Winnie

Site is on 1835 James Hoggatt grant from Mexico. As late as 1890s, small tracts were homesteaded here. Named for Fox Winnie (1843-1927), a contractor and investor of Newton, Kans., who with L. P. Featherstone in 1895 built Gulf & Interstate Railway through the area. An 1896 storm destroyed G. & I. R. rail bed. The train, caught in Galveston, waited three years to make return run through Winnie to Beaumont. Winnie Loan & Improvement Company sold acreage and town lots from its offices in Galveston, 1896-1911. Late 1800s economy, based on raising of rice, cattle, fruit, and cotton, suffered from 1895 snow, hurricanes in 1896, 1900, and later, and a severe freeze in 1916. Pioneer religious worship, held in homes, was led by such settlers as the Rev. T. W. White, a Presbyterian. Churches were built by Baptist, Church of christ, First Assembly of God, Latter Day Saints, Methodist, and Roman Catholic congregations. The one-room early school evolved into a system with several buildings. Site of Chambers County sub-courthouse, Winnie benefits from payrolls of petroleum and chemical industries, and rice, beef, and catfish farming. Great annual celebration is the Texas Rice Festival.

Winnie is a historical marker in Winnie, Chambers County, dedicated in 1972. It is one of 39 historical markers documented in Chambers County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 82 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 29.8207, -94.3824 near Winnie. The nearest cataloged historic site is Winnie-Stowell (historical marker), about 0.5 miles away. Others within a short drive include Fairview-Winnie Stowall Cemetery, Anahuac Oil and Gas Field, and Broussard-White Cemetery.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5071009143. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.