Flatonia Moved Itself to the Tracks

Flatonia's railroad story starts with a town picking itself up. In the 1870s, residents of old Flatonia, one mile southeast, and Oso, three miles northeast, loaded homes and businesses onto wagons and moved to the new site along the tracks. The old post office came too and kept its name.

The city plan records one move in detail: J. R. Corkett hauled an early house from Old Flatonia on ox wagons. Flatonia incorporated in 1875. By 1878, about 800 people lived there, and cattle and cotton shared the local economy.

One railroad building made a later trip. Tower No. 3 was built in 1902 where two rail lines met and worked until 1996. It was then moved to Rail Park to save it from demolition.

The houses moved toward the railroad in the 1870s. Much later, the tower moved so the town could keep the railroad story.