Phelps: A Railroad Town
Located East of Huntsville, Texas, in Walker County, lies a little town along Farm-to-Market Road 2296, south of Highway 190, called Phelps. While passing through, travelers often notice that this part of the Piney Woods seems quiet and bare. However, Phelps has a history of major changes that have influenced Texas. The close-knit community was a result of railroad construction, travel, and migration.
The story of Phelps can be traced back to the 1860s, when engineers for the Houston and Great Northern Railroad Company (HGNR) began surveying a railroad route through Walker County. They planned to build a railroad that stretched from Houston to the Red River and eventually to the Canadian border. The first organizers of the railroad consisted of Ebenezar B. Nichols, William Marsh Rice, W. J. Hutchins, H.D. Taylor, B. A. Shepherd, and Moses Taylor. Work crews completed a 55-mile track from Houston to New Waverly in 1871. The following year, the HGNR built another track from New Waverly to Crockett, Texas, that stretched 56 miles long. The railroad’s entrance into Walker County began to influence the region's political, economic, and social life. [1]
The Houston and Great Northern Railroad companies spurred the creation of Phelps. In 1870, the company established the Waverly station about 10 miles west of Old Waverly. Residents of Old Waverly loudly opposed granting the company a right-of-way for the railroad. Leaders of Waverly also believed that the railroad would bring along “tramps and ignorance to the town and kill cattle.” Years prior, a yellow fever outbreak had knocked out a portion of the population. The sickness also took out family members of those who had already been residing in the area and were on their way to the region, but never made it. The disfavor of Old Waverly residents led to the establishment of the Waverly station. The station was followed by the foundation and establishment of New Waverly that same year, which attracted a large population and left Old Waverly to decline in population quietly over the succeeding decades. [2]
In 1871, Phelps-Dodge Construction Company established a depot and telegraph station in a region that would soon become known as Phelps. The town was named after the company. The station's founding sparked a community to bloom in the area. In 1874, residents established a post office, a hotel, a church, a general store, and a school. Huntsville civic leaders had come to understand the railway's benefits and regretted their previous opposition. This is especially true because Old Waverly had given Walker County a preview of what rejecting the railway could lead to. The spur at Phelps connected Huntsville to the main railway line. This connection, in turn, contributed to the growth of the Phelps community. [3]
As the Phelps area began to swell, sawmills started operating, and they quickly became a staple in the region. Over 100 families worked in the sawmills, with many of them residing in Phelps. [3] In 1890, the community’s population report listed about 25 residents. By 1914, a similar report indicated that Phelps had more than 300 residents. As Walker County evolved and experienced significant changes, Phelps’s population declined. In the late 1930s, sawmill popularity declined, and many ceased operating. [4]
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