page_title: Woodson, Texas
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Woodson, Texas / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Downtown Woodson has seen many changes over the years - and it's still growing and evolving!
context_page_description: Woodson is a town in Throckmorton County, Texas, United States. As of 2014, the population was estimated to be 258.
context_section_description: The area was initially settled in 1875 by J.O. Wood and Henry McClintick. Wood's son, O.J. Wood, played a leading role in the shaping of the community and its economics. Woodson was originally called Jom, when it was established around a cotton gin built so that the ranchers could get cottonseed to feed to cattle. After Jom was established, O.J. Wood deeded lots measuring 100  by 190 ft (30 by 58 m) to anyone who would build a residence there, free of charge. This caused businesses to start popping up, as a post office and Wood and Sons grocery were established. 
  Since J.O. Wood and his son built the first schoolhouse in town, the town was decided to be called Wood and Son, to honor the two. Throughout time, it was changed to Woodson, which has become the official name. Woodson eventually became a booming town, with an official start date in 1903. The first highway to Breckenridge was built in 1920.
  Wood and his son also reportedly built the First Christian Church, located in the center of town on Highway 183, in the 1900s. When the original schoolhouse grew too small to hold all of Woodson's students, the First Christian Church was used as an additional educational space.
  Another result of the increase in people was the building of a railroad that came through Woodson. According to Big Country: People, Events and Places, Volume V, the line was owned and operated by the Texas and Pacific Railroad.  The land for the right-of-way was obtained in three ways; some was bought outright from the owners. If the owners refused to sell, the Texas and Pacific took it by easement. Some landowners gave the land for the right-of-way; for instance, the Dickie family gave land through the East Woods to the company. Local men helped build the roadbed and lay the tracks. Once the train was built, it made one run from Cisco to Throckmorton each day.
  Due to the railroad and the oil-field boom, Woodson grew for a long time. The town had three gasoline service stations, two cotton gins, two barber shops, and a lumber yard.  T 
  At one point, Woodson also had a movie theater (next to the Woodson Inn), a Chevrolet dealer, a drugstore, and a feed store, next to which a local physician, Doctor Turner, ran a practice.
  Woodson originally received its water from the city lake (south of town, on  Highway 183, which is now known as Dickie Lake).
caption: Downtown Woodson has seen many changes over the years - and it is still growing.
exif: {}