Ore City, TX

Ore City is an Upshur County city along U.S. Highway 259, where the 2020 census counted 1,108 residents. Lake O' the Pines lies about four miles north, and Gilmer is roughly thirteen miles southwest. The town's name comes from the iron ore deposits found in the area, which were mined intermittently from the 1860s through 1900. A post office opened in 1912, and the early town quickly acquired five general stores.

Ore City was platted around 1911 as plans for a rail connection to Longview and Port Bolivar took shape. The Port Bolivar Iron Ore Railway reached thirty miles by 1914, and the new town had saw, shingle, and planing mills, a bank, stores, and a blacksmith shop. The rail link was abandoned in 1927, while the highway and Lake O' the Pines now define the area's everyday connections. Ore City sits in the East Texas Piney Woods with a mining name, a railroad past, and a reservoir close by.