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Freestone County, Texas

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Contents

History/Timeline

1850 Freestone County was created from Limestone County, then organized in 1851. It is named for the stone occurring in this area.[1]

Teague, TX, Post office mural
200 BCE Spanish and French missionaries encountered the farming Kichai group of the Caddoan Mississippian peoples. The Caddo peoples did not have any resistance to the European diseases such as smallpox, influenza, etc and the Caddo peoples died Kichais has a settlement near Butler. Tawakoinis lived near Tehuacana Creek[2]
1826 Empresario David G. Burnet received a grant from the Coahuila y Tejas legislature to settle 300 families. The Mexican government tried to control the colonization. [2]
1833 + Mexican citizens received eleven-league grants, and another 24 titles to land were granted between 1834, 1835. [3]
1830s, 40s Indian hostilities discouraged homesteading in Freestone County until the Treaty of Bird's Fort.. [2]James Hall, fur trader was settler. [3]
1843 and after Tawakoni (known as Tehuacana) were part of treaties made by both the Republic of Texas and the United States. Tawakoni branch of Wichita Indians originated North of Texas, but migrated south into E Texas. [2]
1847 The steamboat Roliance made its way up the Trinity River. [3]
1850- Texas legislature formed Freestone County from Limestone County. Freestone describes the soil. The county was organized in 1851. Fairfield became the county seat. [2]
1851 Mound Prairie, (center of county), was chosen the county seat, name changed to Fairfield. Cotton Gin, Avant Prairie, Butler, and Bonner Community.[3]
1853- A school and Masonic lodge were built in Fairfield and at least two colleges were established before or during the Civil War, including Fairfield Female Academy, (chartered in 1860) and Woodland College for Boys (established in 1863). [3]
1860s -Some extensive plantations had been established. Two landholders owned more than 100 slaves each, and (4) owned 70 to 100 slave (57) slaveholders owned 20 or more slaves.[3]
1860 Population of 6,881 had over 50% (3,613) slaves. Freestone Co. voted 585–3 for secession from the Union. While the loss of slave labor may have hurt the economy, by Reconstruction, the number of farms doubled.[2]
1861 The Secession Convention of 1861 Freestone County, represented by J Gregg and W. M. Peck voted to secede. After the convention county residents voted 585 to 3 in favor of secession. Preparations for military action were undertaken with 529 men available for duty. [3]
.
1862-65 Freestone contingent served well in the war, although there were many casualties. [3]
Post Civil War - loss of slave labor and lack of a good transportation system slowed the economy. [3]
1870s - Railways: Houston and Texas Central Railway, International – Great Northern Railroad skirted the county to the W and S, boosting the the economy. [2]
1903 Boll Weevil infestation began. but acreage continued increasing planted in cotton.[3]
1906 -Trinity and Brazos Valley Railway laid track across the county.[2][3]
1910, 1920s farm acreage to 564,500 acres in cotton, cereal grains, corn.[3]
1916 - Oil was first discovered[3]
1920s and 1930s - bootlegging a lucrative enterprise, when prohibition was in effect, centered around the community of Young ( Young's Mill). Illegal whiskey known as Freestone County Bourbon Deluxe was transported out of the county by car, boat, truck, and plane.[3]
1922 Three local African-American men were lynched in Kirvin for the alleged murder of a 17-year-old white girl, Eula Ausley. Some 500 local whites, including the victim's grandfather, took part in the killings. Evidence now points to the innocence of at least two of the three victims.
1969 Texas Utilities Generating Company opened a new power plant near Fairfield, creating many local jobs. A dam was built creating Fairfield Lake as a cooling system for the plant. Fairfield Lake State Park was opened to the public in 1972.[2]
1970s-1988 mining industry, employing 500 workers began. [3]
1980-86 New Electric generating plant doubled work force. [3]
2004 44.889,337 barrels oil and 263,851,056 cubic feet of gas-well gas were produced. [3]

https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcf09

Adjacent counties

Government Offices

Freestone county has had 4 courthouses.

1st Courthouse - Originally named Mound Prairie, the community started around 1850 on a 100 acre tract of land donated by David Hall Love when this location was chosen to be the county seat.The first courthouse (of four) was constructed in 1852.[4]

2nd Courthouse, - was 1854-56[4]

3rd Courthouse, was 1891-92 In 1891 Wortham and Teague both challenged Fairfield for the role of county seat but both lost to the established Fairfield. [4]

4th Courthouse, 1919 -In 1918 Wortham and Teague challenged Fairfield for county seat but both lost to the established Fairfield. This is constructed of brick and style is Classical Revival.[4]

1919 Courthouse

Geography

https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcf09

Location -Freestone County -in E-central Texas, the center of a group of counties once known as the Trinity Star. It is bounded on E by Anderson Co., on S by Leon Co., on the W by Limestone Co, on N by Navarro and Henderson counties.
County's center -31°43' north latitude and 96°07' west longitude
County Seat- Fairfield -80 miles SE of Dallas.
Size: 888 square miles of coastal plain upland
Elevation- 600 to 900 feet above sea level.
Topography -smooth, even plain with slope from NW to SE.
Trees - mesquite on the west, E half has oaks, hickory, walnut; Plus Pine on W bank of the Trinity River.  :Rivers -Trinity River, drains for the entire county, and in SW the Navasota River.
Soil is fine sandy loam
Springs are common in the deep sandy areas.
Rainfall averages 38 inches per yea
Temperatures --high of 94° F in July to low of 36° in January.
Growing season extends for 263 days.
Highways - I-45 Hwy and State Hwy 75 run N-S through the county, and U.S. Route 84 runs NW to SE.

https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcf09


Demographics

In 2000, there were 17,867 people residing in the county with a population density of 20 people/sq. mi. The racial makeup of the county was 75.56% White, 18.91% Black or African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 3.90% from other races, and 0.97% from two or more races. 8.20% of the population were Hispanic. The median income for a household in the county was $31,283, and the median income for a family was $39,586. The per capita income for the county was $16,338. About 9.80% of families and 14.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.80% of those under age 18 and 14.30% of those age 65 or over.

