The town came into being as a crossroads community in the 1880s. The intersection of four "lanes" furnished the town's name. This area was settled by wealthy men who enjoyed the redlands and encouraged other people to avoid sandy spots. The town was granted a post office in 1888 with Philetus Williamson as its first postmaster. It is currently one of only 14 post offices operating in the county since 1950. Its population was 171 in 1904 and went down to 108 in 1925. The population boomed to 320 when the
East Texas Oil Field came in the early 1930s and had 16 businesses in operation. This boom was short-lived, but Laneville still had several stores and
sawmills, three churches, and a
cotton gin. Its population was 200 from the 1950s through 2000 and had ten businesses in 1990. This went up to 20 businesses in 2000. ==Geography==