Diana

Diana, also known as New Diana, is at the junction of State Highway 154 and U.S. Highway 259, eleven miles east of Gilmer in eastern Upshur County. New Diana was established in the 1930s by residents of Diana (also known as Old Diana) after oil was discovered three miles south of the old town. In the mid-1930s New Diana had a school, a church, a store, and a number of houses. The town continued to prosper after World War II, and by the mid-1960s, when it was generally referred to as Diana, it included two churches, a school, and three or four stores. In 1990 Diana was a commercial center for area farmers and ranchers; at that time it had an estimated 200 residents and a dozen or so businesses. In 2000 the population was 585 with fifty-two businesses.