Park Springs

Park Springs is on State Highway 101 two miles south of the Montague county line in the northwest corner of Wise County. It was originally known as Pringle but was renamed for a nearby grove surrounded by springs. Settlement of the area began in the early 1890s. A post office was established in 1893 with Margaret C. Evans as postmistress. The catalyst for the development of Park Springs was the arrival of the Rock Island Railroad. By 1900 the town had a population estimated at 400, three grocery stores, a bank, a feed store, an ice house, a blacksmith, an eleven-grade public school, and a hotel. The Park Springs hotel became the center of the town's social activity. By the end of World War I Park Springs was declining steadily. In 1915 postal service ended. The school was discontinued in 1944, and by the mid-1940s the population had dropped to 250. By 1964 Park Springs had an estimated 100 residents. It was still listed as a community in 1990.