Polk County Historical Commission Greater Onalaska Heritage Society
Some people look at Onalaska as a lake town, which we are now and have been for a long while.
But our city was founded with the excitement of a “boomtown.” It wasn’t gold or even black gold that brought thousands of people rushing to Onalaska. There had been a wide outcry, as far as it could go without phones and modern sources of communication, of the high wages and comfortable housing which included electric lights, hot running water, block ice and screens on all windows and doors. Each house had its own private outhouse in the backyard with maintenance services provided. This housing only cost 1.67% of your monthly wages.
Lives were changed with a family’s decision to move to Onalaska. The rush started in 1903 with the building of one of the largest sawmills in the State of Texas.
Mr. Wm. Carlisle & Co. built three mills. The first mill in 1870 was in a small town in Wisconsin. Ten years later in 1880, they decided to build on the Ouachita River in Arkansas. These two mills were both named Onalaska. After 20 years searching for another location, Mr. Carlisle decided that Mr. L.O. Jackson was the man to find the location. This search brought Mr. Jackson to Polk County in 1903. With the help of Judge J.E. Hill and R.T. Stone, he landed between Trinity, Groveton and Corrigan and east of Livingston. He purchased thousands of acres of land. The price of the land was approximately $5 per acre. This included the land and mineral rights.
And on the western banks of the Trinity River another Onalaska was born.
Mr. Jackson moved to Onalaska, Texas in 1904, bringing with him 30 men from Arkansas. The men who came with him were Oscar Agee, Phate Baily, Luke Gore, John Haynes, Dan Moore and J.H. Wright. Many of their descendants are still members of this community today.
He began the construction of the mill; the streets were marked, made and named. Our street markers still bear the original names.
The L.O. Jackson House, C.J. Rogan House, the large office building and one of the hotels were located on Front Street, which ran east and west. The office building covered an entire block with living quarters upstairs for office and store personnel. The downstairs level housed the Onalaska Exchange Bank and vault, bookkeeping and general offices.
Mr. L.O. Jackson’s house is still standing after 120 years, stately overlooking Lake Livingston.
Onalaska also had two hotels and a hospital with an operating room. The company sold just about everything that was needed. There were 10 departments in the store: drugs, tobacco, groceries, cosmetics, jewelry, ladies’ dresses, piece goods, men’s clothing, shoes, hardware, furniture and caskets.
After years of hearing the sawmill working, the loud noise it made probably became a comforting sound of home and security. Hearing the evening blow from the steam whistle signaled the last hour of a workday. It let the wives and children know to gather at home because the workday was over. Onalaska was a thriving town until the mid-1920s. By that time, the timber had been cut down and the mill was forced to close.
On the last day of the mill, the whistle blew until there was no more steam, signaling there was no more mill work. There was a mass exodus from Onalaska. Families moved on to other places of work.
One of the things the mill left us was cleared, rich river bottom ground – just right for growing cotton!
The L.O. Jackson family. In 1905, Lawrence O. Jackson came to Polk County as manager of construction work and operation of the Onalaska Lumber Mill and a section of the B&GNRR.
The Wm. Carlisle & Co. mill in Onalaska was built in 1903 and was one of the largest sawmills in the State of Texas.
