Tyler County Grew Up on Timber, Not Oil

Tyler County was formed in 1846 and named for President John Tyler. Woodville became the county seat that same year. The town was named for George T. Wood, the second governor of Texas. Early settlers farmed corn and sweet potatoes on the forested land.

When railroads arrived in the 1880s, the timber economy took off fast. By 1890 there were nineteen sawmills running in the county. The population nearly doubled in that decade. Lumber and wood products remained the top industry for most of the 20th century. Oil was discovered in 1937, but timber remained central to the local economy. The dense Piney Woods forests that attracted those sawmills still shape the look and feel of the county today.