The Railroad Redrew Red River County's Town Map

Before the railroad, Red River County lived with distance and river levels. The Red River carried traffic for part of the year. When water ran low, goods had to travel by road to or from Jefferson, about 100 miles southeast. In 1876, the Texas and Pacific gave the county a faster, more reliable route to larger markets.

The tracks moved town centers as well as freight. Annona began as Walker Station on the planned route. Its post office moved from Savannah before the line was finished. Bagwell grew beside the railway, and the Robbinsville post office appears to have moved there in 1876. After the railroad was complete, a settlement on its route received the Starkesville post office. That town became Detroit. Avery's planned station was called Douglass. The town's post office was later named Isaca, then Avery.

Annona, Avery, Bagwell, and Detroit grew as shipping points. Starkesville, Stephensboro, and Savannah declined. Another rail line reached the southwest corner in 1913. Bogata and Johntown became its shipping points. The line was abandoned in 1956. Annona leaves a telling detail: its post office moved toward a proposed railroad two years before the trains arrived.