Pollok 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 ...

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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. 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 300 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

The area around Pollok was first settled in the 1880s and 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 ...

center when Richard Blair built one on the railroad about six miles northwest of Clawson. The station was known as Bodan and was named after

Frenchman The French people (french: Français) are an ethnic group and nation primarily located in Western Europe that share a common French culture, history, and language, identified with the country of France. The French people, especially the nati ...

Francis D. Bodan, who was the manager of a store on the old smuggler's road some north of

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 ...

. A post office was established in 1886. There were two general stores and a successful sawmill in 1888. A lumber company called the J.A. Young Lumber Company built a mill larger than the original one and was sold to the Bodan Lumber Company in 1899 for $25,000. This company leased land from a man named Henry Claybon for 200 lbs. of

salt pork Salt pork is salt-cured pork. It is usually prepared from pork belly, or, more rarely, fatback. Salt pork typically resembles uncut side bacon, but is fattier, being made from the lowest part of the belly, and saltier, as the cure is stronger an ...

and 4 barrels of

flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...

to be paid annually while the mill was in operation or for 99 years. That same year, mill employees and farmers worked together to build a -by- church that was built with green boxing boards topped with pine shingles. This church building housed

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

and

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

congregations, which rotated every Sunday. It was also used as a voting place and a shelter used for the presentation of traveling shows. Bodan increased lumber production to of board per day, causing Pollok to grow to have many tenant houses, 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 ...

, and several other businesses. The mill then burned down and was sold to two Bodan

stockholders A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal owner ...

named A. Harris and L. Lipsitz. They then built a small mill, cut the remaining

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 ...

, and shut it down. Pollok continued to survive with only portable mills operating and the post office remaining in operation in 1986. Pollok had six businesses and 100 residents in the 1930s. It lost a business in 1964, but the population grew to 350. In 1982 and 1990, Pollok had a population of approximately 300 and three businesses. It still had 300 residents in 2000, but grew to have 48 businesses. Pollok gets its supplies from a small grocery store named

The 69 Store ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

which was founded by the Young family. Although Pollok is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP Code of 75969. The

Light of Saratoga The Light of Saratoga is a legend located in the Big Thicket of Southeast Texas. This legend of a mysterious light is also known as the Ghost Road of Saratoga, the Saratoga Light, and Bragg Light by local residents. Located on a dirt road, it is a l ...

has been reported to be seen from Pollok on the Bodan. The

Texas Department of Transportation The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT ) is a government agency in the American state of Texas. Though the public face of the agency is generally associated with the construction and maintenance of the state's immense state highway system ...

shows three cemeteries near Pollok on an Angelina County map. During the

tornado outbreak of April 13-15, 2019 A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, althou ...

, two children aged 3 and 8 were killed in Pollok after a tree fell on and crushed the vehicle they were riding in.

Geography

Pollok is located on 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 ...

and

Texas State Highway 7 State Highway 7 (SH 7) is an east–west state highway that runs from Interstate 35 at Eddy to U.S. Highway 84 about west of the Texas-Louisiana state line. Between Crockett and Nacogdoches, SH 7 passes through the Davy Crocke ...

near the intersection of

U.S. Highway 69 U.S. Route 69 (US 69) is a major north–south United States highway. When it was first created, it was only long, but it has since been expanded into a Minnesota to Texas cross-country route. The highway's southern terminus (as well a ...

, northwest of

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 ...

and southwest of

near the Angelina River in northwestern Angelina County.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Pollok has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.Climate summary for Pollok, Texas
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Education

A church built in the community in 1899 was also used as a school. The Central Independent School District serves area students.

Media

KLTV and KTRE maintain studios and radio transmitters in the community.

References

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