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IRENE, TEXAS
Hill County, North
Central Texas
FM 308 and FM 1946
North of Navarro Mills Reservoir
12 miles SE of Hillsboro
Population: 160 (estimate)
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History
in a Pecan Shell
The town was once known as Zollicoffer's Mill after Alabaman
Edwin Zollicoffer settled here around 1848 and built a cotton gin
and grist mill. He was joined by fellow Alabamans after the Civil
War - and one of these built the town's first store. A post office
was granted in 1878 and the name of a prominent citizen's daughter
was submitted - and approved. A school was built in the late 1870s,
and by 1884 the town had four separate businesses. By 1896 there was
a population of 100 with ten businesses. The railroad (I.& G.N.) arrived
in 1903.
The Smith Land and Improvement Company, a subsidiary of the railroad,
replaced many of the town's wooden buildings with fire-resaistant
brick buildings. The population increased from 132 to 400 between
1900 and 1920. From 1930 to the mid-1950s the towns population was
reported as 267. Businesses decreased by 33% and by the late 60s there
were only 100 Ireneans. The estimate has remained at 160 since the
1970s.
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