Stout, Texas

Capt. Henry Stout, one of the earliest immigrants in Wood County circa 1848, had both the settlement and a local creek named after him. He was also the first county sheriff, a member of the commission that established Wood County in 1850, and the owner of one of the area's first mills. It is unknown if Stout truly resided in this community. The settlement, which developed next to his land, was established as early as 1877. The settlement had a brick kiln and syrup mill sometime after 1877, and in 1884 it had a post office. Although Stout's population fell to 40 in 1896, it had quadrupled from 25 to 50 between 1890 and 1892. At least eleven businesses, including a wagonmaker, two apiarists, four doctors, and one each of a flour, corn, and gristmill, were present in the community, along with Methodist and Baptist churches. Stout's population was estimated to be 212 in 1900. The population had decreased to 121 by 1904 when the post office was shut down, and it stayed there until the early 1940s. The community contained a few houses, two businesses, and a church by the middle of the 1930s. Maps from 1960 reveal that there were just a few dispersed homes left at the location, even though the population had fallen to 50 by 1943 and remained at that level through the late 1960s. 76 people called the area home in 1968. From 1974 to 2000, 86 was cited as the number. A "nine-mule load of gold," allegedly taken by a group of Americans from a Mexican army payroll, is allegedly buried close to Stout, according to local lore. Three miles south of Stout, on Farm to Market Road 288, near the Stout family cemetery on the former Stout farm site, are a historical marker and a wayside park honoring Captain Stout.[2]

Stout is located on Farm to Market Road 312, 6 mi (9.7 km) south of Winnsboro and 10 mi (16 km) northeast of Quitman in northeastern Wood County.[2]

Stout had its own school in 1900. It was still operational in the mid-1930s. The school had 115 students in 10 grade levels taught by four teachers.[2] Today, the community is served by the Hawkins Independent School District.