Macedonia

Redlands (Redland), also known as Weimer (Weimar) and Macedonia, was a sawmill community in southeast Wood County twelve miles southeast of Quitman, the county seat, at the intersection of Farm roads 778 and 3056. Redlands was within the old Martin Varner land grant, which was said to be the site of the earliest White settlement in Wood County. The area was probably inhabited earlier still, as in the 1890s Indian artifacts were frequently found in the fields. In 1841 the Varner family moved to the area that was to become Redlands; three years later Varner was killed by Simón Gonzales, the holder of a nearby land grant. By 1866 the site had a settlement called Weimer (or Weimar), which had a post office from 1866 to 1867 and again briefly in 1871. It was reportedly named by John Reich, its first and only postmaster, after his native Weimar, Germany. Around 1870 a one-room frame building located near the Gentry Cemetery just to the southeast of the community served as both a church and a school. By 1880 the community was established; at its height it had at least one store, cotton gins, and syrup and grist mills. It was located in a sawmill area, and early resident sawmill operator R. B. Kuteman reportedly became the county's first millionaire through his sawmill and land-buying operations.

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.