Railroads That Built Titus County

The East Line and Red River Railroad crossed the southeast corner of the county in 1876. The Tyler Tap Railroad crossed through in 1878. The Texas and St. Louis Railway reached Mount Pleasant in the early 1880s, and its arrival is credited with sparking the town's early growth. A smaller independent line, the Paris and Mount Pleasant Railroad, was completed in 1913.

Before the railroads, Titus County farmers depended on slow wagon routes to move goods. The railroads allowed cotton, lumber, and other farm products to reach larger markets faster. That shift helped the county's population grow and supported the development of banks, mills, and a newspaper in Mount Pleasant by the 1880s.