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PHELPS, TEXAS


Walker County, East Texas

FM 2296
Just S of Highway 190
6 Miles E of Huntsville the county seat
Population: 98 Est. (2010, 2000, 1990)

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Phelps Texas cistern
Cistern
TE photo, June 2004

History in a Pecan Shell

The Houston and Great Northern Railroad built a station here in the 1870s and the town grew up around it. The contractor for the railroad construction was the Phelps-Dodge Corporation from whence the name came.

In 1874 a post office was granted and the railroad added a spur at Phelps, connecting Huntsville to the main line. Phelps became the nucleus of a cluster of sawmills – and the mill workers resided in the hub town. It was estimated that the population included residents of 100 separate families. From a mere 25 people in 1890, the town reached 300 by 1914. As the forest played out and the sawmills moved on, Phelps declined to a single business. The 1950 population was estimated to be 100 and the post office closed in the mid-1960s.

TX Walker County 1907 Postal Map
Walker County 1907 postal map showing Phelps (E of Huntsville)
From Texas state map #2090
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

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East Texas

Phelps, Texas Nearby Towns:
Huntsville the county seat

See Walker County

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