Old Minden

Minden is on Farm Road 1798 twelve miles southeast of Henderson in southeastern Rusk County. The original town was a mile east of the present site. The Lewis family moved to the area from Georgia in 1849. H. W. Watson, a settler from Minden, Louisiana, named the new town after his former home. A post office was opened in 1850 with William H. Pate as postmaster. Minden was on the old Marshall-to-Nacogdoches stagecoach line, and by 1860 it had a school, a store, and a church. Sometime before 1880 the town moved to its present location. G. I. Watkins opened the Rock Hill Institute in 1880; the school was chartered in 1888. Minden had a steam cotton gin, three churches, and an estimated population of fifty in 1884. By 1890 it had saw and grist mills, a newspaper, and a population of 155. The population nearly doubled during the 1890s, but fell to 223 after 1900 and remained at around that level until the mid-1940s, when it rose briefly to 250. During the 1950s and 1960s the town reported 125 residents; from the late 1960s through 2000 it reported 350.

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Megan Biesele | © TSHA

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

Belongs to

Old Minden is part of or belongs to the following places:

Currently Exists

No

Place type

Old Minden is classified as a Town

Location

Latitude: 32.02266540
Longitude: -94.68826610

Has Post Office

No

Is Incorporated

No