Tenaha keeps the old Tenehaw name in daily use

Tenaha carries an old Shelby County name into daily use. The town began in 1885 as a shipping point on the Houston, East and West Texas Railway. Members of the Hicks family named it for Tenehaw Municipality, the county's earlier name.

A post office opened in 1886. James N. Woodfin was postmaster. By 1890, Tenaha had about 200 residents, several stores, three churches, and a school. Six years later, the estimate had reached 680. A weekly paper called the Ledger served the farmers and lumber workers who traded there.

The work changed, but the town kept its name. Tenaha incorporated in the 1900s. By 1946, it had several lumber mills and a large tomato cannery. Many of those businesses were gone by the 1980s. Trade tied to nearby Toledo Bend Reservoir then helped the local economy. In 1988, Tenaha still reported an estimated 1,073 residents and 43 rated businesses. An old municipal name had passed through a rail stop, a farm-and-lumber town, and a reservoir-side chapter without leaving the map.