Deeville

Deport is on Highway 271 at the Red River county line, eighteen miles southeast of Paris in southeast Lamar County. It was founded in the late 1800s by Col. Dee Thompson on Mustang Creek, supposedly so his horses would have a supply of water. A local post office was established in 1883 and named Deport in honor of Thompson. In 1890 the settlement had a population of 350 and two churches, four general stores, one gristmill and gin, and several other small businesses. It also supported a weekly paper called the Deport Times. By 1896 the population had grown to 600, and the number of businesses had increased to around twenty, a figure that included five physicians, three music teachers, a milliner, and a hotel keeper. In 1896 Deport had a school with three teachers for 149 students. The surrounding area produced cotton, corn, and high-grade livestock.

In 1911 Deport was incorporated, and the Paris and Mount Pleasant Railway was built through town. In 1914 the town had a population of 1,200 and forty businesses. In 1929 Deport suffered a disastrous fire that resulted in $30,000 damage to Main Street. In the 1930s the population of 819 supported fifty businesses. The railroad line was discontinued in 1956, however, and by 1961 the population had dropped to 639 and the number of businesses to twenty-eight. Deport had a population of 722, six churches, seventy stores, and a bank in 1982. The population was 746 in 1990 and 718 in 2000.