Apple Springs is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Trinity County,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, United States. According to the

Handbook of Texas The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...

, the community had a population of 185 in 2000. It is located within the

Huntsville, Texas Huntsville is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Texas, United States. Its population was 45,941 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the center of the Huntsville United States micropolitan area, micropolitan area ...

micropolitan area.

History

The town was founded shortly after the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

as May Apple Springs. The community took its name from a nearby spring where May apples grew. A post office has been in operation at Apple Springs since 1884. The community moved to the location of the Groveton, Lufkin and Northern Railway when a track was built between Groveton and

Vair Vair (; from Latin ''varius'' "variegated"), originating as a processed form of squirrel fur, gave its name to a set of different patterns used in heraldry. Heraldic vair represents a kind of fur common in the Middle Ages, made from pieces o ...

. Apple Springs had 75 residents during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and had three general stores, a gin, a bank, and a cafe. The railroad was abandoned in 1931 and the community moved to State Highway 94. In the mid-1930s, Apple Springs had 12 businesses and 150 residents. The town rose to a population of 285 in 1965, and then progressively declined to about 130 people, with nine businesses, in the 1990s. In 2000, the population was 185 with 21 businesses. On January 19, 1990, a strong F3 tornado damaged around 20 homes, overturned a mobile home and shifted it around 70 feet, and snapped several power poles. On November 23, 2004, a strong tornado occurred in

Davy Crockett National Forest Davy Crockett National Forest in Kennard, Texas is off U.S. Highway 69 lying west of Lufkin, Texas and east of Crockett. It is administered by the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service local headquarters in Lufkin. There are ...

near Apple Springs, stranding seven hunters and severely damaging their vehicles. Along its path, 70-90 percent of trees were downed or damaged.

Geography

Apple Springs is located at the intersection of

Texas State Highway 94 State Highway 94 (SH 94) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Texas that runs between Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , c ...

and Farm to Market Roads

357 __NOTOC__ Year 357 ( CCCLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Iulianus (or, less frequently, year 1110 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomin ...

and 2501, northeast of Groveton and southwest of Lufkin in northeastern Trinity County.

Schools

The community's first school was established in 1884 and had only 28 students enrolled two years later. Apple Springs is home to

Apple Springs Independent School District Apple Springs Independent School District is a public school district based in Apple Springs, Texas ( USA). Finances As of the 2010–11 school year, the appraised valuation of property in the district was $29,249,000. The maintenance tax ra ...

. The district has two schools, Apple Springs Elementary School (pre-kindergarten to grade 6) and

Apple Springs High School Apple Springs High School is a public high school located in Apple Springs, Texas (United States) and classified as a 1A school by the UIL. It is part of the Apple Springs Independent School District located in northeast Trinity County. In 2 ...

(grades 7 to 12), with approximately 140-165 students. In 2004–2005, the school district received an "Academically Acceptable" rating from the Texas Education Agency (TEA). In 2002, Apple Springs High School was recognized by ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. Founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, ''Texas Monthly'' chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the Natura ...

'' as one of the top ten high schools in Texas in its economic group, based on ranking by the National Center for Educational Accountability.

Economy

Brookshire Brothers Brookshire Brothers, is an employee ownership, employee-owned American supermarket chain headquartered in Lufkin, Texas, founded in 1921 by brothers Austin and Tom Brookshire. Brookshire Brothers is a Privately held company, private corporation ...

has a store in Apple Springs.

Notable person

Jesse Jarue Mark Jesse Jarue Mark (24 September 1906 – 20 February 1971) was an American botanist who was one of the first African-Americans to gain a PhD in botany, and likely the first at Iowa State University, where he joined the faculty. He was also a Rocke ...

, African American who earned a Ph.D. in botany, was born in the community.

References

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