Watkins

Watkins was on the Texas and New Orleans Railroad and Thurston Canyon seven miles upstream from Malvado in southeastern Terrell County. It was established in 1882 as a section station on the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway. Prehistoric people lived in the canyons around Watkins as many as 6,000 years ago; their art and belongings have been found in the caves and rockshelters. Watkins was named for a roadmaster who worked for the railroad at the time the tracks were built through Terrell County. A post office operated from 1912 through 1917, and a public school was there in 1925. In 1934 the GH&SA railroad was acquired by the Texas and New Orleans. Two years later the new owner straightened the tracks along Thurston Canyon, abandoning the station at Watkins. Without the railroad the small community vanished.

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.