Clawson is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Angelina County Angelina County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in East Texas and its county seat is Lufkin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 86,395. The Lufkin, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Angelina Cou ...

, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. According to the

Handbook of Texas The ''Handbook of Texas'' is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Texas geography, history, and historical persons published by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). History The original ''Handbook'' was the brainchild of TSHA President Wal ...

, it had a population of 195 in 2000. It is located within the

Lufkin, Texas Lufkin is the largest city in Angelina County, Texas and the county seat. The city is situated in Deep East Texas and about 60 miles west of the Texas-Louisiana border. Its estimated population is 35,021 as of July 1, 2019. Lufkin was founded ...

micropolitan area.

History

Clawson was established as a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

community in the 1880s and eventually became a rail shipping point for the

St. Louis Southwestern Railway The St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company , known by its nickname of "The Cotton Belt Route" or simply "Cotton Belt", is a former Class I railroad that operated between St. Louis, Missouri, and various points in the U.S. states of Arkansas, Ten ...

around 1890. The community was named after T.W. Clawson, who managed the first mill in the community. A larger sawmill was built in the community after it was sold to a man named Jack Caruthers. Businesses in Clawson around 1890 included a

commissary A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop. In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often c ...

that sold general merchandise, a post office, a church, and tenant houses for mill employees. After Caruthers went bankrupt, there were many other

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

companies that operated in Clawson. They included Grambling and Clark in 1902, the Henderson Sand and Lumber Company in the early 20th century, and the Pine Island Lumber Company, which was founded by Caruthers' sons. They sold the mill to J.M. Burnett and Ashley Stroud in 1907, who then sold it to J.H. Bivins and E.E. Blythe. The sawmill industry in Clawson came to an end sometime around 1911 when Bivins and Blythe closed it down. Clawson had less than 100 residents before 1904 but had a

money order A money order is a directive to pay a pre-specified amount of money from prepaid funds, making it a more trusted method of payment than a cheque. History The money order system was established by a private firm in Great Britain in 1792 and was ...

post office in operation. The population grew to 250 at its sawmilling zenith in 1910. It went down to 150 in 1914 and 1915 and developed telephone service. The population remained the same in 1925 and grew to 195 from the end of the 1960s through 2000. After its post office closed, mail was delivered to Clawson from

Lufkin Lufkin is the largest city in Angelina County, Texas and the county seat. The city is situated in Deep East Texas and about 60 miles west of the Texas-Louisiana border. Its estimated population is 35,021 as of July 1, 2019. Lufkin was founded ...

since 1926. The

Angelina and Neches River Railroad The Angelina and Neches River Railroad (Angelina & Neches River Railroad) is a short-line railroad headquartered in Lufkin, Texas. ANR operates an line from Dunagan, Texas, to an interchange with Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacifi ...

also traveled through the community. On January 4, 1946, an F3 tornado struck Clawson, destroying 30 homes and three people having been killed.

Geography

Clawson is located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 69 and Farm to Market Road 2021, northwest of

in northwestern Angelina County.

Education

Clawson had its own school around 1890. Today, the community is served by the

Central Independent School District Central Independent School District is a public school district based in the community of Pollok, Texas, Pollok, Texas (United States, USA). In addition to Central, a small portion goes into the city of Lufkin, Texas, Lufkin. In 2009, the scho ...

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Angelina County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas