Without business and industry, you have no town. In the economic food chain, industry provides the highest paying employment that is necessary for a town or city to grow and progress. A solid industrial base makes it possible for many small businesses to grow and thrive which supply industries with needed goods and services and provide the things its employees want and need in their daily life.
Two major local industries have changed Titus County resident's standard of living more than most. First was the discovery of the Talco oil field in early 1936. The discovery of oil and the jobs and taxes it created probably had the fastest and most drastic influence on Titus County's quality of life.
Before the Talco oil field was discovered, Titus County depended on agriculture as its main industry. The price of cotton had fallen drastically after World War I, and our farmers and businessmen were in dire financial straits. We were a small community with bad roads, an insufficient supply of terrible quality drinking water, and few luxuries.
Once oil was discovered, Titus County's population expanded rapidly in a matter of less than a year. While the influx of new people brought a few problems with it, it brought many more positive influences. Local people now had the opportunity for high-paying oil-related jobs. As a direct result of the sudden influx of new residents, immediate improvements were made to Titus County's roads and highways, Mt. Pleasant and Talco telephone systems, Mt. Pleasant's Jefferson Hotel, the county's school systems, Mt. Pleasant's water works, housing facilities, movie theatres, businesses, and many other things necessary to have an enriched living environment.
Over the years as the oil field matured and automation took over tasks that formerly required manual labor, the local economy once again fell into a lull.
In the early 1900s, Titus County's Winfield and Old Union communities had underground lignite coal mines. The lignite was mined by men with picks and shovels working in underground shafts, and was brought to the surface in small carts pulled by horses and mules. Lignite was sold to burn in local fireplaces, boilers, and for other purposes. The lignite mines closed in the early 1900s and we have little specific information about them.
Titus County's second "boom" came when Industrial Generating Company (later Texas Utilities, TXU, and now Luminant) came to Titus County to erect a large coal-fired power plant in the Monticello community. The Monticello plant was powered by lignite coal dug from open-pit mines in the Winfield area and across north central Titus County into the Green Hill community.
Like the oil field before it, the power plant and mining operation brought many new people to Titus County. It provided many well-paying jobs and caused a more stable growth environment for local business. While the changes to Titus County's overall infrastructure weren't as drastic as those caused by the discovery of oil, Luminant has been a very good corporate citizen and has contributed heavily to the quality of life in Titus County.
In the Business & Industry topic, we will provide articles about Titus County industries and local businesses.
As stated elsewhere, our website is still very incomplete. We are researching and building articles in more or less chronological order from microfilmed newspapers. In this update, we will cover the early days of the development of the oil industry and several of Titus County's smaller businesses. As time permits, we will add extensive articles on Titus County's coal mining and other businesses.
Click one of the following blue links or a blue number on the top menu to read about Titus County's businesses and industries.
