New York lies at the intersection of FM 804 and FM 607 in a hilly portion of East Texas, surrounded mostly by farm land. It is 87 miles east of Dallas.[1]
History
New York was first settled around 1856 by James C. Walker, Davis Reynolds, Jesse M. Forester, and A. M. Otts at a location south of the present site. The present site was settled in 1873. The community was reportedly named either by T. B. Herndon as a joke or by Reynolds because of his hopes for the town's future.[2] By 1884 New York had two steam gristmills and cotton gins, two churches, a district school, and a population of 60, which rose to 100 by 1892. A post office operated there from 1876 to the first decade of the 1900s.[2]
The town declined after it was bypassed by the railroad in 1901. Its school was consolidated with the Poynor system in 1936.[2]
In 1986,[3] nearby Dunsavage Farms (a restaurant, antique shop, and bed and breakfast) began to market "New York, Texas, Cheesecake", which became nationally known by 1992.[2] The company is now located in Athens, Texas.
Demographics
In 1992 the town included the Reynolds store, a Baptist church, and a population of 20.[2]