Page Contents for Zavalla, Texas

Statistics & Facts

Location

History & History-related items

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Statistics & Facts

The Texas state capital is Austin.
The population of Zavalla is approximately 701 (1990), 713 (2010).
The approximate number of families is 366 (1990), 289 (2010).
The amount of land area in Zavalla is 5.466 sq. kilometers.
The amount of land area in Zavalla is 2.1 sq. miles.
The amount of surface water is 0 sq kilometers.
The distance from Zavalla to Washington DC is 1147 miles.
The distance to the Texas state capital is 208 miles. (as the crow flies)
Zavalla is positioned 31.15 degrees north of the equator and 94.41 degrees west of the prime meridian.
Zavalla elevation is 222 feet above sea level.
Zavalla median income is $ 21,806 (2000).
The Zavalla median home price is $ 40,700 (2000).
The average winter temperature is 47.8 degrees F.
The average spring temperature is 65.6 degrees F.
The average summer temperature is 82.3 degrees F.
The average fall temperature is 67.3 degrees F.

Location

twenty-five miles southeast of Lufkin in eastern Texas. Nearby communities include Huntington, Colmesneil, Chester, Chireno, Burke, Diboll and Woodville.
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History & History Related Items

Zavalla was first known as Zavalla Prairie. Established in 1900, the town was named for the grant to Lorenzo de Zavala on whose land it stood. He had a sawmill which harvested the nearby tracts of longleaf pine timber. Others also owned sawmills in the area contributing to the predominance of the lumbering industry as the major industry of the area. The first post office was set up on 19 January 1901 with Jesse C. Fondren as the postmaster. The community also became a shipping center for the local farming with cotton was the main crop. Other industries which developed in the early 1900's were the Texas naval stores business, using local pine resins and turpentine and the production of Tung which is used in furniture polish and related products. The population remained around 100-200 during the early 1900's, gradually increasing to 450 by 1945. The peak population was reached in 1974-75 at 900. Zavalla was incorporated in 1975 due mostly to the nearby Sam Rayburn Reservoir. The first mayor was C. M. Cryer. The population declined to 726 by 1980. In the mid-1980s Zavalla had two schools, several churches (predominantly Baptist and Pentecostal), and a number of businesses. In 1990 the population was 701. Another town in Jasper county is named Zavala and is many times confused with Zavalla.
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The incorporation of Zavalla

1975

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