2019 Historical Event
Winnsboro History Day Walking Tour
and first Taste of Winnsboro at the WCA
Well Attended in Downtown - May 2019
CGWillis, (c) All Rights Reserved
Requests for re-distribution or use cgwillis @ TrailsCountryReporter.com
DEMOGRAPHICS
by C.G. Willis | Editor, TCR
Lake Fork 27, 690 acres
Lake Winnsboro 806 acres
Lake Quitman 814 acres
Lake Hawkins 776 acres
Lake Holbrook 653 acres
TOPOGRAPHY FACTS.
Wood County is in the top 10% of all Texas Counties with a high water to land ratio.
Wood County is located in the East Texas Timberlands, part of the Western Coastal Plain Major Land Resource Area.
The total Wood County land area is 445,402 acres, or about 696 square miles. Of that, 25,863 acres is areas of water more than 40 acres in size;
Amount of Water to :Land: 27th in acreage of 254 Texas counties
Amount of Water to Land: 25th in percentage or 7.26% is water
LAKE FORK, TROPHY WATERS OF TEXAS.
Lake Fork is the hottest bass fishing lake in Texas. Lake Fork Reservoir, known around the world as the "Big Bass Capital of Texas", is located in the northwestern portion of Wood County, only 5 miles west of Quitman, 2.5 miles east of Alba, 2.3 miles from Yantis, 4.2 miles from Emory, 12 miles from Mineola, 12 miles from Winnsboro, 15 miles from Sulphur Springs/I.H. 20, 31 miles from Greenville, 63 miles from McKinney, 71 miles from Dallas, 91 miles from Lake Texoma/Oklahoma border, about 107 miles from Louisiana (via Interstate Hwy. 20), and about 112 miles from Arkansas border (via Interstate Hwy. 30 and Texas Hwy. 37).
The Reservoir, owned and operated by The Sabine River Authority (SRA), has an estimated surface area of 27,690 acres and extends up Lake Fork Creek about 15 miles. Lake Fork Reservoir is enjoyed by thousands of water sports enthusiasts each year.
Lake Fork has produced 34 of Texas’ Top "50" Largemouth Bass. Barry St. Clair caught the current State of Texas record for largemouth bass from Lake Fork Reservoir in January 1992, weighing 18.18 pounds. More bass over 8 pounds are caught from Lake Fork than from any other lake in Texas, and perhaps in the country. Large numbers of channel and blue catfish are also taken each year. Naturally occurring populations of black and white crappie, bluegill, and red-ear sunfish have flourished sufficiently to create significant angler interest in these species, too.
The success of Lake Fork is in part due to the perfect fishing habitat created by underwater structures such as timber, flooded dams, farm ponds and the vegetation that includes Hydrilla, milfoil, lily pads, and duckweed. The climate of the Lake Fork Reservoir area is classified as subtropical humid and is characterized by warm summers and mild winters, which make Lake Fork a year-round fishing mecca.
One of the best-kept secrets of Lake Fork is that it offers some of the best duck hunting in East Texas. Standing timber and wetlands are the two biggest keys for holding so many ducks. Wood Ducks make Lake Fork their year-round home. Mallards and Gadwalls are the most common ducks that make their way to East Texas. Full time guides and lodging are available for the duck season that starts in November and ends in late January.
Guides are also available for wild hog hunts.
For the nature lovers, Lake Fork is the place to be in the winter. American Bald Eagles make their home at Lake Fork. Eagle lovers from all over Texas come for the official eagle count, held on Lake Fork each January.
Tours are available for your family’s enjoyment during this time. Lake Fork encourages a family atmosphere. For your comfort, the area offers motel cabins, mobile homes, RV hook-up, tent camping, boat storage, excellent restaurants, 2 golf courses, a driving range, boat rentals and professional guides for bass, crappie and catfish.
Accommodations are available for family reunions, corporate meetings and large groups of any kind. Lake Fork is significant to the growing communities of Yantis and Alba. These two communities may appear to be small, but provide excellent schools and services. Many newcomers to Lake Fork are making their homes in these areas surrounding the Lake.
