Denman Springs Community

Denman Springs Community. . Located near present-day Hurricane Creek, earlier known as Brushy Creek, Denman Springs was a small rural community serving the surrounding settlers until folding into the newer town of Lufkin. The origins of the community lie in the six natural springs that attracted Native Americans and then Anglo settlement. In 1860, Georgia native Washington LaFayette Denman (b. 1830) settled in Angelina County. Denman was an influential landowner and state representative during the 14th, 15th and 17th Texas Legislatures. Other homesteads in the area include that of P.C. Abney and Dick Walker., When the Houston East and West Texas Railroad planned a path through Angelina County, Denman persuaded the railroad to bypass the existing town of Homer and route west through property he owned, conveying 189.5 acres of land in 1881. Abney conveyed 78.6 acres. With the potential of new economic development, the small community of Denman Springs grew from a few households to a thriving community centered on the railroad. Edward L. Bremond, son of railroad owner Paul Bremond, sold lots for a new town named Lufkin after their good friend and Galveston merchant Abraham P. Lufkin. Several residents from the town of Homer moved over to the new thriving community of Lufkin which grew up along the railroad. Today, the original community of Denman Springs is largely forgotten, but in honor of these early contributions, the names of early settlers including Walker, Denman and Abney appear around the city of Lufkin.