The History of Winona, Texas

The land around Winona was inhabited by Delaware Indians as early as 1818, decades before Anglo settlement took hold. The community itself dates to 1870, when the Winona Liberty Baptist Church was organized — a common pattern in East Texas, where a church often marked the birth of a town.

The railroad made Winona a real settlement. In 1877 it became a station on the Tyler Tap Railway, the pioneering line that put Tyler on the rail map, and in 1878 a post office opened, officially establishing the town. With the trains came trade, and Winona settled into its role as a shipping and supply point for the surrounding farms.

By 1892 Winona had grown into a complete small town. Postmaster James A. Parrish reported about 150 inhabitants and a remarkable range of services for a settlement its size: a dentist, a physician, a railroad agent, a grocer, a wagonmaker and blacksmith, and a justice of the peace, along with a telegraph office, a drugstore, four general stores, and a mill and cotton gin.

That cluster of trades shows how a railroad stop could become the commercial hub of its rural neighborhood. By 1914 the town had grown to a population of about 600, served by its stores, its gin, and its rail connection to Tyler and beyond.

Winona's most dramatic chapter came during World War II. Three miles south of town, along the railroad, the U.S. Army built Camp Fannin, a large infantry replacement training center that processed and trained huge numbers of soldiers during the war. The camp brought a surge of activity to the area — its presence rejuvenated local businesses, with twenty-seven operating in Winona in 1943.

After the war the camp closed and the area returned to its quiet rural character. Winona has remained a small Smith County community in the decades since, its population rising and falling with the times, but it holds onto its identity as a close-knit town — anchored today by its schools and its 'Wildcat' pride — within easy reach of Tyler.