Lake Fork public boat ramps are located on:
- Hwy 515 East and at the west end of the FM 515 bridge on the east arm of Coney Creek.
- Hwy 17 on Lake Fork Creek’s west arm of the lake, just off Hwy 515
- Hwy 154 located at the east end of the Hwy 154 Bridge on Caney Creek’s east arm of the lake.
- FM 2946 bridge on Lake Fork Creek on the west arm of the lake.
TOURISM
Thousands of people each year are attracted to Wood County by its history, lakes and annual events. Many are building retirement homes and second homes here, lured by the gently rolling hills and the pine, oak and hickory forests. Here they find friendly people, a mild climate, a favorable tax rate and convenient location with excellent access to major metropolitan centers.
Wood County includes Lake Fork, one of the top Largemouth Bass lakes in the nation. It is also Wood County’s largest lake at 27,690 acres. It produced the record largemouth bass caught in the state, weighing in at 18.18 pounds! Lake Winnsboro, Lake Quitman, Lake Hawkins, Lake Holbrook, and Holly Lake are excellent for recreation and make Wood County a water recreation paradise.
Wood County has over 40 locations designated by official Texas Historical Markers. Governor Hogg Shrine Park in Quitman honors the first native-born governor of Texas who served from 1891 to 1895. Jarvis Christian College, established in 1912, is located in the piney woods of East Texas near Hawkins.
The Old Settlers Reunion in Quitman was started in 1899 and continues annually on the first weekend of August. Winnsboro’s Autumn Trails has the largest trail ride in the country the third weekend of October, drawing thousands of horses and riders for a tour of the fall foliage around Winnsboro. Other important annual festivals MAY include Mineola May Days Festival; Alba Country Fair, Quitman Dogwood Fiesta, Hawkins’ Oil Festival, Golden Sweet Potato Festival, and the Yantis Catfish Day. Mineola and Winnsboro are both Texas Main Street Cities striving to preserve their rural small-town heritage and ambiance. The outstanding golfing facilities throughout Wood County continue to draw interest to the area.
HEALTH CARE, SOCIAL ASSISTANCE
An area of growing importance has been the health care industry of Wood County. with the new facility of the East Texas Medical Center of Quitman and Christus Trinity Mother Frances of Winnsboro meeting the growing with the needs of the area. Elder care facilities are located in Winnsboro, Mineola, Quitman and Hawkins providing a continuing asset for families in Wood County.
INDUSTRY PROFILES
AGRICULTURE
Beef cattle, dairy cattle, timber, sweet potatoes, corn, peas, peaches, watermelons, and poultry are the major agricultural products in the county. About 53 percent of the county is pasture and hay-land, 31 percent woodland, 8 percent cropland, 6 percent water areas, and 2 percent urban and built-up areas.
Agriculture has always been significant to the economy of Wood County. It has changed drastically over the years. The early economy of the county was based mainly on cotton production. Before the coming of the railroad, cotton was hauled by wagon to Jefferson. Other early agricultural crops were corn and other grains, ribbon cane, and timber. Over the years syrup mills, gristmills, sawmills, and cotton gins have operated in the county.
Many areas that previously were used as cropland have been converted to pasture or have been planted to pine. Most livestock are raised in cow-calf operations or in dairy herds. The livestock are pastured in summer and fed hay and feed supplements in winter. The main pasture plants are coastal Bermuda grass, bahia grass, and common Bermuda grass. Large amounts of hay are produced. Many pastures are over-seeded with cool-season legumes to improve the fertility of the soils and provide additional forage. The main crops grown in Wood County are corn, sweet potatoes, peas, watermelons, and peaches. Most farms are small. Most commercial timber production in the county is on small, locally owned tracts. Pines and hardwoods are harvested for pulpwood, saw logs, crossties, posts, and poles
INDUSTRY
MANUFACTURING, PRODUCTION, LOGISTICS
Several industries call Wood County “home” including Keller’s Creamery and Team Worldwide of Winnsboro. Nestle Waters of North America (Ozarka) is located near Hawkins. Texas Wall Systems, a worldwide manufacturer of window systems, is located in Alba and the East Texas Oil Fields of Wood County continue to produce significant output for EXXON-MOBIL, a major industrial presence in the area. Mineola is home to Trinidad-Benham, Danaplex and Southeastern Lumber (Georgia Pacific). All of these businesses benefit from the rich labor force that exists in Wood County and the surrounding area. A labor force of more than 250,000 resides within an easy commute. The larger employers, with reason, are the Wood County areas school districts with over 1000 employees, and as of 2024, over 6,400 students, [DATA SUBJECT TO UPDATE].
