Woodlake, Texas

Woodlake is an unincorporated populated place in Trinity County, Texas, United States. Located on U.S. Route 287, it lies 4 miles southeast of Groveton. In 1990, the estimated population was 301 residents.

Historical development

The town was originally settled around the mid 1860’s, but did not see any real growth until the 1880’s when the "Thompson and Tucker Lumber Company" was established there. [ [http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/WW/hlw47.html TSHA Online - Texas State Historical Association ] ] The post office opened in 1889 under the name "Willard", and would remain open until 1910. By the time World War I occurred, the timber in the region was exhausted, and the sawmill was dismantled. The name "Woodlake" was chosen for what remained of the town in 1925, after the small reservoir that had supplied the mill. The Great Depression and the downfall of the "Waco, Beaumont, Trinity and Sabine Railway" impacted the local economy. In 1934 the United States Government took over an unsuccessful agricultural project started by Helen Kerr Thompson (a relative of the former mill owner), and new housing would be built. The project failed and many of the residents moved away. A youth camp was established there as the "Baptist Church of East Texas" purchased the community buildings.

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