Kennard

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna give it to you straight with a little Texas on top. The town of Kennard got its start in 1903, founded by the Louisiana and Texas Lumber Company and platted out on a clean 160 acres. Right from the jump, a man named Alexander McTavish was pulling double duty, serving as both land agent and Kennard's first postmaster.

That's the kind of fellow a new town needs. One man, two jobs, no complaints. The town also sat at the terminus of the Eastern Texas Railroad, a line that had been established specifically to move timber down to Angelina County.

And when that rail line landed in Kennard, well, people and businesses from the settlements nearby took one look and made their move. You can't blame them. The railroad has a way of making a place feel like somewhere.

Now, schooling in the area actually goes back further than the town itself. Schools were built nearby as early as 1864, serving the surrounding community for decades, until the Kennard School finally opened in 1903, the same year the town was founded. As for church, things started the way they often do in new Texas towns, with tent meetings and traveling ministers coming through to hold services under canvas.

Permanent churches followed soon after, because that's what a community does when it decides it's staying. The early lineup of businesses tells you a lot about what a place needs to get on its feet. A bank, a hotel, a drug store, general merchandise stores, a cafe, a meat shop, and a Woodmen of the World lodge.

That last one might raise an eyebrow if you're not familiar, but the Woodmen were a serious fraternal organization, and their presence meant Kennard was building something more than just storefronts. Then come the 1920s and 1930s, and the town kept filling out. Timber and farming were growing, and new businesses were arrivin' right alongside them, a cottonseed mill, cotton gins, syrup mills, a blacksmith shop, gas stations, and a boardinghouse.

The kind of place where you could get your horse shod and your car gassed up in the same afternoon, which says something about the era all on its own. Then 1933 brought a change that reshaped the whole town's geography. State Highway 7 was built right through Main Street, and just like that, the business center shifted to follow it.

That's how roads work. They don't ask permission, they just arrive, and everything reorganizes around them. Kennard was incorporated as a city in 1969, and today it continues as an active and involved community sitting right in the heart of the Davy Crockett National Forest.

A town born from timber, shaped by a railroad, moved by a highway, and still standing. Not bad for 160 acres.

What the marker says

The town of Kennard was founded in 1903 by the Louisiana and Texas Lumber Company and platted on 160 acres. Land agent Alexander McTavish also acted as Kennard's first postmaster. The town served as a terminus for the Eastern Texas Railroad, a line established to transport timber to Angelina County. Many businesses and citizens from earlier settlements nearby moved to Kennard when the rail line located here. Schools were built nearby as early as 1864 and served the area until Kennard School opened in 1903. Religious observances began with tent meetings conducted by traveling ministers. Permanent churches were soon organized. Early establishments included a bank, hotel, drug store, general merchandise stores, cafe, meat shop and Woodmen of the World lodge. In the 1920s and 1930s the timber industry and farming grew while other businesses came to town including a cottonseed mill, cotton gins, syrup mills, a blacksmith shop, gas stations, and a boardinghouse. In 1933 State Highway 7 was built through Main Street, shifting the town's business center there. Incorporated as a city in 1969, Kennard continues as an active and involved community located in the heart of the Davy Crockett National Forest.