The community of Platt flourished as a small sawmill town during the few years of World War I. It was located on the tracks of the Texas & New Orleans, several miles northwest of Manton and on the south bank of the Angelina River. Among the sawmillers were Luke Wright, J. V. Lankford, and F. L. Dunham, who operated mills there. J. V. Lankford moved his mill several miles to the west onto the Michelli Grant, adjacent to the tracks of the Houston East & West Texas, about 1920.