Town of Winnie

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the town of Winnie, Chambers County, Texas. Now, every good Texas town has a foundation, and Winnie's goes all the way back to 1835, when this land was part of a grant from Mexico to a man named James Hoggatt. That's the ground you're rolling over right now, or passing close by.

And for a good long while, that ground just sat there, quiet and open, until as late as the 1890s when folks finally started homesteading small tracts out here. Patience is a virtue in southeast Texas. The town itself takes its name from Fox Winnie, born in 1843, died in 1927, a contractor and investor out of Newton, Kansas.

And here's where the story gets interesting. In 1895, Fox Winnie, together with a man named L. P.

Featherstone, built the Gulf and Interstate Railway right through this area. A railroad through the coastal prairie. Progress, plain and simple.

Then 1896 arrived, and it brought a storm with it. That storm destroyed the Gulf and Interstate Railroad's rail bed. Wiped it out.

And the train, well, the train was caught in Galveston at the time, and it waited. Three years. Three years before it made its return run through Winnie on to Beaumont.

You could say the land was not quite ready to be tamed just yet. Meanwhile, the Winnie Loan and Improvement Company was operating out of offices in Galveston, selling acreage and town lots from 1896 all the way to 1911. Building a community on paper, lot by lot, year by year.

But the land kept testing the people who wanted to live on it. The late 1800s economy was built on rice, cattle, fruit, and cotton. Good honest work.

And then came the 1895 snow, hurricanes in 1896, 1900, and later years on top of that, and if all that wasn't enough, a severe freeze rolled through in 1916. The elements were not handing out any favors. Through all of it, people kept their faith.

Pioneer religious worship was held in homes, led by settlers like the Reverend T. W. White, a Presbyterian.

In time, congregations put down roots the same way the settlers did. Baptists, Church of Christ, First Assembly of God, Latter Day Saints, Methodist, and Roman Catholic communities all built churches here. And the school that served this community, it started as a single room.

One room for all the learning that needed doin'. That one room eventually grew into a system with several buildings, because the children kept coming. Today Winnie sits as the site of the Chambers County sub-courthouse.

Its economy draws from petroleum and chemical industries, and from rice, beef, and catfish farming. And every year, the town throws what the marker calls the great annual celebration: the Texas Rice Festival. A tip of the hat to the crop that stubborn, hopeful people were raising here even when the storms and the freezes said otherwise.

From a Mexican land grant in 1835 to a rice festival that draws folks from all over, Winnie, Texas has earned every bit of what it's got.

What the marker says

Site is on 1835 James Hoggatt grant from Mexico. As late as 1890s, small tracts were homesteaded here. Named for Fox Winnie (1843-1927), a contractor and investor of Newton, Kans., who with L. P. Featherstone in 1895 built Gulf & Interstate Railway through the area. An 1896 storm destroyed G. & I. R. rail bed. The train, caught in Galveston, waited three years to make return run through Winnie to Beaumont. Winnie Loan & Improvement Company sold acreage and town lots from its offices in Galveston, 1896-1911. Late 1800s economy, based on raising of rice, cattle, fruit, and cotton, suffered from 1895 snow, hurricanes in 1896, 1900, and later, and a severe freeze in 1916. Pioneer religious worship, held in homes, was led by such settlers as the Rev. T. W. White, a Presbyterian. Churches were built by Baptist, Church of christ, First Assembly of God, Latter Day Saints, Methodist, and Roman Catholic congregations. The one-room early school evolved into a system with several buildings. Site of Chambers County sub-courthouse, Winnie benefits from payrolls of petroleum and chemical industries, and rice, beef, and catfish farming. Great annual celebration is the Texas Rice Festival.