A history of Mineola,
since 1877
Postcards, papers and photographs of Mineola from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Mineola came into existence when the railroads built lines through the eastern part of the state. In 1873, the Texas and Pacific and the International-Great Northern raced to see which could get to Mineola first. The I-GN reached the finish 15 minutes earlier. A city government was organized in 1873, a post office opened in 1875, and the town was incorporated in 1877, but a fire in the 1880s destroyed 18 buildings. The town's oldest paper, the Mineola Monitor, was founded in 1876. By 1890, the town had seven churches, several schools including a black free school, hotels, banks. In 1895, Mineola became the site of the Wood County Fair.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Mineola’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District …, 1880: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Mineola
See all 16 →
Mineola, decade by decade
1990s
2 historic places in Mineola
Mineola has 2 listings on the National Register, and they protect 54 historic buildings, because Mineola Downtown Historic District alone counts 53.