WINNSBORO & WOOD COUNTY QUALITY OF LIVING
RECREATION & EMPLOYMENT
TCR Editor C.G. Willis reports that Wood County is located in the upper east Texas ecosystem region on the border of the official Texas Forest Trail (FM1647), and the town is the first gateway to the East Texas Piney Woods boasting "red dirt, white stars and blue skies and waters."
The town of Winnsboro, TX and Wood County are in close proximity to many advantages of northeast Texas economic region for living, dining, staying or playing. Many known big box stores are within 20-30 minute drive in five directions. The county 2022 record reflects about 650 employer established businesses and about 2500 self employed or sole proprietorships.
The primary employment sectors include healthcare, retail trade, construction (more quality trades and contractors needed), food, accomodations (hotel, cabins, B&B), finance / banking / insurance, manufacturing, administrative, wholesale trade, information services, arts / entertainment / recreation, agriculture / fishing, forestry / hunting, education, public administration, and a few mining / quarrying / oil-gas extraction.
The area touts itself as rural yet a great place to shop, dine, stay or play for a weekend getaway or staycation daycation just one and half from the Dallas Ft. Worth Metroplex and Tyler, one hour from Greenville, and 2 hours from Texarkana or Shreveport LA.
Wood County contains 4 public county lakes, and over 100 named private lakes, plus one large Lake Fork 27,000 acre water reservoir in the Sabine River Authority Basin, Quitman's Jim Hogg Park and homestead with wooded walking trails, and Mineola's Nature Preserve boasting over 4,000 acres and the lore of bigfoot. Let's mention just a hop skip and a holler to Wood's County north in a 20 minute drive is Lake Cypress Springs and Lake Bob Sandlin that includes wonderful hiking trails up to 3 miles at the Texas Parks and Wildlife 640-acre park, for hiking, biking offers fishing, camping, boating, and wildlife viewing in the Piney Woods and Blackland Prairie ecoregions. The northwestern most part of Wood County's line traverses the center of Lake Bob Sandlin.
HISTORY & HERITAGE
WINNSBORO AND WOOD COUNTY, TEXAS USA
Source of some of the historic photographs in the public domain originated from the Winnsboro News newspaper, Gilbreath Memorial Library and Library of Congress. Gilbreath Memorial Library; 916 N. Main St; Winnsboro, TX 75494; Phone: 903-342-6886; email: gml@winnsborolibrary.org; . All rights to materials within this collection are held by respective holding institutions or individuals with the exception of public domain items. The materials contained within this collection are made available online for educational and/or personal research purposes only.
WOOD COUNTY, TEXAS
Landmarks, Ghost Towns & More
BY C.G. WILLIS (with original contributions by Gary McKinley and the WCIC)
SETTLEMENT, HISTORY AND HERITAGE
In 1850, Wood County was created from Van Zandt County by an act of the Texas Legislature. The county was named for George T. Wood, a native of Georgia, who became Texas’ second Governor in 1847. Some early settlements in the county were Mineola, Webster, Perryville, and Redland.
Geographic Location and Topography
Wood County is in the central part of northeastern Texas. The total area of the county is 445,402 acres, or about 696 square miles. Of this total, 25,863 acres is areas of water more than 40 acres in size. Elevations range from about 285 feet above mean sea level on the Sabine River flood plain in the southeastern part of the county to about 640 feet in the east-central part. Wood County is in the East Texas Timberlands, which is a part of the Western Coastal Plain Major Land Resource Area. The topography of the county is nearly level to steep.
