Oletha, Texas Explained

Oletha is an unincorporated community in Limestone County, Texas, originally settled in the 1850s under the name Pottersville.[1] [2] [3] Texas State Highway 14 extends to Oletha via Farm to Market Road 1246.

Oletha was once described by a reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram as "an eye-blinker of a town in East Central Texas".[4] One notable person from Oletha is Gib Lewis, the first person to be elected five times as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives.[4]

Another colorful native of the town was Forrest Gibson, a convicted murderer known as "Goodeye" because he "had lost an eye in a fight in which Gibson had bitten his opponent's ear off".[5]

References

31.3586°N -96.4131°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: OLETHA, TX. STEPHANIE A.. PANUS. June 15, 2010. tshaonline.org.
  2. Web site: Oletha, Texas - Updated November, 2019.
  3. Betty Dooley Awbrey, Claude Dooley, Why Stop?: A Guide to Texas Historical Roadside Markers (2005), p. 510.
  4. [Patrick L. Cox]
  5. Texas Department of Criminal Justice (2004), p. 33.