Exploring the Sawmill Trail at Boykin Springs

Our Stay in Etoile, TX

Boykin Springs Lake and the CCC Legacy

We drove to Boykin Springs Recreation Area in Angelina National Forest. Boykin Springs’ lake and the spillway are manmade. Both were projects by the CCC during the Great Depression to provide recreation and fishing for the locals.

We hiked the Sawmill Hiking Trail, a scenic 2.75-mile route (total distance of 5.5 miles). This unique trail combines history and nature. As we hiked, we followed an old tramway that once transported logs to the Aldridge Sawmill and part of the meandering Boykin Creek. The trail offered beautiful views of the surrounding forest.

The Ruins of the Old Aldridge Sawmill

At the trail’s end, we reached the ruins of the Old Aldridge Sawmill. Built in 1903, the mill was a major lumber producer in the region. A town developed around the growing sawmill, reaching a peak population of about 1500 by 1920. However, several fires forced the mill to close by 1923. A century later, nature has taken back control, and the only evidence of human activity is the concrete structure of the Old Aldridge Sawmill.