Basics about Lufkin:

Lufkin is a city in Angelina County, Texas, United States. The population was 32,709 at the 2000 census making Lufkin the 76th largest city in Texas. It is the county seat of Angelina County[3], and is situated in East Texas. The town is named for Abraham P. Lufkin, a cotton merchant and Galveston, Texas city councilman. Lufkin was the son-in-law of Paul Bremond, president of the Houston, East and West Texas Railway which developed the town.

Founded in 1882, Lufkin is home to Lufkin Industries, which manufactures and services oil field equipment and power transmission equipment. It is also a leading supplier of creosote.

Lufkin is also home to the Atkinson Candy Company, the creator of the Chick-O-Stick, and Brookshire Brothers, a chain of grocery stores in Texas and Louisiana.

Lufkin is served by two hospitals, the Memorial Medical Center at Lufkin, which includes the Arthur Temple Sr. Regional Cancer Center, and Woodlands Heights Medical Center.

The space shuttle Columbia disaster happened in the Lufkin area.

Lufkin is well known for its high school football team, the Lufkin Panthers.

Lufkin celebrated its 125th anniversary in October 2007.

Lufkin will receive Texas’s first biomass power plant in late 2009. Aspen Power will build the power plant,

Points of Interest

Ellen Trout Zoo-a public zoo owned by the City of Lufkin with over 500 animals, including hippopotamuses, giraffes, rhinos, and much more.

Ellen Trout Park — Fishing is also available for free at the lake, and 2 public playgrounds with slides, and more are available for the kids to play on without charge.

Crown Colony Country Club Golf Course- The #3 rated golf course in Texas by The Dallas Morning News, this course has small, demanding landing areas that require accuracy with every shot you make. The 18-hole “Crown Colony” course at the Crown Colony Country Club facility features 6,692 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 72.

Texas Forestry Museum- a great museum about the forestry of the Lufkin and East Texas area. Includes all kinds of temporary and permanent exhibitions about the forestry service and nature. Located in northeastern Lufkin, on Atkinson Drive SH 103.

Museum of East Texas- a famous local museum. Offers temporary and permanent exhibitions on regional history and art, as well as local pieces.

Lufkin Mall- a mall with over 60 specialty shops. Includes JC Penney, Sears, Bealls, a 12-screen Carmike Cinema, and a soft play area for the kids. Also includes stores like American Eagle, Kirklands, Bath & Body Works, Buckle, Gap, and much more. Two new anchors, Play Zone and Lunar Mini Golf, will accompany the mall soon.

Lufkin Azalea Trail- a 1.9 mile public nature trail that runs from Grace Dunne Richardson Park to Kiwanis Park. A popular place for local nature viewers and athletes. Has excellent birding and small animal opportunities. The trail runs by several shopping opportunities in Lufkin to include the Angelina Strip Mall and the Lufkin Mall.

Medford Collection of American Western Art- A unique collection containing more than 50 paintings by contemporary artists including Joe Beeler, James Boren, Raymond Ryan, and Ross Stefan available for public viewing at the Lufkin City Hall.

Downtown Walking Tour- a tour through historic Downtown Lufkin with information about the buildings and paintings in downtown. Includes information about the Angelina Hotel, Cotton Square, Courthouse Square, Lufkin National Bank building, and more.

Some of the city’s major employers include:

• Angelina College, a local community college,enrolling between 4,000 and 5,000 students in recent years.
• Atkinson Candy Company: founded and headquartered in Lufkin, makers of the famous Chick-O-Stick.
• Brookshire Brothers: a regional grocery company founded and headquartered in Lufkin. The company has 5 stores in the Lufkin area and over 70 stores nationwide.
• The Burke Center: provides a variety of quality behavioral healthcare services to people with mental illness, mental retardation, and chemical dependency.
• Citation (former Texas Foundries): manufactures high-volume ductile iron castings using sand molds.
• Lufkin Industries: founded and headquartered in Lufkin, produces oil pumping equipment (pumpjacks and automation), power transmission (gears) equipment. Lufkin announced in January 2008 that it would cease trailer production and close the trailer plant in Homer, TX. Lufkin also operates a foundry business.
• Lufkin ISD: The city’s school district, which includes many elementary schools, a middle school and high school.
• Lufkin State School: a 24-hour residential facility for over 430 people who have mental retardation with varying degrees of abilities and disabilities.
• Memorial Health System of East Texas: the largest health care system in the deep East Texas area
• Pilgrim’s Pride: pre-packaged poultry/poultry processing
• Temple-Inland: a Fortune 500 company founded in nearby Diboll, Texas that produces paper, wood, and other related products.
• Wal-Mart: is also, coincidentally, the largest private employer in the world, a Supercenter is located in Lufkin.
• Woodland Heights Medical Center: established in 1918, was Lufkin’s first hospital

• Chad Alexander- 1992 USA Today High School All American, Texas A&M University 1995 NCAA All-American, 2nd round draft pick of Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astros, Seattle Mariners, Detroit Tigers
• Ken “Hubcap” Carter - Radio DJ and newsman and member of the Texas Radio Hall of Fame
• Betty Conner - actress in Gidget (TV series) [1]
• Morris Frank - former sportswriter [2]
• Brian Gilmore- WR San Francisco 49′ers
• Andrea Celeste Green - former United States National Rifle Team member, current record holder at Texas Christian University, 2006 NCAA Finalist, and 2003 All-American
• Rex Hadnot - former Houston Cougar OL, current Miami Dolphin center
• Ken Houston - Lufkin Dunbar graduate who played for the Houston Oilers and Washington Redskins before being elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
• Joe Williams - Lufkin Dunbar graduate who was a member of the World Champion Dallas Cowboys and also played for the New Orleans Saints
• Terrence Kiel - former Aggie and former San Diego Chargers safety.
• Jorvorskie Lane - current Aggie running back [3]
• Abe Martin - Football Coach
• Murphy Martin - Lufkin and Dallas area newsman and ABC News anchorman [4]
• R. B (”Robert B.”) McIntire - long time news announcer on KILT radio in Houston
• Reggie McNeal - former Aggie QB and Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver.
• Don Muhlbach - former Aggie and current Detroit Lions deep snapper.
• Tom Murphy (baseball) - former MLB pitcher.
• Joe Robb - former lineman for the St. Louis Cardinals, predecessor to the Arizona Cardinals
• Pete Runnels - former Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox and Houston Colt .45s infielder.
• Chris Seelbach - former Atlanta Braves pitcher [5]
• Allan Shivers - 37th Texas Governor, 1949-1957
• Thad Sitton - historian and writer
• Craig Whitaker - supplemental 1st round pick out of Lufkin High School, currently in the minor leagues with the San Francisco Giants [6]
• J. Frank Wilson - lead vocalist of J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers
• Charlie Wilson - a former U.S Representative best known for leading the CIA into a ‘covert war’ in Afghanistan widely reported in newspapers at the time