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MUNZ, TEXAS
AKA Munz City


Texas Ghost Town
Cass County, East Texas

33.20171, -94.47672

Alongside Hwy 77 and Just E of FM 994
7 Miles W of Douglassville
3 Miles E of Marietta
21 Miles NW of Atlanta
20 Miles NW of Linden the county seat
Population: 0

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History in a Pecan Shell

Two brothers (with the cumbersome name of Munzheimer) are credited as the community founders. Harry and Gus were developers who had left Texarkana and bought forested acreage here in the late 1800s. Early on, the name was shortened to just plain Munz.

The brothers had big ideas to get their timber (and other people’s freight) to market. They devised a narrow-gauge railroad connecting to Texarkana with Munz as the terminus. The railroad was named the Northeast Texas Railroad Company and initially began in Texarkana through Redwater to Maud and terminated at Munz City.

The tracks reached Munz in 1905 and city lots were sold as property in “Munz City.” A post office was granted in 1905 but was closed just 3 years later.

Brother Gus Munzheimer seemed intent on Munz City becoming a destination. He built a hotel, a train depot, a boarding house and even a brickyard.

Like most of East Texas, towns large and small declined as the timber was cut and Munz City was no exception.

In 1914 disaster struck in the form of a huge tornado that wiped the town off the map. With the timber all but gone, there seemed no reason to rebuild. Lots (whose owners had planned to build homes) were sold at auction and the rest of Munz reverted to watermelon and cotton fields and in time, timberland.

The Brothers Munzheimer returned to Texarkana where they had much better luck with real estate development. The railroad rails were eventually sold as reinforcement material in public buildings. In the region.

Today there is nothing left of Munz and the old scar of the railroad roadbed is the only tangible proof that a town was once here.

Click on image to enlarge
Courtesy Gregory Phillips

Munz, Texas Location

Munz was located near the intersection of Texas 77 and FM 994. The [above] map is the current USGS topographic map with the road network present in 1910 (orange) as an overlay. The heavy black line was the tracks of the Northeastern Texas Railroad. The 1910 map indicates that there was a short spur from the main line into Munz. It is difficult to appreciate the three roads leading into Munz and the railroad tracks on current aerial photographs. The location of TX 77, FM 994 and Co Rd 2470 are almost unchanged from 1910.The area that was Munz has been re-forested. - Gregory Phillips, October 17, 2021

Cass County Texas 1907 Postal map
Cass County 1907 postal map showing Munz
(Above "A" in "CASS")
From Texas state map #2090
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

Take a road trip

East Texas
East Texas Sunday Drives

Munz, Texas Nearby Towns:
Linden the county seat
Atlanta
Douglassville
Marietta
See Cass County

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