Elmina (Elmira)

Elmina is a historical ghost town in southern Walker County, Texas, located approximately 13 miles south of Huntsville and about one mile north of New Waverly, along what was once the Missouri-Pacific Railroad (now Union Pacific) and near modern Interstate 45. Founded in 1870 as a sawmill settlement by lumberman Kit Oliphant (also spelled Oliphint), the site was initially known as Oliphant's Switch or Hutchins Mill and served as a lumber operation with limited capacity. The name "Elmina" was adopted in the early 1900s, derived from the El Mina Masonic Temple (a Shrine organization) in Galveston.
The town's growth accelerated in 1902 when the Oliphant mill was sold to the Walker County Lumber Company, a subsidiary of the Foster Lumber Company, which expanded operations into a major sawmill and planer facility processing pine timber from surrounding forests in Walker and San Jacinto counties. Key to its lumber industry was the Elmina & Eastern Transportation Company, incorporated around 1904-1906, which operated over 25 miles of narrow-gauge tram railroads to haul logs from remote camps like "Lick Skillet" on Punkin Creek to the mill, using locomotives such as Shay engines and connecting to larger lines like the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe. At its peak in the 1910s-1920s, Elmina employed around 150-200 mill workers plus families and camp residents, totaling a population of 700-1,000, making it the second-largest settlement in Walker County after Huntsville. The workforce included Polish and Italian immigrants, other Europeans, and African Americans, who lived in company-owned housing under rudimentary conditions, with deductions for rent, meals, and store purchases via punched time cards. Community amenities included a post office (opened 1903, closed post-1930), commissary, two-story hotel, drugstore, boarding house with staggered meal times, makeshift movie theater (destroyed by fire in the early 1900s), an eight-grade school (consolidated with New Waverly around 1935), an "all-religion" church shared by Baptists and Methodists, company doctor (e.g., Dr. H.S. Robertson), and limited electricity from 6-10 PM. Social life featured baseball teams competing with nearby towns, outdoor picture shows, dances, plays, and World War I-era Red Cross activities.
Notable figures included managers like W.B. Clint, Hardin Bale, and R.W. Miller; timekeeper T. Frank Ferguson; and residents like the Croom and Pope families, with Lena Holston Pope authoring the 1966 memoir "A Hand on My Shoulder" about life there.

The town's decline began in the late 1920s due to timber depletion, requiring longer log hauls, exacerbated by the Great Depression. A devastating fire on September 13, 1931, destroyed the main mill, leading to the cessation of operations by 1934. Buildings were dismantled or relocated by 1935-1936, and the site became abandoned.

Today, Elmina is a ghost town with virtually nothing remaining of the original structures, though the Elmina Cemetery (originally a Polish cemetery associated with St. Joseph's Catholic Church in New Waverly) endures as a landmark, containing graves of early mill workers and maintained by descendants. A brick-covered vault from the old sawmill or company office was noted as a remnant in historical accounts up to the 1960s, and traces of tram roads were visible into the late 1950s. Annual reunions for former residents and descendants continued into at least the mid-20th century, and archival materials, including letters in the Texas Transportation Archive, preserve its history. Recent discussions, such as a 2025 online thread about locomotives like the D&RG #289 used by the Walker County Lumber Company, highlight ongoing interest in its railroad heritage.

Kit Oliphant (also spelled Oliphint) was a lumberman in East Texas who established a sawmill in 1870, which formed the basis for the settlement of Elmina, Texas. The mill was initially known as Oliphant's Switch and included a tram system. In 1902, the Oliphant mill was sold to the Walker County Lumber Company, which expanded operations.

Hudson C. Oliphint, likely a relative, worked as a planer mill engine operator at the Walker County Lumber Company mill. His family lived in various company houses (Nos. 62, 37, 25, 14), and his son, Howard L. Oliphint, provided detailed recollections of town life, including school, baseball, and the picture show.

