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One of the first white men to settle permanently in Wood County was Martin Varner, who lived southeast of the site of present Hainesville by 1824. Webster, the first real community in the area, was established by 1845. In 1850 Wood County was demarked from Van Zandt County and organized. Quitman was established to serve as the county seat. The county was named for George T. Wood, governor of Texas from 1847 to 1849.
In 1861 the county voted in favor of secession by a majority of 70 percent, yet the two men elected by the county to serve as its delegates to the Secession Convention, John D. Rains and A. P. Shuford, both voted against the secession ordinance. Emory Rains, state senator from Wood County, was one of the signers of the public address asking the citizens of Texas to vote against secession.
Wood County remained during the years 1870 to 1920 as it was during the antebellum years, overwhelmingly agricultural and rural. During these fifty years both the population and the number of farms grew-from 6,894 and 756, respectively, to all-time highs of 27,707 and 4,333. During those years corn and cotton were the main crops. In 1920 the county produced 1,033,231 bushels of corn, an all-time high. The valuation of county farms stood at almost $19 million.
Cities and towns Alba (partly in Rains County)  Hawkins  Mineola  Quitman  Winnsboro (partly in Franklin County)  Yantis  Crow (unincorporated)
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Click here to select another county Surrounding Counties Hopkins County (north) Franklin County (northeast) Camp County (northeast) Upshur County (east) Smith County (south) Van Zandt County (southwest) Rains County (west) Back to the TEXAS GENEALOGY TRAILS Main site Visit the national site of GENEALOGY TRAILS All data on this website is © Copyright 2009 by Genealogy Trails with full rights reserved for original submitters.