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Malakoff began as a settlement known as Caney Creek about one-and-one-half miles north of the present-day town. One of the earliest settlers in the area was a widow from Alabama, Jane Irvine, whose grist mill on Caney Creek became the center of the small community that developed. It came to be known as Mitcham Chapel after a Methodist church by the same name was organized by the Rev. Hezekiah Mitcham in 1852. The name Malakoff was chosen when the post office was established in 1855, since the name Mitcham already had been used for a Texas postal station. Malakoff was a Russian town that had gained attention during the Crimean War (1853-1855). After the railroad was completed through Henderson County in 1880, a new townsite, closer to the rail line, was platted on the Peter Tumlinson survey. "New Malakoff" experienced much commercial growth during the early 1900s with the founding of two banks, a newspaper, telephone service, and other businesses. Lignite coal was discovered near Malakoff in 1912, and the subsequent mining operations came to be Henderson County's largest industry. With its settlement dating to the 1830s, Malakoff is one of Henderson County's oldest towns. |