Dr. Henry S. Robertson (known as "Doctor Rob") was the company physician for the Walker County Lumber Company in Elmina, Texas. He arrived in 1916 and lived at the mill site. He operated a medical office initially in a two-story frame building shared with the post office and drug store, later moving to a new office near the picture show. He treated residents for injuries, including severe mill accidents, and served as Sunday School superintendent at the local church. He and his wife adopted Robert Taylor. A photograph from 1918 captures him in Elmina.

Mrs. Ewing Bush is mentioned in family histories related to Elmina, Texas, with limited details available. She may be connected to Aileen Bush, who participated in school plays in the town.

R. Miller is referenced as a resident or figure associated with Elmina, Texas, but specific details are sparse. This may overlap with R.W. Miller or O.H. Miller, both involved in mill operations. O.H. Miller contributed letters recalling early town features, such as the water system and personnel.

W.B. Clint served as the early general manager of the Walker County Lumber Company mill in Elmina, Texas, from around 1906 to 1908. He emphasized efficiency and quality in lumber production, was known for being strict yet cooperative, and focused on maintaining high standards. He left Elmina to start a business in Houston.

Hardin Bale succeeded Hobbs as general manager of the Walker County Lumber Company mill in Elmina, Texas. He was involved in overseeing operations during a period of stability. His wife was close to local families, and upon leaving for Arkansas, the family offered jobs to some Elmina residents.

R.W. Miller was a general manager at the Walker County Lumber Company mill in Elmina, Texas, succeeding W.B. Clint and preceding Hardin Bale. He was respected for his management style, avoided major errors, and was well-liked by employees. After leaving Elmina, he managed a mill at Oakhurst.

T. Frank Ferguson worked as a timekeeper at the Foster Lumber Company mill in Elmina, Texas. He recalled details of daily operations, such as rent deductions via punched time-cards, and estimated the town had 188 company-owned houses and about 1,000 residents at its peak. He was also a member of the Elmina baseball team in 1907. His wife, Blanch Ferguson, served as post mistress and drug store clerk, and attended town reunions.

On September 13, 1931, a major fire broke out at the Walker County Lumber Company millsite in Elmina, Texas, destroying the main mill. The blaze was dramatic, with residents recalling the event vividly. Combined with the Great Depression and timber scarcity, the fire accelerated the town's decline, leading to the mill's closure around 1934. A separate fire around 1930–1931 destroyed the town's picture show, with audiences escaping through windows; children later played in the ruins. The mill fire involved locomotives like Edward Hines Lumber 2-8-0 #5, associated with the Elmina & Eastern.

lThe tram system in Elmina, Texas, originated with Kit Oliphant's 1870 sawmill, initially known as Oliphant's Switch, using iron rails later replaced by a wagon road. Under the Walker County Lumber Company (from 1902), it evolved into the Elmina & Eastern Transportation Company, a narrow-gauge railroad spanning over 25 miles. It transported logs from forests east to the San Jacinto River (including a "Front" camp at Punkin Creek established around 1910) and west, as well as hauling workers daily until logging camps were built. Shay engines and loaders were used, with standard-gauge equipment added by the 1910s for efficiency. The system connected to other railroads like Fostoria & Northern, facilitated timber swaps with companies like Palmetto Lumber, and supported camps such as Lick Skillet (14 miles away) with stores and housing. Operations included sawing, planing, and drying lumber, with accidents like a 1910s Shay engine overturning and a flywheel explosion. The tram ceased with the mill's closure around 1934.


