MANNING

NAME: Manning
COUNTY: Angelina
ROADS: 2WD
GRID: 4
CLIMATE: Warm winter, hot summer
BEST TIME TO VISIT:
Winter, spring, fall
COMMENTS: Sawmill Managers home is a must see.
REMAINS: Many buildings.
Named after a Dr. W. W. Manning who established a sawmill in 1863, the town at one time had over fifteen hundred residents but that did not happen until nearly forty years later. It was in 1903 that a major lumber company began buying timberlands and established a mill at the site of Manning's earlier mill. They named the town after their predecessor. The lumber company in its best years produced 34,000 000 board feet of lumber and employed 300 workers. Disaster struck in 1934 when fire burned the sawmill to the ground. The owners decided not to rebuild as the timber reserves in the area were nearly depleted. Then came the Great Depression, which forced many residents to seek employment elsewhere. Hundreds of families moved away from Manning and today only one original building from the original town remains. It is the palatial home of the mill's superintendent. SUBMITTED BY: Henry Chenoweth

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