Waskom, TX

Waskom is an eastern Harrison County city right on the Louisiana line, where U.S. 80, I-20, and the railroad all squeeze the map into a town-sized crossing. It began around 1850 as Powell Town, probably named for landowner Jonathan S. Powell. The post office shifted from Powellton to Waskom Station in 1872, then to Waskom in 1881, honoring railroad director J. M. Waskom. By 1884 the place had churches, a school, a sawmill, gristmills, and cotton gins; oil discovery nearby in 1924 pushed the population up again.

Today Waskom is part of Greater Marshall but keeps its border-town identity. The Louisiana line is the eastern edge, Shreveport is close to the east, and Marshall handles county-seat business 19 miles west. Waskom ISD serves the local schools, while I-20 and U.S. 80 make the town a pass-through and a place to stop. It is a Texas town with a railroad name, a border on one side, bayou country beyond it, and a history that moved from land grants to cotton, oil, and interstate traffic.