Crow 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 ...

in Wood County,

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 ...

, United States. 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 ...

, Crow had a population of 25 in 2000.

History

Crow was originally named Graham when the

Texas and Pacific Railway The Texas and Pacific Railway Company (known as the T&P) was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California. History Under the influence of ...

built a station in the area in 1876. A post office was established at Crow in 1906 and remained in operation until 1956. It was named for local

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 ...

employee Wilson Crow. Burrell Cannon, who worked at the sawmill in Rucker, was said to have built a successful plane sometime before 1900. The community once had several stores and the last saloon in the county. There were two churches here in 1910, which grew to a telephone line, a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

shop, a

cotton gin A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); a ...

, and four other businesses a few years later. Crow never grew despite lots being platted. When the amount of

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 ...

in the area ran out, the sawmills closed and residents moved out. The population inched up slowly to 100 residents in the 1930s and had several homes, a church, and three businesses. The church closed in 1960. Crow lost three-quarters of its population in 1970. More houses were built when the highway was expanded in the early 1980s. The community still had several businesses in 1988, and the population remained at 25 from 1990 through 2000. The Pine Mills Oilfield operates in the community. The residents of Crow have held an annual

Fourth of July Independence Day (colloquially the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States ...

picnic for over a

century A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

Geography

Crow is located at the intersection of

U.S. Highway 80 U.S. Route 80 or U.S. Highway 80 (US 80) is a major east–west United States Numbered Highway in the Southern United States, much of which was once part of the early auto trail known as the Dixie Overland Highway. As the "0" in the rou ...

and

Farm to Market Road 778 A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

on the

Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad ...

, southeast of Quitman in southeastern Wood County.

Education

Crow had its own school in 1910. In 1932, it had 88 students enrolled and hosted nine grade levels. It closed in 1960. Today, the community is served by the Hawkins Independent School District.

References

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