ORE CITY, TEXAS

Upshur County, East Texas

32°48'3"N 94°43'3"W (32.800770, -94.717446).
US 259 and FM 450
6 miles N of Diana
13 miles NE of Gilmer the county seat
N of Longview
10 miles S of Lone Star
12 miles SW of Avinger
Population: 1,204 Est. (2016)
1,144 (2010) 1,106 (2000) 898 (1990)

Book Area Hotel › Longview Hotels

Entering Ore City
Photo courtesy Gerald Massey, January 2011

History in a Pecan Shell

The name comes from the ore deposits found here prior to the Civil War. Various small mining operations extracted small amounts of the ore from the 1860s through 1900 but it wasn’t until 1910 when large-scale mining was envisioned.

In 1911 the Santa Fe railroad signed an agreement to lay rails from (the freshly-platted) Ore City to distant Port Bolivar. By 1914 the line had completed the first 30 miles, connecting Ore City with Longview. (See Port Bolivar & Iron Ore Railroad Historical Marker)

Growth was immediate and with a population of 400, the town had most essential businesses although little work was done on extending the rails due to the US entry into World War One. The line was abandoned just short of the beginning of the Great Depression. Ore City did survive the Depression and in 1935 it still retained 500 residents. After WWII, the population had decreased to less than 400 but the town incorporated by 1952. It added new residents and from an estimated 800 people in the mid 1960s, it grew to 900 by the mid 1970s making it Upshur County’s “second city.”

Ore City Texas - Port Bolivar & Iron Ore Railroad Historical Marker

Port Bolivar & Iron Ore Railroad
Historical Marker
Photo courtesy Gerald Massey, January 2011
See Texas Railroad

United Methodist Church
Photo courtesy Gerald Massey, January 2011
More Texas Churches

Ore City Water Tower
Photo courtesy Gerald Massey, January 2011
More Texas Water Towers

Photo courtesy Gerald Massey, January 2011

Take a road trip

Ore City, Texas Nearby Towns:
Gilmer the county seat
Jefferson
Marshall
Longview
See Upshur County | East Texas

Book Hotel Here:
Longview Hotels | Jefferson Hotels | Marshall Hotels | More Hotels

Texas Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories, landmarks and vintage/historic photos, please contact us.