The drainage pattern is well defined, and many streams dissect the county. Nearly all the streams flow in a southeasterly direction to the Sabine River. All of Wood County is in the Sabine River watershed except for a small area in the extreme northeastern part. Lake Fork Creek and Big Sandy Creek are major drainage-ways. Wood County is joined on the west by Rains County, on the southwest by Van Zandt County, on the east by Camp and Upshur Counties, and on the north by Hopkins and Franklin Counties. The Sabine River forms the southern boundary. The soils of the county formed mostly under forest vegetation. Those on uplands are light colored and sandy or loamy, and in unprotected sloping areas, they are subject to water erosion. The soils on flood plains are loamy or clayey.
LAND
Soil is the most important natural resource in Wood County. The livelihood of many people in the county depends on the ability of the soil to produce timber, forage for livestock, and cultivated crops. Oil and gas also are valuable natural resources in the county. The numerous oil and gas wells are sources of income for many landowners. Exploring for oil and gas, drilling, and servicing provide many jobs in the survey area. Sand and gravel are mined in the county.
Sand is mined from thick beds, mainly north of Hawkins in the southeastern part of the county. Gravel is obtained from the surface mining of gravelly soils throughout the county. The sand and gravel are used mainly in construction.
The geographic highest point of the county is in the northeast quadrant near Winnsboro. Forest Hills is a large oil and gas area of about 3000 acres between Winnsboro and Quitman developed by Gaither Petroleum, as well as Exxon facilities near Hawkins in the southern part of the county. Nestle's Ozarka water is also harvested in the Hawkins / Holly Lake area. The Keystone pipeline transverses the eastern edge of Wood County, as well as other pipelines that crisscross underground throughout.
WATER
Water, fish, and wildlife are important natural resources in Wood County. Lake Fork Reservoir, Lake Winnsboro, Lake Quitman, Lake Hawkins, Lake Holbrook, and many smaller private lakes and ponds provide abundant water for recreational activities and for domestic, industrial, and agricultural uses. Lake Fork was built in the early 1980s, initially designed as a cooling lake for a nuclear energy plant. The nuclear plant was eventually scrapped, and the reservoir was continued as a future water source for the city of Dallas. Dallas put up a large portion of Lake Fork's development and lays claim to 73% of the lake's surface water. Metered water did not occur from Lake Fork to Dallas until 2013. The underground pipes go from Lake Ford toward Lake Tawakonie. However, Lake Fork water is not mingled with Tawakonie's water for ph balance and environmental concerns. The damn on the southern end of Lake Fork always releases water from the old Sabine River, to provide a constant natural watersource downstream for cities like Longview. Other cities and small developments also tap into the water source with agreements with the Sabine River Authority. The SRAis the government agency tasked with the management and operations of the Lake Fork Reservoir. In 2025, Lake Fork was claimed the 4th Best fishing spot in the nation.
CITIES, TOWNS, COMMUNTIES AND UNICORPORATED AREAS
Quitman is the county seat. Located within the county are the incorporated cities of Alba, Hawkins, Mineola, Quitman, Winnsboro, and Yantis. The outlying areas of Wood County include major developments at Holly Lake Ranch in the eastern portion of the county and Lake Fork Reservoir which is home to thousands of Wood County residents. Wood County is located approximately 90 miles east of Dallas, midway between Dallas and Shreveport. Wood County has an estimated population of 45,341 people. The county is ranked 75th of 254 counties in Texas by population.
The History & Culture
Of Winnsboro, Texas
© 2012, 2016, CGWillis, All Rights Reserved;
An annotated collection from public domain collections
Published June 2012, Revised 8 Jan 2016, November 2018
with the exception of previously copyrighted material held by others.
To be properly credited and cited, please contact us @
cgwillis @ TrailsCountryReporter.com
The historical, old-fashioned town of Winnsboro, Texas is located in the beautifully forested area of Wood, Franklin and Hopkins County, known as the “Lakes Country” of the piney woods in the upper east right corner of Texas. It’s crossroads centers at the intersection of two designated Texas Forest Trails, Texas State Highways 11 and SH 37.
