Texas Towns: The Stories Behind the Map
The stories behind the map
Documented histories of Texas towns, ZIP by ZIP — who founded them, what built them, and what the record will not let us leave out. Plantersville, Jefferson, Oak Ridge North, Shenandoah, Richards, Dobbin, Cleveland, Porter, Tomball, Splendora, New Caney, Cut and Shoot, Willis, Magnolia, Huntsville, Montgomery, Conroe.
Start with Plantersville · 77363Each installment is published to the town’s ZIP so it shows up where neighbors already read Dock Line. We tell the documented history — including the chapters that are hard to look at.
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Plantersville ·
The History of Plantersville, Texas
Plantersville, Texas (ZIP 77363) was a settlement before it had a name. Mrs. J. L. Greene suggested the post office name in 1856, to honor the planters. The Handbook’s later counts do not match its own table.
75657Jefferson ·
The History of Jefferson, Texas
Once the leading inland port of Texas, Jefferson lost its river trade and its railroad. It kept its houses, its churches and its stories.
77385Oak Ridge North · Montgomery County
The History of Oak Ridge North, Texas
An Arkansas company, a nineteenth-century survey, and a city charter in 1979
77381Shenandoah · Montgomery County
The History of Shenandoah, Texas
A subdivision that incorporated, then had to give The Woodlands back
77873Richards · Grimes County
The History of Richards, Texas
They rolled the houses to the railroad, then kept the old name on the map
77333Dobbin · Montgomery County
The History of Dobbin, Texas
Bobbin was not simply renamed. The post office moved a mile.
77327Cleveland · Liberty County
The History of Cleveland, Texas
A man’s acreage, a station on the Rabbit, and a city that waited until 1935
77365Porter · Montgomery County
The History of Porter, Texas
A mill, a postal “s,” and a shuttle pilot
77375Tomball · Harris County
The History of Tomball, Texas
Peck became Oil Town U.S.A.
77372Splendora · Montgomery County
The History of Splendora, Texas
Cox’s Switch, renamed for the flowers
77357New Caney · Montgomery County
The History of New Caney, Texas
Presswood, Caney Station, then a postal “New”
77303Cut and Shoot · Montgomery County
The History of Cut and Shoot, Texas
A church fight, a boy’s sentence, and a heavyweight’s mail
77318Willis · Montgomery County
The History of Willis, Texas
A railroad gift that became Texas’s cigar town
77354Magnolia · Montgomery County
The History of Magnolia, Texas
Mink Prairie moved to the tracks and took a new name
77340Huntsville · Walker County
The History of Huntsville, Texas
A trading post that became a college town and a prison town
77356Montgomery · Montgomery County
The History of Montgomery, Texas
The first county seat, before the railroad moved power east
77301Conroe · Montgomery County
The History of Conroe, Texas
From sawmill switch to oil boomtown