Elmina was on U.S. Highway 75 some twelve miles southeast of Huntsville in Walker County. It is believed that the town was named for the El Mina Masonic Temple in Galveston. The settlement started out in 1870 as a sawmill owned by Kit Oliphant, a lumberman of East Texas. In 1902 the Oliphant mill was sold to the Walker County Lumber Company, a branch of the Foster Lumber Company. After this, the mill expanded significantly, and by the mid-1920s Elmina had more than 200 residents. A post office opened there in 1903 and closed sometime after 1930. An early map of the settlement shows seventy-four company-owned houses, a post office, mill, hotel, drugstore, company store, movie house, church, storehouse, schoolhouse, cemetery, and spur-line railroad. Also, hundreds of people lived in camps in forested areas around the mill. The mill used more than twenty-five miles of tram railroads, known as the Elmina and Eastern Transportation Company; many of the railroad beds were still visible half a century later. The Elmina mill also provided electricity from 6:00 P.M. to 10:00 P.M. for local residents. A company physician, Dr. Henry Robertson, lived at the mill. The community had an eight-grade school and an "all-religion" Protestant church that was shared mainly by Baptists and Methodists. The Polish cemetery on the eastern side of the settlement was the burial ground used by St. Joseph's Catholic Church in New Waverly. The cemetery's name was later changed to Elmina Cemetery; in it are buried some Italians as well as Poles who worked in the Elmina mill. By 1930 available timber nearby had been consumed, and the Great Depression was in full swing. On September 13, 1931, a fire raged through the millsite and destroyed the main mill. The fire, combined with worsening economic conditions, finished the town by 1935. Its structures were either torn down or sold and removed from the site.  TSHA

Excerpt from;
Early History Of Walker County, Texas
by John L. Baldwin Chapter VII

Elmina

Elmina -- named for the El Mina Temple of Galveston - was located about 13 miles south of Huntsville and one mile north of New Waverly, on the Missouri-Pacific Railroad.  Today it is one of the ghost towns of Walker County, with only the vault of an old saw mill which once stood there still remaining to be seen.  It is hard to realize that here a few short years ago was a thriving saw mill town, second only to Huntsville in population among the towns of Walker County.

The town had its beginning in 1870 when Oliphant's mill was erected there.  The first residences were those of mill hands, but soon others began to come to establish businesses.  the Oliphant mill was small and had limited capacity, which kept the town from growing a great deal for the first few years of its existence.  the erection of the Walker County Lumber Company in later years marked the beginning of the real growth of the community.  The company operated with a personnel of some 150 employees, and these workmen with their families brought the total population of Elmina to 700 persons. All of the workmen's houses were constructed by the lumber company and rented to the workers.  there were about 180 residences and buildings combined when the town was at its peak.  Besides the houses there was a large mill commissary, a drug store, and a big two-story hotel.  (Mrs. Ewing Bush, Huntsville, Mrs. Bush's father, R. Miller was once the manager of the Walker County Lumber Company of Elmina)

The workmen at the mill were given time cards each week to show the amount of time for which they were due to be paid.  These tune cards were returned on payday to exchange for cash.  If, in the meantime, the workers had purchased merchandise or owed rent, the cards were punched to indicate the amount that should be deducted from the pay.  T. Frank Ferguson was the time keeper for the mill and did the card punching when the rent was due.

The Walker County Lumber Company discontinued its operation in 1934 because of the fact that timber in the vicinity was becoming scarce, making it necessary to haul the lumber over longer distances and causing the mill to operate at a loss.  One by one the houses were sold and moved away from the community until the once busy town ceased to exist.

Texas State Historical Association
https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/elmina-tx

New Waverly Community News and Events
https://newwaverlycommunitynewsandevents.wordpress.com/2019/02/26/elmina-lost-in-the-ashes

ttarchive.com
https://ttarchive.com/library/Articles/Elmina-Ghost-Town-Walker-County_Oliphint.html

East Texas History
https://easttexashistory.org/files/show/2849

Study the Past
https://studythepast.com/ghostwebsite/walkercountyghosttowns.htm

Wordpress
https://newwaverlycommunitynewsandevents.wordpress.com/2019/02/26/elmina-lost-in-the-ashes/

The Portal to Texas History
https://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/locations/p04082/

Texas Almanac
https://www.texasalmanac.com/places/elmina