The land where the Winnsboro is located was first surveyed in 1835, by Gray B. King and carved from the State of Caohuila and Texas, then a state under the Mexican government. The location is astride the boundary between the Louisiana Territory and Old Mexico and equidistant from Dallas, Shreveport, and Texarkana.
Logistically, Winnsboro is about 75 miles from the outer edge of DFW and 90 miles from downtown Big D, and halfway between Interstates 20 and 30. Most of the city canvases the upper section of Wood County, with portions of the city limit also in Franklin and Hopkins Counties. The area is also topographically the highest point area of Wood County, Texas.
Winnsboro is rich in varied historical and old-fashioned accounts from the days of the Caddo Indians to the French settlements and the wild logging era to the notorious visits of outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow.
The first settlers, John E. Winn and W.R. McMillan, came to area prior to 1854. They came through an area known as the "Crossroads", the original name of the town, and were attracted to the rich land on the edge of the pine woods region of East Texas. There, the men purchased 351 acres in the Gray B. King tract. They opened the first post office in 1855, along with their mercantile business. “Uncle Henry” Robinson built McMillan’s house, the first in Winnsboro. It was located near the northeast corner of the crossroads.
The United States Post Office was established 6 March 1855, and W.R. McMillan was the first postmaster, and the office ran until 7 February 1868, and later re-opened and re-established on 25 June 1874. During the time the town had no post office, citizens got their mail in either the communities of Webster or Cornersville, a short two-miles distance to the east. Some historians report that area was known to have rich deposits of clay for making pottery by the earlier Indians who inhabited the area.
In 1876, Mrs. Ophelia Cook conveyed 100 acres of land interest and 200 foot of right away near the Crossroads to the East Line and Red River Railroad Company. People in Webster and Cornersville began their move to Winnsborough with the coming of the railroad. In 1878, the name of the town was changed to Winnsboro. John R. Wright was appointed post master on 16 September 1893,
Another historical record also indicates the town was first named “Crossroads” and then later named in 1854 after the town’s founder, John E. Winn. It is also told that the original spelling of the official town name, Winnsborough, was changed because the newspaper masthead did not have the space to print the long name.
The official town historian, Bill Jones, passed away in 2022, yet for years he wrote periodic columns in the town’s historic newspaper, the Winnsboro News.
Many of the archived papers are now in the custody and preservation of the Winnsboro Historical Commission by the City of Winnsboro. Their Museum is located at 100 Broadway, at the southeast corner of Hwy 11 and Hwy 37 (Main Street). For hours operated by a group of volunteers, contact city hall at 903-342-3654. Enjoy some pages from the 1920's Winnsboro News in the comments below. Here's where to find some of the back issues of various iterations of The Winnsboro News at the Winnsboro Historical Museum's Resources at: https://www.winnsborotxmuseum.com/resources,
and more viewable specifically at: https://gilbreath.advantage-preservation.com/
CLICK ON PICTURE TO SEE LARGER VIEW.
[Winnsboro, TX - 5/25/2019] The Autumn Trails Association and Autumn Trail’s As hosted a special Winnsboro History Days in May 2019 in downtown Winnsboro. The event was well attended by about 300 people to a backdrop of sunny skies and a light breeze.
The antique car club members brought fourteen Model As and several of the club members dressed in period 1928-1931 attire.
Bill Jones, city of Winnsboro official town Historian, Randy Lindsey of KWNS Radio 104.7 and Chana Gail Willis of WinnsboroTexas.org were tour guides for “Winnsboro History Days”, a three-block walking tour from the Train Depot at Main (Hwy. 37) and Broadway (Hwy 11), down Main Street to Elm and south on Market Street.
The guides covered about nine stopping points of historic interest for the city, and were assisted by living historic actors in recreating a few scenes from famous points of history of the Crossroads town built at the headwaters of Indian Creek.
