THIS AREA WAS FIRST INHABITED BY THE CADDO TRIBE WHO CAME TO NORTHEAST TEXAS AROUND 800 A.D. EVIDENCE OF EITHER A TEMPORARY CAMP OR A SMALL CADDO SETTLEMENT WAS FOUND IN WEBSTER ALONG WITH TWO BURIAL SITES. BY THE 1840s AND 1850s, THE CADDO PRESENCE IN THE WEBSTER AREA DWINDLED AS MANY DIED FROM DISEASE OR WERE PLACED ON RESERVATIONS. AT THE SAME TIME, PIONEERS SETTLED THIS AREA, WORKING AS YEOMAN FARMERS, TRADESMEN AND STORE OWNERS. ESTABLISHED IN 1845, THE TOWN OF WEBSTER, FIRST KNOWN AS PROSPECT HILL, GREW FROM TRANSPORTATION AND TRADE ALONG THE JEFFERSON-DALLAS ROAD. FAMILIES HERE BUILT HOMES, RAISED CHILDREN, FARMED, AND IN 1855 ESTABLISHED A POST OFFICE. IN 1856, THE TOWN’S NAME WAS CHANGED TO WEBSTER IN HONOR OF STATESMAN DANIEL WEBSTER. THE CIVIL WAR ALMOST DESTROYED THE ECONOMY OF THE COMMUNITY, BUT IT LATER EXPERIENCED A RENEWAL WHEN JEWISH BUSINESSMEN, ANTICIPATING THE RAILROAD, BROUGHT NEW LIFE TO THE TOWN. HOWEVER, THE RAILROAD ULTIMATELY BYPASSED THE TOWN AND MANY BUSINESSES MOVED TO WINNSBORO. IN THE 1880s, THE WEBSTER SCHOOL DISTRICT FORMED WITH MOUNT ZION SCHOOL ON SANDY CREEK SERVING AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN AND THE WEBSTER SCHOOL SERVING ANGLO CHILDREN. A TWO-TEACHER ROSENWALD SCHOOL OPENED FOR WEBSTER’S AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS FOR THE 1924-25 SCHOOL YEAR. DESPITE A SMALL OIL BOOM IN THE 1940s, WEBSTER’S POPULATION DECREASED IN THE 20TH CENTURY. NOW CONSIDERED A GHOST TOWN, THE COMMUNITY EXISTS IN ONLY A FEW HISTORIC RESOURCES AND THROUGH ITS LEGACY AS ONE OF THE OLDEST COMMUNITIES IN WOOD COUNTY. (2019)