Tenvill Cecil built the first cabin, and Wag Wilson built Rock
Ranch, a stone house used as a fort in the constant battles
between settlers and Indians. The post office was established in
1877. In 1884 Greenwood had a population of seventy-five, a
steam gristmill, and a cotton gin. The town served as a post for
shipping cotton. In 1892, when the population was 200,
Greenwood built the Greenwood Male and Female Normal
College, which lasted until 1908, when the building burned down.
From 1895 to 1920 the Campbell Hotel flourished in
Greenwood, as the town became a major trade center for area
farmers. In 1886 a weekly newspaper, the Greenwood
Enterprise, began documenting local and state events, and
Greenwood had two dry-goods stores, two drugstores, and a
blacksmith. By 1914 Greenwood had a telephone company, a bank,
four grocers, three general stores, and two drugstores. But a
series of devastating fires did irreversible damage. The
population fell to 100 by 1925 but then rose again in the 1930s
to 314. During the Great Depressionqv the WPA built a stone
school building. In 1937 the high school was consolidated with
that in Slidell. After World War IIqv small farms disappeared
as farming procedures became more mechanized. In 1962 the
Greenwood elementary school was consolidated with the Slidell
school. In 1949 Greenwood had a population of 200. In 1953
another terrible fire wiped out half of Main Street, and it was
not rebuilt. In the 1970s the economy was dependent on the
dairy and beef industry. In 1972 Greenwood had Baptist, Church
of Christ, and Methodist churches, a post office, a fire station,
and a Masonic lodge. The buildings from the old businesses were
used to store hay. From 1974 through 2000 the population was
reported as seventy-six. In 2003 the town had a combined
grocery and gas station.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Rosalie Gregg, ed., Wise County History
(Vol. 1, n.p: Nortex, 1975; Vol. 2, Austin: Eakin, 1982).
Ranch, a stone house used as a fort in the constant battles
between settlers and Indians. The post office was established in
1877. In 1884 Greenwood had a population of seventy-five, a
steam gristmill, and a cotton gin. The town served as a post for
shipping cotton. In 1892, when the population was 200,
Greenwood built the Greenwood Male and Female Normal
College, which lasted until 1908, when the building burned down.
From 1895 to 1920 the Campbell Hotel flourished in
Greenwood, as the town became a major trade center for area
farmers. In 1886 a weekly newspaper, the Greenwood
Enterprise, began documenting local and state events, and
Greenwood had two dry-goods stores, two drugstores, and a
blacksmith. By 1914 Greenwood had a telephone company, a bank,
four grocers, three general stores, and two drugstores. But a
series of devastating fires did irreversible damage. The
population fell to 100 by 1925 but then rose again in the 1930s
to 314. During the Great Depressionqv the WPA built a stone
school building. In 1937 the high school was consolidated with
that in Slidell. After World War IIqv small farms disappeared
as farming procedures became more mechanized. In 1962 the
Greenwood elementary school was consolidated with the Slidell
school. In 1949 Greenwood had a population of 200. In 1953
another terrible fire wiped out half of Main Street, and it was
not rebuilt. In the 1970s the economy was dependent on the
dairy and beef industry. In 1972 Greenwood had Baptist, Church
of Christ, and Methodist churches, a post office, a fire station,
and a Masonic lodge. The buildings from the old businesses were
used to store hay. From 1974 through 2000 the population was
reported as seventy-six. In 2003 the town had a combined
grocery and gas station.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Rosalie Gregg, ed., Wise County History
(Vol. 1, n.p: Nortex, 1975; Vol. 2, Austin: Eakin, 1982).
| Greenwood Community History |
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From the Handbook of Texas
GREENWOOD, TEXAS (Wise County). Greenwood is on Farm
Road 1204 fourteen miles northeast of Decatur in Wise County.
It was established when two cowboys camped in the area in the
1870s. The two men, named Hart and Greenwood, decided to
begin a new settlement, and so they gave their names to the
area. The creek, which was near their campsite, became Hart's
Creek, and the town became Greenwood.
GREENWOOD, TEXAS (Wise County). Greenwood is on Farm
Road 1204 fourteen miles northeast of Decatur in Wise County.
It was established when two cowboys camped in the area in the
1870s. The two men, named Hart and Greenwood, decided to
begin a new settlement, and so they gave their names to the
area. The creek, which was near their campsite, became Hart's
Creek, and the town became Greenwood.