Bill Jones started out the tour with an respectful announcement honoring all those fallen in the line of service duty for Memorial Day. The historic sign at the depot was read to the crowd, followed by a few sidewalk acting scenes portraying criminals Bonnie and Clyde. The gangsters made their last ride through Winnsboro in 1934 before they were gunned down by law enforcement in Louisiana a few weeks later. Nine lawmen were honored and memorialized Memorial Day weekend, who were horrendously killed by the outlaw couple.
Maddy Nittmo played Bonnie Parker, Thomas Hill played Clyde Barrow, Alex Chronister played Jack Nichols, Nate Rominger played Henry “Hank” Methvin, Randey Lindsey played the Newspaper reporter, and C. G. Willis played Mrs. Dickens. Cheryl Estes of Copperleaf Spa and David Estes of Best Barbershop provided Dicken Beauty Parlor props.
Along the walking route, a few ghost stories were mentioned and architectural building features were pointed out to the crowd. Lee Sturgeon of Beauweevils Antiques and Conrad Wolfman of Winnsboro Book and Tackle, assisted in narrating the history of Main Street and Market Streets.
Many antique pictures in the public domain, and many originally taken by the Winnsboro News in the early 1900s, were made into beautiful large prints and premiered on display at the Culture Club Art Gallery, by Vic Clark, Gallery owner, with Donnie Ditto, Gallery Manager.
The “Outlaws” re-enacted the famous last 1907 Shootout killing the town Marshal and three others at Elm & the Bowery (Market Street). City Marshal John Wofford and his brother, Constable Amos Wofford were killed in attempt to clean up the saloons running a muck in the city at that time. The “Outlaws” were played by Rick “Deadeye” Anderson, Mark Gerhardt, O.T. “Buzz” Gage, Bill O’Bryant Thomas “Doc” Dutton, Debbie Anderson and Danny Fischer. First National Bank of Winnsboro donated funds to cover part of the Outlaws insurance for the live fire of guns with blanks. The remaining balance was funded through donations made from the public during the reception.
The tourists had a chance to walk through and shop Winnsboro’s Farmer’s Market, managed by Stacey Finley, where Bill Zimmer announced the art contest winners for “Save the Bee” Box art contest. Bob Williams of the Infocus Photography Club served as the keynote photographer, along with many other contributing photographers.
The Walking Tour was capped off with a free hors d'oeuvres reception, the first annual “Taste of Winnsboro”, hosted courtesy of the Winnsboro Center for the Arts and Mrs. Willis. Judyth Entwistle and Autumn Trails A’s club members assisted with the hosting. Food was provided courtesy of area restaurants, including Ricky Perez owner of Richie’s Restaurant (and Maribel Tyndell who checked on quantities frequently), Susann Briggs and Nancy Briggs owners of The Barrel House, Jackie Strydom of Liefie Li Vine, Kasey Habecker of From Oven With Lovin’, and Dana Pham of The Rooster Café, and Vera with Bonnie’s Lunchbox.
The FREE event was geared for featuring and preserving Winnsboro’s unique history and heritage, and in celebrating Texas Historic Preservation Month.
ABOUT THE EVENT.
Preserving Winnsboro, TX History Project.
Mrs. Willis is undertaking the Bill Jones Winnsboro History Preservation Project. The project plans on filming and preserving Mr.Jones many tales of enriched history in the area. QR Codes will be manufactured and small signs placed at existing historic signs in Winnsboro. When scanning the code on a smart phone, it will lead the tourist / reader to select an audio or video of Mr. Jones talking about that particular location point of interest, and show pictures of what the site may have looked like in years gone by. The project also plans to produce online maps with the Living History Location Videos for viewing for out of town travelers and tourists. Filming of the living history project will take about twelve to eighteen months. To donate to this project in any amount donors will receive a charity receipt, please make donations payable to the Winnsboro Communities Foundation and please mark in the memo “Bill Jones / Winnsboro History Project” so the foundation will apply the funds to the correct designated charity, and mail to in care of C.G. Willis, P.O. Box 752, Winnsboro, TX 75494. Expenses include lighting, professional backdrops, terabyte drives for preservation of the filming for donation to the public libraries, printed posters and material for advertising for the event next year. Restaurants are encouraged to sign up early for the Second Annual Taste of Winnsboro and Winnsboro History Days Walking Tour. Date and venue to be announced.
