Town of Newton

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Newton, Texas. Easternmost county in the whole state, and back in 1853, when surveyors laid this town out, it was little more than a forest of oaks and beeches.

Just trees. Trees in every direction as far as a man could see. Now you'd think that might discourage a town from taking root.

You'd be wrong. That same year, Newton was elected county seat, beating out Burkeville, which had held that honor before. Central location, they said.

And that was that. Burkeville had to make its peace with it. Into this clearing stepped Major John Moore, an early settler, and he did what a man does when a town needs building.

He put up the first house in Newton. And then, because apparently one landmark wasn't enough for him, he built the first courthouse too. A two-story frame structure.

That courthouse was finished in 1856. The second one, the one still standing, came along and was finished in 1903. Now here's where Newton's story picks up some real momentum.

The Orange and Northwestern Railroad arrived in 1905, and Newton began to grow. Consider this: in 1859, the whole town amounted to four buildings. Two homes, a store, and a saloon.

That's it. The full inventory. By 1913, there were fifteen.

Progress is a slow cooker, friends, but it does cook. Education came to Newton in 1889 with the W. H.

Ford Male and Female College, and by 1906 it had folded into the public school system. That same year, 1906, the Newton County Bank opened its doors, the first bank in town. The Newton News was being printed prior to 1920.

And through all of it, the forest that once stood where the town now sits never really left the picture. Forest products became the backbone of Newton's industries. Sawmills.

Plants turning out baskets, turpentine, tool handles, furniture. The trees that could have stopped a town from ever existing ended up being the very thing that kept it going. Newton was incorporated in 1935, and to this day it remains the only incorporated town in Newton County.

The county's main trade center, standing right where those oaks and beeches used to be.

What the marker says

Located in the easternmost county of Texas, this town was little more than a forest of oaks and beeches when laid out in 1853. Due to its central location, it was elected county seat the same year, winning over Burkeville, the former county seat. Maj. John Moore, an early settler, built the first house in Newton and also the first courthouse-- a two-story frame structure. It was finished in 1856. The second (present) courthouse was finished in 1903. With the arrival of the Orange and Northwestern Railroad in 1905, Newton began to grow. Buildings increased from four in 1859 (two homes, a store, and a saloon) to 15 in 1913. The town was incorporated (1935) and is the county's only incorporated town. A formal education system began with the W. H. Ford Male and Female College in 1889. It became part of the public school system in 1906. The first bank-- Newton County Bank-- was established in 1906. The "Newton News" was printed prior to 1920. Over the years forest products have been the basis of town's chief industries. Sawmills provided employment, as did plants for manufacturing baskets, turpentine, tool handles, and furniture. The town is now the county's main trade center.