Voices From Small Places- Murvaul Creek Area
Located in southwestern/southern Panola County and southeastern/far-eastern Rusk County, the Murvaul Creek area was settled throughout the 1850s and 1860s. The following communities are included in the Murvaul Creek Area: Brachfield, Texas; Byfield, Texas; Corinth, Texas; Dotson, Texas; Jumbo, Texas; Long Branch, Texas; Mt. Bethel, Texas; Patrick, Texas; and Pinehill, Texas.
The communities built their own schools in the late-nineteenth century, however, during the 1940s and 1950s, the schools consolidated with Gary, Carthage, and Henderson School Districts.
These communities' populations declined throughout the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, with most of the communities dispersed by the 1990s. By 2000, Brachfield, Long Branch, Dotson, Mt. Bethel, Patrick, and Pinehill were the only communities to retain residents.
