Linwood 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 ...

Cherokee County Cherokee County is the name of eight counties in the United States: * Cherokee County, Alabama * Cherokee County, Georgia * Cherokee County, Iowa * Cherokee County, Kansas * Cherokee County, North Carolina * Cherokee County, Oklahoma * Cherokee Co ...

, located 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 ...

, the community had a population of 40 in 2000. It is located within the Tyler-Jacksonville combined statistical area.

History

Joseph Durst and his wife Delilah were the first settlers in Linwood sometime before 1832. Another community named Lockranzie developed a half mile east of the community, but the post office moved to Linwood in 1851. It was platted by James H. Durst and Ann Harrison Terrell, promoting it as a port along the

Angelina River The Angelina River is formed by the junction of Barnhardt and Shawnee creeks northwest of Laneville in southwest central Rusk County, Texas. The river flows southeast for and forms the boundaries between Cherokee and Nacogdoches, Angelina and ...

. Navigation along the river failed and the community grew sharply. Charles Chevallier, Henry Raguet and his brother (also named Charles) relocated here from

Nacogdoches Nacogdoches ( ) is a small city in East Texas and the county seat of Nacogdoches County, Texas, United States. The 2020 U.S. census recorded the city's population at 32,147. Nacogdoches is a sister city of the smaller, similarly named Natchitoch ...

and opened stores here in the 1850s. Other early settlers included R.W. Mitchell,

George Whitfield Terrell George Whitfield Terrell (1803 – 1846) was an attorney general, judge, and diplomat in the Republic of Texas. He was born in Kentucky in 1803. His father was James Terrell. His family moved to Tennessee when he was a child. He studied law an ...

, and his son George B. Terrell. The Kansas and Gulf Short Line Railroad bypassed Linwood in the early 1880s, causing most of its businesses and residents to relocate to nearby

Alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...

. The post office shut down in 1903 and the community had two businesses, a church, and ten residents in 1936. The last businesses closed, and the population went up to 40 from 1990 through 2000.

Geography

Linwood is located at the intersection of

Texas State Highway 21 State Highway 21 (SH 21) runs from the Texas-Louisiana boundary east of San Augustine to San Marcos in east and central Texas. SH 21 mostly follows the alignment of the Old San Antonio Road and the El Camino Real, except for the portion bet ...

and Farm to Market Road 241, southeast of

Rusk A rusk is a hard, dry biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a teether for babies. In some cultures, rusk is made of cake, rather than bread: this is sometimes referred to as cake rusk. In the UK, the name also refers to a whea ...

in southeastern Cherokee County.

Education

Linwood had its own school in 1936. Today, the community is served by the

Alto Independent School District The Alto Independent School District is a school district based in Alto, Texas, USA. It is managed by a six-person Board of Trustees. The superintendent is Kelly West. The district is also served by Angelina College, a community college located ...

Notes

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