Garretts Bluff

Garrett's Bluff is on Farm Road 1499 near the Red River and twenty miles northwest of Paris in northwestern Lamar County. The town took its name from Jesse Garrett, who operated a ferry across the Red River to Indian territory. A Garrett's Bluff post office operated from 1873 to 1880, was called Garrett's from 1881 to 1893, then functioned under its original name from 1893 to 1905, when it was discontinued. In 1885 local farmers shipped cotton and livestock, and the community of 170 supported five general stores, five cotton gins, two gristmills, a steam sawmill, a church, and a school. The town's population reportedly rose to 250 by 1890 but fell to 100 by 1892. In 1896 Garrett's Bluff had a school with one teacher and 110 students. The 1936 county highway map showed a school, a church and two cemeteries, and multiple dwellings at the townsite. During World War II the town had 150 residents and two businesses. In later years, however, its population decreased, and it had dropped to twenty by 1960, when the community reported one business. In 1983 the county highway map indicated three cemeteries, two community centers, a church, and a single business at the site; by 1986 the business had disappeared. In 1990 and again in 2000 the population was reported as twenty.

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.