Willis started to grow in 1870 after the Houston and Great Northern Railroad (now the Union Pacific Railroad) made a railway track through the area.[6][7] Because Willis is part of the Piney Woods (a forest ecoregion in the southern United States), lumber and agriculture have always been big parts of the Willis economy.[6][7] From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, Willis made a lot of tobacco as a commodity crop.[7]
