Laurelia, Texas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Laurelia
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 Laurelia
Location in Texas
Laurelia
Location in the United States
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| Country |  United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Polk |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
Laurelia is a ghost town located in central Polk County, Texas, United States. A ghost town is a place where people used to live and work, but now it's mostly empty. Laurelia started as a busy community but eventually became quiet.
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What Was Laurelia?
Laurelia was once a small town in the heart of Texas. It was a place where people lived and worked, especially around a big sawmill. Today, it is known as a ghost town because most people have moved away.
How Laurelia Started
The town of Laurelia began in 1880. A man named Judge Claiborne Holshausen decided to build a sawmill there. A sawmill is a factory that cuts down trees into lumber. This lumber was used to build homes and other things.
Soon, more people came to work at the mill. They built houses and shops, and the area grew into a small town. The sawmill was the most important part of Laurelia. It was like the town's heart.
Why the Name Laurelia?
The town got its name from the many laurel trees growing in the area. These trees were common in the forests around the settlement. So, the people decided to name their new town after the beautiful laurel trees.
Why Laurelia Became a Ghost Town
For many years, the sawmill was the main reason Laurelia thrived. But in 1913, something big happened. The sawmill burned down. This was a huge problem for the town.
Without the sawmill, there were not many jobs left. People started to move away to find work elsewhere. Slowly, the town became smaller and smaller. Over time, Laurelia became the ghost town we know today.
