Newport Texas Former School Southwest Corner

Newport is on Farm to Market Road 1288 and SH 59 southeast of

Henrietta Henrietta may refer to: * Henrietta (given name), a feminine given name, derived from the male name Henry Places * Henrietta Island in the Arctic Ocean * Henrietta, Mauritius * Henrietta, Tasmania, a locality in Australia United States * Henrie ...

in far southeastern

Clay County, Texas Clay County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 10,218. The county seat is Henrietta. The county was founded in 1857 and later organized in 1860. It is named in honor of Henry Clay, famous ...

. Farm to Market Road 2127 also passes just south of town. Its population is estimated at 70.

History

The town was initially established by L. Hancock in 1872 as Bear Hill. It received a post office in 1878, and in 1879, the name of the town and post office was changed to Newport. The town is far from any navigable water and never was a port of any kind; the name derives from the initials of seven founding families: Norman, Ezell, Welch, Pruitt, Owsley, Reiger, and Turner.Temple, Robert D. ''Edge Effects: The Border-Name Places'', (2nd edition, 2009), iUniverse, , page 321. Another possibility of the town's name is that the town's location lies within the original land grant to Connell O'Donell Kelly, a Texas patriot who fought in the Battle of San Jacinto. Mr. Kelly was born in Newport, Ireland. A three classroom school was constructed in Newport, Texas during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

with the assistance of funds from the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

. By 1900 Newport's population reached 176. It increased to 280 by the mid-1920s and stayed at that level through the 1940s. By the 1950s the population had dropped to 85. From the 1960s through today, the population of Newport was 70. Townspeople of Newport have long associated more closely with Jacksboro and

Jack County Jack County is a county located in the north central part of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 8,472. Its county seat is Jacksboro. The county was created in 1856 and organized the next year. It is named for P ...

than either

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Flor ...

, though the town is actually closer to Bowie in Montague County. Its post office remained open until the early 1990s.

Notable people

John C. White, served more than twenty-six years as the elected commissioner of the

Texas Department of Agriculture The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) is a state agency within the state of Texas, which is responsible for matters pertaining to agriculture, rural community affairs, and related matters. It is currently headed by Agriculture Commissioner S ...

. White was the chairman of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...

from 1978 to 1981.

References

Towns in Texas Geography of Clay County, Texas Ghost towns in North Texas {{ClayCountyTX-geo-stub