I discovered a bunch of photos tied to logging towns in Cherokee County, Texas, while going through my grandmother’s photo collection. I though that I’d share in case someone’s interested.
Cherokee County and logging towns figure heavily in my family history. My great grandmother was born in the little town of Forest. My grandmother said it was a logging town (a town that sprang up to harvest the timber). I’ve heard a lot about Forest because it’s where my grandmother’s relatively young great-grandfather took a break under a tree while working at the logging operation and never woke up from his nap. The owner of the logging operation let his widow and children stay on in one of the homes provided for workers.
I’d never heard of Wildhurst, but it also must have figured in my family’s history since we have multiple photos of logging operations there. Like Forest, Wildhurst is in Cherokee County. The mill at Wildhurst closed in 1944, and the forest’s reclaimed the area. But the pictures show a lot of excitement back when the logging town was flourishing.
Finally, I’ll share a photo of the schoolteacher at Forest. This was Tip Hayes Vaughn, who died in 1956 at the age of 71. That’s him below. He probably taught my grandmother’s kin.
louisianagenealogygirl 
I had a copy of an image of Milo on one of those train engines. When I first saw it at my grandparent’s house, I thought it was my grandfather. That is how much he looked like his on father. After looking at it for a moment longer, I could tell it was not. I wish I could find it again.
I tried doing a search of the numbers/name on the engine, but nothing came up. Now I just cannot find the photo.
Have you seen that photo?
I want to say I have. I’ll see if I have a copy of it. I’m scanning tons of photos so there’s no telling what I have. I’ll email you a few I’ve come across. Not all are identified
As a rail lover, I thank you for posting these photos. The name “Wildhurst” also interests me, because it was the name of my late mother’s favorite winery in Lake County, CA. Apparently, “hurst” is a Gaelic word meaning “wooded hillside.”