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IRONTON, TEXASCherokee County,
East Texas
Hwy 79
6 miles SW of Jacksonville
4 miles NE of the Anderson County Line
Population:
110 (1990)
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History in
a Pecan Shell
Named for the Chapel Hill Iron Manufacturing Plant that remains only
in ruins, Ironton was promoted in 1904 by an immigration agent in
Jacksonville named C.H. Martin. The town sold its first lot and opened
a post office in 1904.
Two years later, a gristmill, cotton gin and blacksmith opened. By
1910 the community had a school comprised of students that had attended
classes at Owl's Creek Chapel or nearby Earl's Chapel.
Highway 79, (formerly highway 43) bypassed the town. In 1930 Ironton's
last business burned and when it rebuilt - it did so on the east side
of the road. During the school consolidations of the late forties
and early fifties, Ironton's school merged with Jacksonville schools
and in 1955 Ironton's mail was rerouted through Jacksonville.
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