Ponta (pronounced pahn-TAY) is a small
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 eastern
Cherokee County, Texas, 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 50 in 2000. It is located within the
Tyler-Jacksonville combined statistical area.
History
Ponta was originally known as Donaho and was founded in 1901 on the H. Donaho survey. When the
Texas and New Orleans Railroad
The Texas and New Orleans Railroad (TNO) was an American rail company in Texas and Louisiana. It operated of railroad in 1934; by 1961, remained when it merged with parent company Southern Pacific Railroad, Southern Pacific.
Morgan's Louisian ...
bypassed it, the community was abandoned. The Ponta townsite was established on the railroad by brothers W.T. and L.D. Guinn, along with W.T. Norman. Hubbard Guinn surveyed the land and named it Hubb. Robert Montgomery moved his store from the abandoned Donaho and became postmaster in 1903. He renamed the settlement Ponta for the many bridges that crossed over Mud Creek, since "ponta" is the
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
word for "bridge". A bank was then established, and other businesses followed, such as a gin and crate factory owned by B. Everett, a general store owned by Joe Bailey, Redden's Drugstore, and the Brazier Garage. P.E. Jones became the local physician and a
Masonic lodge
A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry.
It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...
was built. It then had a Baptist church and a Church of Christ.
The railroad shipped
lumber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...
to Ponta until plant farming began in 1925. Many different plants were shipped from Ponta to other states. The community's post office closed in 1972. Mail was sent to the community from
Lone Star, Summerfield, and Jacksonville. Ponta declined sharply from a loss of industry. The bank and gin closed, the druggist and doctor died, Dalby's store closed, and the Masonic lodge moved to
New Summerfield. Joe Bailey's son, Jim, took over his store, and when he died, Terry Perkins and Willard Wysick became the new owners. The Baptist Church, the Church of Christ, and several scattered houses remained in the 1980s. In 1988, a new store and a
beauty parlor
A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, and medical spas.
Beauty treatments
Hair cut is generally of ...
opened. Its population was 50 from 1970 through 2000.
Geography
Ponta is located at the intersection of
Texas State Highway 110
State Highway 110 (SH 110) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Texas that runs from Grand Saline, Texas, Grand Saline to Rusk, Texas, Rusk.
Route description
SH 110 begins at an intersection with U.S. Route 84 in Texas, US 84 and Texas S ...
and
Texas State Highway 204, north of
Rusk
A rusk is a hard, dry Biscuit#Biscuits in British usage, 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 ...
, southeast of
Jacksonville
Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...
, north of
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 four-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in ch ...
, and south of New Summerfield in Cherokee County.
Education
Ponta had its own school in the 20th century and joined the
Rusk Independent School District
Rusk Independent School District is a public school district based in Rusk, Texas, United States.
The district serves the cities of Rusk, Gallatin, and Reklaw, rural areas in central Cherokee County (including Maydelle) and a small portion ...
. A store was built near the campus.
See also
*
List of unincorporated communities in Texas
This is a list of unincorporated communities in the U.S. state of Texas, listed by county. This may include disincorporated communities, towns with no incorporated status, ghost towns, or census-designated places.
See also
*List of cities i ...
References
{{authority control
Unincorporated communities in Cherokee County, Texas
Unincorporated communities in Texas