At this time, Winnsboro, TX is hopeful to be an emerging city in the state to add the component of living history through technology to static historic signs and placemarkers, and tourist locations in a geographic region. This will frame nicely to the town's addition of the seven plus miles of officially designated and marked "Walked the Trails of Winnsboro" within the 3.1 square miles of the city limits, featuring a dozen historic landmarks and points of interests.
POINT OF CONTACT
Chana Gail Willis, 903-816-3303
Event & Media Coordinator
cgwillis @ Trails Country Reporter DOT com
Winnsboro, Texas
Today, History & Culture
© 2012, 2016, CGWillis, All Rights Reserved;
An annotated collection from public domain collections
Published June 2012, Revised 8 Jan 2016, November 2018
with the exception of previously copyrighted material held by others. To be properly credited, please contact us @ woodcountytexas@gmail.com
WINNSBORO TODAY
Today’s Winnsboro has kept that small hometown feeling and is ever growing in warmth and charm. When you visit historic downtown Winnsboro, you will feel like you have stepped back in time with an edge of modern-day culture and retail. Most of the buildings were built in the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s.
In 2003, Winnsboro was designated a Texas Historical Commission’s Main Street City. Building owners continue each year with various restoration and improvements projects to the buildings, streets and sidewalks in order to preserve the historical significance, and to invigorate local and tourist commerce.
Winnsboro also has an official state designated culture district renowned for arts, both performing, live and static displays.
The renovated Union Pacific historic train depot is owned by the city, and currently houses the Winnsboro Historical Museum. and the Carolyn Jones Community Room for city or public gatherings (by reservations). Across the street at the southwest corner is the city’s two story old original fire house that now houses the city's Tourism and Main Street program, the Economic Development assistant’s office, and the Winnsboro Area Chamber of commerce.
Directly across from the Old Train Depot is Market Street, also historically known as The Bowery, canopied by a huge metal sign constructed by the local high school ag department in a joint project with Winnsboro Economic Development Corporation and local merchants. The Bowery's pedestrian open air mall features a glass ball fountain access to adjacent business and the new two story Winnsboro for the Arts performing arts center.
This one-block-long street runs parallel to Main Street (Hwy 37) and contains a vivid and colorful history! While Main Street was about business, Market Street was about entertainment and leisure during the saloon era of the late 1800s.
The old Bowery Street was the entertainment destination of the workers from the 30-plus sawmills in the area at that time, plus the merchants who operated here, and travelers moving westward. Bowery Street housed saloons that had a reputation for gambling tables, loose women, baths, barbers and shoe shines.
Horse drawn taxis would often line the streets, waiting to whisk the boys out of town to the outlaying girlie houses. With this teeming atmosphere and mix of rowdiness, Texas-style shoot-outs were often common back during those days.
Today, Market Street is home to a variety of retail stores, restaurant, bookstore, the local radio station KWNS, Culture Club Art Gallery and the Winnsboro Center for the Arts (WCA). The WCA is a non-profit organization devoted to promoting, exhibiting, and professionally teaching the arts to all ages including drama, dance, writing, painting, and music. WCA has produced numerous plays on the wonderful Bowery Stage, many concerts of varied musical taste, and art exhibits. The building where the WCA calls home completed extensive renovations in early 2014, and is featured as part of nationally recognized Winnsboro’s Main Street Program.
The Andrews Building, built in 1901, has been completely renovated and houses a local restaurant, Bonnie's Lunchbox. Many of the older buildings in downtown Winnsboro still contain the walk-in safes from the late 1800s and early 1900s. The downtown area has antique and consignments shops, flower and gift shops, Christian book store, jewelry stores, a renown day spa, women’s clothing, restaurants, florists and service companies. An old movie theatre, converted to a one-time restaurant on Main Street was purchased in 2014, is currently for sale for development.
