Barnum

Barnum is on U.S. Highway 287 seventy-five miles northwest of Beaumont in northeast Polk County. The community was founded in 1881, when W. T. Carter built a sawmill at the site on the Trinity and Sabine Railway. The Carter and Brother operation at Barnum eventually included a sawmill, a planer, storage bins, seven miles of tram roads, and two locomotives. By 1889 Barnum had a hotel, a post office, a general store, a school, a public hall, and about 350 residents. A fire in 1887 consumed the sawmill and planer, causing an estimated $10,000 worth of damage. Another fire in 1897 again destroyed the Carter facilities at Barnum. After the latter blaze, Carter decided to reestablish his Polk County mill at Camden. Although many residents subsequently left Barnum, the settlement continued to be a stop on the railroad, which became part of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas system in 1882. The Barnum post office also remained open. The small rural community still had two businesses in 1984 and twenty-nine residents in 1990. In 2000 the population was fifty.

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.

Belongs to

Barnum is part of or belongs to the following places.

Adopt a Town

The Texas Almanac's Land Rush program lets you adopt the town, county, or lake of your choice and share your message with the world. 100% of the proceeds benefit education in Texas.

Currently Exists

Yes

Place type

Barnum is classified as a Town

Locations

  • Latitude
    30.94491600
    Longitude
    -94.67270560

Has Post Office

No

Is Incorporated

No

Proud to call Texas home?

Put your name on the town, county, or lake of your choice.


Search Places »

Barnum by the Numbers

This is some placeholder text that we should either remove or replace with a brief summary about this particular metric. For example, "We update population counts once per year..."

Pop. Year Source
50 2009 Local Officials