​The Depot Explosion
​and Mystery

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Marker Text: On the evening of March 2, 1913, an explosion destroyed the Houston, East & West Texas Railroad depot at this site, disrupting the town's vital source of transportation and trade. Although a body was not discovered, it was presumed a railroad employee had been killed in the mishap. He was later declared legally dead and his stepmother collected on his insurance. In 1916, however, he was returned to Lufkin by Judge E.J. Mantooth, a local attorney acting on behalf of the insurance firms. The railroad employee stood trial for insurance fraud, but was subsequently acquitted. (1982) 
 

Marker No: 6988

Aluminum 18 x 28 Subject Marker

Location: ​intersection of Angelina Street and Cotton Square, Lufkin 

Geographic: ​31° 20.342′ N, 94° 43.801′ W