In the 1930’s, legendary bank robbers and southern terrorists Bonnie and Clyde would be known to visit Winnsboro frequently and eat at a local café on Main Street (now a CPA’s office). Is is recorded that at this café , the two renegades ate their last breakfast before heading into the history books. The Texas Rangers near Marshall and a Louisiana police posse, caught up with them two days later near Sailes, Louisiana in an ambush that killed the two outlaws in a historic gunfight.
SCENERY
Surrounded by beautiful lakes and forests, the natural scenery is there for folks year-round. Lake Winnsboro, Lake Cypress Springs, Lake Bob Sandlin and State Park, Lake Monticello, Lake Quitman, and world- famous Lake Fork are at Winnsboro’s back doorstep as an outdoor paradise venues for playing, recreation and sporting. For bird watching, photography, golf, fishing, nature walks, hiking, biking, horseback, hunting, or tour bus…the network of the excellent paved farm roads take travelers in most any direction to wonderful clean-air vistas that are picture perfect.
For many small communities, Spring often signals an active calendar for area citizens. Through-out the year, festivals and annual activities include the following features.
- Autumn Trails events all month long in October
- Winnsboro Center for the Arts with live performances, concerts and plays and static exhibits year around
- Winnsboro Center for the Arts annual gala and fundraiser
- Animal ShelterCasino Night fundraiser
- American Legion Memorial Day honors, VFW Post
- Civic clubs, including Rotary, Lions and the Pilot Club
- Independence Day, fireworks
- The Fine Arts & Wine Festival Market each November
- Art Classes & Clubs
- Book Reading Clubs
- Winnsboro Rodeo
- Annual Livestock Show at the Jack Cross Pavillion
- Fishing Tournaments
- Christmas Parade
- Agriculture, including Winnsboro Rodeo, FHA, Hay Show, Fishing Club, Guided Hunts and tours
Winnsboro’s famous Autumn Trails has been going strong now for over 60 years celebrating each October with a month of activities. The Pageant and Coronation of Queen Autumn Trails is always a favorite. There’s also an Antique Tractor Show, horse and wagon Trail Ride, Trade Days and Swap Meet, and one of the largest Antique/Classic Car Rally’s in Texas included.
In addition to the breathtaking beauty of the changing of the fall foliage, there are thousands of horsemen, campouts, cookouts and rodeos to keep citizens in touch with their rural heritage. Visitors come from miles around to enjoy the magnificent scenery as well as the fun and festivities. October offers something for everyone.
Winnsboro celebrates the Holiday Season during the entire month of December beginning with a Christmas parade. Floats and Santa put visions of sugarplums in the minds of all the little ones.
Part of Winnsboro growth can be attributed to local industry, which includes the largest butter-making plant in the United States, Keller’s Creamery, Inc., an international freight forwarding company, Team Worldwide, Inc., a leading wiring bundle manufacturer, USA Harness, Inc., a minimum security substance abuse TDCJ facility, The Clyde Johnston Unit, the citizen-friendly Ozarka Water Bottling Plant (only a short 20 minute drive), and The Trinity Mother Francis / CHRISTUS Hospital of Winnsboro, a 50–bed modern medical facility serving many counties and operated by Texas Health Resources.
Larger employers include the Winnsboro Independent School District, Team Worldwide, Elder care (including Whispering Pines, Trinity Mission and Autumn Wind), USA Harness, HarborFab, Winnsboro Hardware, Foxworth Galbraith, the City, local and area Utility companies, banking (4 banks), and medical-related entities (clinics, doctors, home health and hospice) and churches. For trade schools, there is a good student population at the local beauty school.
The surrounding area of Winnsboro is a state leader in agriculture featuring state-of-the-art dairy farms, beef cattle ranches, poultry-growing facilities, timber production, plant nurseries, and a variety of cash crops nourished by the fertile sandy loam topsoil. Winnsboro is geographically located in three counties, mostly in Wood, but also in parts of Hopkins and Franklin counties, Texas.
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