Point

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Map of Rains County

Point is at the intersection of U.S. Highway 69 with Farm roads 47 and 514, eight miles northwest of Emory and sixty miles east of Dallas in northwest Rains County. It originated about 1880 as a flag station and post office on a section of the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Railroad being built from Mineola to Greenville. Residents proposed the name of Rice's Point, in honor of William Rice, a Kentuckian who had settled the area in the 1840s when it was a part of Van Zandt County. The post office rejected that and several other names because they were already in use.

In 1890 Point had fifty residents, a public school, and four churches. On August 28, 1902, ten men, led by newspaperman Isaac Newton Gresham, met in Point and signed a charter to establish the Farmers Educational and Cooperative Union of America. The Farmers Union, as it is generally called, became a national organization by 1905 and enrolled its one-millionth member three years later. The organization became so large that it had to move its headquarters to Mineola because the volume of mail was more than the Point post office could handle.

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Steven R. Davis | © TSHA

Handbook of Texas Logo

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.

Belongs to

Point is part of or belongs to the following places:

Currently Exists

Yes

Place type

Point is classified as a Town

Associated Names

  • (Haywood)
  • (Rice's Point)

Location

Latitude: 32.93016240
Longitude: -95.86890700

Has Post Office

Yes

Is Incorporated

Yes

Population Count, 2021 View more »

765