Site of Wildhurst
Forest, Cherokee County, Texas
Marker Inscription
One of the many sawmill towns in East Texas in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Wildhurst was established by the Chronister Lumber Company in 1895. Operations included sawmills, mill ponds, drying kilns, a planing mill, commissary, locomotive and logging tram. Production peaked at 75,000 board feet of yellow pine cut daily in 1918, and the population of the company town reached 400 by the 1920s. Records indicate that three-fourths of the workforce was African American, and the town plat included segregated housing, schools and churches. Labor shortages during World War II and the lack of reserve trees in the region led to the demise of sawmill operations at Wildhurst by December 1944. (2000)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Wildhurst was one of many East Texas sawmill towns, founded by the Chronister Lumber Company in 1895 with sawmills, mill ponds, drying kilns, a commissary, and a logging tram. At its peak in 1918 it cut 75,000 board feet of yellow pine a day, and by the 1920s some 400 people lived there—records show about three-quarters of the workforce was African American, housed in segregated sections with their own schools and churches. Labor shortages during World War II and dwindling timber ended operations by December 1944.
Why it matters
Wildhurst preserves the entwined story of the East Texas timber boom and the largely African American labor force that built it, under the strict segregation of the Jim Crow South.
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Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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