Woodward

Woodward is a rural community eight miles northwest of Cotulla on Farm Road 469 in northwestern La Salle County. It was established on the San Antonio, Uvalde and Gulf Railroad (known as the “Sausage” railroad) in 1907 as an early land development project based on the potential of agricultural production and named for David “D. J.” Woodward, the San Antonio-based promoter and founder of the Woodward Carriage Company and Body Works of Austin. In January 1907 Woodward brought in two train cars of Japanese laborers who were emigrating from Mexico and fifty to seventy-five Mexican laborers to convert the native brushland into productive fields. He planned to have 5,000 acres in cultivation later that year and grow the new community to a population of 10,000. In 1907 the town of Woodward was granted a post office, which served the community until it closed in 1955.

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.