Wiergate in Newton County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Wiergate

Photographed by James Hulse, December 19, 2025

1. Wiergate Marker

Inscription. A deal, struck in 1917 between Houston lumberman Robert W. Wier and the Lutcher and Moore Lumber Company, owners of vast tracts of virgin yellow pine in this region, led to the construction here of one of East Texas largest sawmill complexes. The Wier Long Leaf Lumber Company built a mill capable of producing 40 million board feet of lumber annually, and a town consisting of about 550 residences, several church buildings, schoolhouses, a hotel, railroad depot, post office, movie theater, drugstore, commissary. and various other shops by 1922. Housing in the town, named Wiergate after founder Robert Wier, was segregated by race and ethnicity. A central hill was restricted to Anglos, another to African Americans, and the third to Hispanics.

Lumber of different sizes including beams as large as 40-50 feet in length and 30x30 inches square were shipped to market daily on the Gulf and Northern Railroad. After 25 years of continuous operation the mill was closed on Dec. 31, 1942, and the town was sold to an Arkansas salvage company, nevertheless, the original mill was replaced by a new electric mill and Wiergate, unlike most East Texas lumber "company towns" of its era, continued to exist as a community.

(Incise)
Donated by the Pineywoods Foundation

Erected

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1993 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 11142.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Hispanic Americans • Horticulture & Forestry • Industry & Commerce. A significant historical date for this entry is December 31, 1942.

Location. 31° 0.46′ N, 93° 42.407′ W. Marker is in Wiergate, Texas, in Newton County. It is on Farm to Market Road 1415 south of County Route 1090, on the right when traveling south. The marker is located next to the Wiergate Post Office on FM 1415. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 983 FM 1415, Wiergate TX 75977, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

and in the Piney Woods.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the Republic of Texas,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Blum Male and Female College (approx. 2.2 miles away); Cade Building (approx. 2.3 miles away); Round Table Inn (approx. 2.3 miles away); Original Site, Burkeville Methodist Church (approx. 2.4 miles away); Burkeville Church of God (approx. 2½ miles away); Site of the First Court House of Newton County (approx. 2½ miles away); Stephen Alexander McBride (approx. 2.6 miles away); Shankleville Community (approx. 2.6 miles away).

Photographed by James Hulse, December 19, 2025

2. Wiergate Marker

The view of the marker next to the Wiergate Post Office.

Credits. This page was last revised on December 20, 2025. It was originally submitted on December 20, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 99 times since then and 59 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on December 20, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.