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About Our Area
Located at the junction of Farm roads 1774 and 1488, Magnolia is situated
twenty miles southwest of Conroe in southwestern Montgomery County.
The town boasts a city limit one-mile-square radius of 1,111 people reflected
by the 2000 U.S. census. But the greater Magnolia area roughly spans 12 miles
in all directions, encompassing a population of more than 65,000.
In fact, the Magnolia Independent School District celebrated its 2002-2003
school year in classification 5A, as the steady 7 to 10 percent growth remained
constant. Enrollment this year topped 8,000 students.
The school district stretches for 147 square miles and is ranked second in the
state in growth, along with Katy ISD, behind Frisco ISD, which is located near
the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex.
A little history about Magnolia
With a modest beginning in the timber industry, Magnolia has grown from its
settler and sawmill beginnings to a sprawling center of commerce.
The community was first settled in the late 1840s and named Mink’s Prairie
for one of its early settlers, Joseph Mink.
The town’s name shortened to Mink by 1850 and the first post office was
established in 1858. The community’s population had grown to 25 by the turn
of the century.
By 1903, the town of Mink had become Magnolia and a local flurry of excitement
welcomed the I&GN Railroad, as the town grew up nearby, welcoming a steady
influx of new residents, churches and commercial businesses.
By 1915, the population had grown to 150 residents and many of the residents
worked in the Grogan-Cochran sawmill, the town’s largest commercial industry.
The railroad made it easier to move workers and lumber, and the available land
made Magnolia an ideal site to accommodate the sprawling timber industry.
The original 1901 train depot, now restored and located to its original site
in the downtown area, greets visitors coming to Magnolia on FM 1774. The site
stands today as a Texas Historical Landmark.
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