Site of East Mayfield

The Handbook of Texas dates East Mayfield's incorporation to January 1919 and counts 1,179 residents in 1930, most of them working for the lumber company. In 1922 Knox Lumber Company sold to Temple Lumber Company. The mill burned in 1937, and the town disincorporated in 1939 as people gradually moved away, many joining Hemphill. The Lufkin, Hemphill and Gulf Railway, which had reached Hemphill in 1912, was abandoned in 1938, shortly after the lumber operation at East Mayfield closed. Texas Almanac data lists East Mayfield as no longer existing.

What the plaque says

Site of East Mayfield The community of East Mayfield was built here in 1912 and named for Texas Railroad Commissioner Earle B. Mayfield. Formed around the large lumber mill built by Hiram Knox of the Knox Lumber Company, the town was incorporated in 1914. It had a population of about 1,200 and included homes, businesses, churches, a school, movie theater and a hospital. Timber on the company's land was depleted, and when the mill burned in 1937, it was not rebuilt. The town declined and most of its residents moved away; many of the buildings were abandoned. (1997)

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Hemphill — 0.9 mi
• Sabine County — 0.9 mi
• Matthew Arnold Parker — 4.1 mi
• Milam — 6.4 mi