Town of Winnie

Town of Winnie. . Site is on 1835 James Hoggatt Grant from Mexico. As late as 1890s, small tracts were homesteaded here. , Named for Fox Winnie (1843-1927), a contractor and investor of Newton, Kans., who with L.P. Featherstone in 1895 built Gulf and Interstate Railway through the area. An 1896 storm destroyed G.& I.R. rail bed. The train, caught in Galveston waited three years to make return run through Winnie to Beaumont. , Winnie Loan and Improvement Company sold acreage and town lots from its offices in Galveston, 1896-1911. , Late 1800s economy, based on raising of rice, cattle, fruit, and cotton, suffered from 1895 snow, hurricanes in 1896, 1900, and later, and a severe freeze in 1916., Pioneer religious worship, held in homes, was led by such settlers as the Rev. T.W. White, a Presbyterian. Churches were built by Baptist, Church of Christ, First Assembly of God, Latter Day Saints, Methodist, and Roman Catholic congregations. The one-room early school evolved into a system with several buildings., Site of Chambers County sub-courthouse, Winnie benefits from payrolls of petroleum and chemical industries, and rice, beef, and catfish farming. Great annual celebration is the Texas Rice Festival.