 by Peavy-Moore Lumber Co.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The site was first bought around 1886 — reportedly for a team of oxen — by Pierre Lavine from Bill Morrison, and was known as "Possum Bluff" before being renamed to honor Admiral George Dewey during the Spanish-American War. Its economy rose on lumber after the Sabine Tram Company built a sawmill in 1897, an operation later run by the Peavy-Moore Lumber Company from 1919 to 1943. The mill made Deweyville a working timber town in the East Texas pine belt.
Why it matters
Deweyville captures the East Texas lumber era that clear-cut and rebuilt a region, and its patriotic renaming shows how a distant naval victory rippled into the names of small American towns.
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Related people
- · Pierre Lavine
- · Bill Morrison
- · George Dewey
Themes & tags
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