Once thriving hubs of industry and community, Fostoria, Waukegan, and Oklahoma in Montgomery County have succumbed to the passage of time. Explore the rise and fall of these ghost towns, where memories linger amid the remnants of their past.
The ghost communities of Fostoria, Waukegan, and Oklahoma in Montgomery County, which were once vibrant hubs of activity, are now fading reminders of a bygone era. Fostoria, which was founded in 1904 in the vicinity of the Foster Lumber Company, prospered until the mill's demise in 1957. The town was home to approximately 1,000 residents at its zenith, with a significant number of them employed at the mill, which annually generated 20 million board feet of lumber.
Currently, the only remaining features are a cemetery, a historical marker, and Fostoria Road. The town's legacy endures in the memoirs of its former inhabitants and in the work of historian Kay Mayer Dawes, "Fostoria: The Rise and Fall of a Texas Mill Town."
In the same way, Waukegan and Oklahoma were once thriving communities where residents worked, shopped, and worshipped. Nevertheless, the cities suffered as the timber industry declined and resources dwindled.
The economic shifts that can transform flourishing communities into ghost towns are clearly illustrated by the disappearance of these towns. Fostoria's former splendor is captured in aerial photographs from the 1940s, which reveal a region that was once prosperous but is now reduced to mere reflections of its past. Montgomery County's rich history and the cycles of prosperity and decline are poignantly illustrated by the stories of Fostoria, Waukegan, and Oklahoma as it continues to expand and develop.
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