By: Staff Writer, Harry J. Miller

The future of Arp, Texas, looked bleak back in 1956. The Premier oil refinery, last of the town’s industries, had shut down. The population had dropped from 3,000 to 600.

Arp is located in the southern part of Smith County, on the western edge of the well known East Texas Oil Field. During the boom days of the oil field, Arp grew to a population of 3,000.

The big oil companies had attempted to buy land in Arp to establish offices. However, practically all the land in and around Arp was owned by three or four families who had refused to sell any land. They said they would rent land for location of buildings but that was the limit. So, these and other industrial firms in and near Arp had moved away. Arp developed the symptoms of a dying town. People began leaving.

However, the town’s retail druggist, H. D. Mitchell, was not discouraged. With imagination and vigor, he rallied the remaining townspeople to the cause and outlined a daring plan of action.

Druggist Mitchell first approached the General Electric Company about building a plan in Arp. He offered G. E. free land on which to construct a plant and an additional 50 acres for building housing for G. E. employees.

Mr. Mitchell was turned down. Undismayed, he assembled Arp’s merchants and civic leaders, organized a Chamber of Commerce, and presented a plan of survival for Arp. Naturally, he was elected president of the Chamber of Commerce.

The plan which Mr. Mitchell and the Chamber of Commerce group decide upon was this: They would purchase acreage, subdivide the land into lots, and offer the lots for sale at $1 each, provided that the buyers agreed to build homes for not less than $5,000 within a reasonable length of time. An up-to-date abstract and a year’s tax forgiveness would be given with each lot.

A dozen people raised $1,800 between them and purchased enough land for 11 lots. Then the Chamber of Commerce began to promote the sale of the lots.