Port Bolivar & Iron Ore Railroad

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Port Bolivar and Iron Ore Railroad, out in Upshur County. Now, this piece of ground has seen more than one beginning. Before the Civil War, there was a community here, tied to the Murray League School, and folks had built something worth having.

But that community declined after the war, and for a stretch, the land went quiet. Not forever, though. That's the thing about East Texas ground.

It waits. Around 1911, construction was completed on a railroad, and when that happened, a town called Ore City got platted and residents came back to repopulate the area. One name stands behind a good deal of that effort: Colonel L.

P. Featherstone, a charter member of the Port Bolivar and Iron Ore Railway Company. He was instrumental in connecting Longview, over in Gregg County, with the ore fields of this region.

A railroad connecting a city to its riches, that tends to get people moving. And move they did. The rail line sparked the town's population and its economic growth.

Now, freight businesses have a way of slowing down, and by 1926, this one had stopped running entirely. But here is where the story turns. The railroad's operation made a lasting impact on Ore City, and the town, the one that rose up around the promise of those iron ore fields and that rail line, continues to thrive today.

Two beginnings, one town still standing. That's not a bad way to end up.

What the marker says

Though an Antebellum community associated with the Murray League School once existed here, it declined following the Civil War. It wasn’t until around 1911, when construction was completed on a railroad, that ore city was platted and residents repopulated the area. Col. L.P. Featherstone, a charter member of the Port Bolivar & Iron Ore Railway Company, was instrumental in connecting Longview (Gregg Co.) and the ore fields of this region. The rail line sparked the town’s population and economic growth. Although the freight business slowed and the railroad stopped running in 1926, its operation made a lasting impact on ore city, which continues to thrive today.