Hyatt

Hyatt was three miles south of Warren in far southern Tyler County. Jonas S. Rice and William M. Rice, nephews of William Marsh Rice, in 1882 built a sawmill on the Sabine and East Texas Railroad at the site that became Hyatt. It is said to have been named for a friend of the Rices and received a post office with J. S. Rice as postmaster in 1882. In 1886 Hyatt produced 1,046 cars of lumber, and in 1887 a Galveston newspaper reported that the Rice brothers at Hyatt were turning out 45,000 to 50,000 feet of lumber daily. In 1889 the mills were rebuilt and were producing 60,000 to 70,000 feet a day; they had the requisite drying kilns, planing mills, and tramways. The Hyatt mills burned in 1892 but were soon rebuilt again. About 150 men were put out of work by the fire, and losses on the mill property were estimated at $30,000, covered with only $10,000 in insurance.

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.