railroad crossing

 

The town sprang up in 1909 along the tracks of the Southern Railroad.  Between 1940 and 1970 the population tripled to over 500.  First known as Monroe, the name was changed to New Deal after application for a post office revealed that a Monroe already existed.  The first school was built in 1917.  The district was named New Deal in 1936 after county consolidation of schools.  During the mid-1900s New Deal was a town with cafes, grocery stores, churches, lumber yards, gas stations and gins -- rather than the primarily residential community that exists today. When I-27 went west around town, businesses died.  Today one can only buy gas at the truck stop on the interstate. What was once the Owens gas station stands overgrown with weeds, peeling paint and a forlorn air.  Reflected in the window is the railroad crossing sign - a reminder of what once brought about prosperity.  Also reflected is a house across the train tracks -- once the home of the gin manager of the Fortenberry Gin.

 

New Deal, Texas