936 Area Code – Lufkin, Texas: Location, Time Zone & History

When area code 409 outgrew its territory across the Deep East Texas piney woods, regulators split it three ways rather than two. On February 19, 2000, 936 was carved out to cover the central Nacogdoches-Huntsville corridor and the outer fringes of the Houston metro's northern suburbs, while 409 kept the Beaumont-Galveston "Golden Triangle" and the new 979 took over Bryan-College Station.

The territory 936 inherited is defined as much by timber as by anything else -- the Piney Woods region has long been one of Texas's major lumber-producing areas -- alongside corrections work centered on the Texas Department of Criminal Justice headquarters in Huntsville, the city's largest employer, and higher education at Sam Houston State University and Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches.

Nacogdoches bills itself as "The Oldest Town in Texas," tracing its roots to a Caddo village and a 1716 Spanish mission. Huntsville, meanwhile, is home to "A Tribute to Courage," a 67-foot statue of Sam Houston overlooking Interstate 45. More recently, Conroe and the Woodlands area have driven fast growth on 936's Houston-facing edge, making Conroe the code's largest city even as Lufkin remains its traditional anchor.