Wood Springs

Wood Springs is a small rural community located just north of Interstate 20 and approximately eleven miles northwest of Tyler in northwestern Smith County. Abundant springs probably attracted settlement in the area in the late 1800s. The wooded landscape and natural springs inspired the name of Wood Springs. In 1897 residents established Wood Springs Methodist Church, and in the early 1900s the community had a school and its own school district. County highway maps in the 1930s showed the church, school, and numerous farms in the region. In 1962 the Wood Springs Methodist Church and nearby Swan Methodist Church merged to organize the Swan-Wood Springs United Methodist Church. The settlement of Wood Springs remained small and rural throughout the twentieth century. In 2000 the population consisted of 200 residents.