Filed Under Walker County

Riverside

By Texas Historical Marker
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The town of Riverside was founded in 1872, when Houston & Great Northern Railroad (later, International & Great Northern) was being built into the area. Walker County landowners gave earth, timber, and rock to the road in order to gain shipping facilities. A post office was moved here on February 23, 1872, from Newport (6 mi. SE), where wharves were idle when Trinity River was low.

Riverside developed churches, a 4-teacher school, and two blocks of businesses, including stores, a blacksmith shop, livery stable, saloon, barber shop, 2-story hotel, and a cotton gin. In the 1920s, Fuller's earth refining plants were built in the town.

Images

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Untitled Walker County 1907 Postal Map showing Riverside Source: Texas Escapes
Riverside turning bridge Highway 19
Riverside turning bridge Highway 19 Riverside turning bridge crew, Highway 19 The Riverside Swinging Bridge was the last swinging railroad bridge built in Texas. In 1903, the International and Great Northern Railroad decided to build a bridge across the Trinity to connect its lines north and south of the river. It was decided that the bridge should swing on a central pivot, parallel to the river, to accommodate the steamboats which frequented the river ports in earlier days. These boats were expected to resume operation after the construction of the long- proposed barge canal farther up the Trinity. However, the barge canal was never built and the anticipated barge traffic never materialized. Source: Walker County Treasures
Riverside Cash Store
Riverside Cash Store Source: Walker County Treasures
Untitled Source: Walker County Treasures
Riverside turning bridge, damaged in 1925.
Riverside turning bridge, damaged in 1925. Source: Walker Country Treasures
Riverside African American School
Riverside African American School Source: Walker County Treasures
Riverside Front Street, ca. 1922
Riverside Front Street, ca. 1922 Source: Walker County Treasures
Classroom of school children
Classroom of school children Mrs. Kelly's First Grade Class in 1953 at a Riverside school. Source: Walker Country Treasures
Riverside Mill White Company, October 1953
Riverside Mill White Company, October 1953 Source: Walker County Treasures
Clay pits in Riverside, October 1953
Clay pits in Riverside, October 1953

Location

Map

Metadata

Citation Info

Texas Historical Marker, “Riverside,” East Texas History, accessed October 1, 2026, https://easttexashistory.org/items/show/192.

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