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1853 - A school and Masonic lodge was built in Fairfield and at least Thirteen churches, mostly Methodist and Baptist, had also been established by 1860.

Politics Democratic presidential candidates have carried the county in every election from 1872 through 1968. In 1972, however, Republican Richard Nixon carried the area. Though Democrats carried almost every election in the county from 1976 to 1992, when Bill Clinton won a plurality of the area's votes, Nixon's win in 1972 and Ronald Reagan's in 1984 marked moves away from the area's traditional leanings. By the late twentieth century the Republicans were clearly in ascendance. Republican Bob Dole won a plurality of the county's votes in 1996 and George W. Bush won the county with solid majorities in 2000 and 2004.[5]

Highways


Schools

Dew Independent School District, Fairfield Independent School District, Teague Independent School District, Oakwood Independent School District, Wortham Independent School District

Secondary schools Two colleges were established before or during the Civil War: (1) Fairfield Female College (established 1858) and (2) Woodland College for Boys (established in 1863).

Towns and communities


Towns

Without a post office
  • (1) (East) Antioch - near Turlington
  • (2) (West) Antioch - near Luna
  • (3) Arnold's Mill - Leon County line
  • (4) Asia Church - southwest of Teague
  • (5) Bain school
  • (6) Banks Stop
  • (7) Bear Creek Church - Donie area
  • (8) Beaver - Kirvin area, (9) Ben Lee school
  • (10 Kirvin
  • (14) Birdston Valley
  • (15) Black Jack - south of Lanely
  • (16) Board Bottom - near Furney Richardson
  • (17) Board Pile - near Troy
  • (18) Boggy Prairie - southwest of Teague
  • (19) Bonner Ferry - on Trinity in south
  • (20) Bonnerville - near Stewards Mill
  • (21) Box #1 - Mills area, (22) Box #2 - Sand Lake near Plum Creek
  • (23) Brown's Creek, (24) Browns Chapel - south part of county
  • (25) Burleson,
  • (26) Burleson Hill - Dew/ Lanely
  • (27) West Point - near Butler

NOTE: There are many other ghost towns without a post office.

Historic sites

Census

1860 --- 6,881 —
1870 --- 8,139 18.3%
1880 --- 14,921 83.3%
1890 --- 15,987 7.1%
1900 --- 18,910 18.3%
1910 --- 20,557 8.7%
1920 --- 23,264 13.2%
1930 --- 22,589 −2.9%
1940 --- 21,138 −6.4%
1950 --- 15,696 −25.7%
1960 --- 12,525 −20.2%
1970 --- 11,116 −11.2%
1980 --- 14,830 33.4%
1990 --- 15,818 6.7%
2000 --- 17,867 13.0%
2010 --- 19,816 10.9%
Est. 2015 --- 19,691

Notables

  • Joseph "Jo" Abbott (January 15, 1840 – February 11, 1908), member of the Confederate States Army and a member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas.
  • Archbishop Dmitri (November 2, 1923 – August 28, 2011), a hierarch of the Orthodox Church in America. Born as Robert Roscoe Royster in Teague.
  • R. H. Bing (October 20, 1914 – April 28, 1986), mathematician who worked mainly in the areas of geometric topology and continuum theory.
  • Tony Lynn Brackens, Jr. (December 26, 1974 - still living), played college football for the Texas Longhorns and played in the NFL for the Jacksonville Jaguars
  • Louis Ray Cheek, Jr. (October 6, 1964 - still living), offensive lineman in the National Football League for the Miami Dolphins, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, and the Green Bay Packers. He played college football at Texas A&M University and was drafted in the eighth round of the 1988 NFL draft.
  • Charlie Davis (November 17, 1951 - still living), NFL defensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers, St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Oilers. Older half-brother of Leonard Barnett Davis.
  • Leonard Barnett Davis (September 5, 1978 - still living), NFL offensive lineman for the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions.
  • Willie Edward Davis (August 9, 1945 - still living), American Basketball Association player for the Texas Chaparrals.
  • Martin Dies, Sr. (March 13, 1870 – July 13, 1922), a Texas politician and a Democratic member of the US House of Representatives. Born in Jackson Parish, Louisiana, and moved with his parents to Freestone County, Texas, in 1876.
  • McKinley Howard "Kenny" Dorham (August 30, 1924 – December 5, 1972), jazz trumpeter, singer, and composer.
  • Arbella Ewing (née Perkins) (March 13, 1894 – March 22, 2008), who was at the time of her death the third-oldest living person, the second-oldest living American, the second longest-lived resident of Texas, and the oldest living African American.
  • Cornelius Grant (born April 27, 1943 - still living), is an American guitarist, composer, and band leader. Born in Fairfield.
  • Hamlett S. Harmon (April 2, 1913 – January 1, 1997), an American professional football player for the Chicago Cardinals of the NFL. Born in Teague.
  • Lemon Henry "Blind Lemon" Jefferson (September 24, 1893 – December 19, 1929), was born in Coutchman and buried in Wortham.
  • Sarah "Sallie" Lancaster (April 28, 1834 – April 13, 1918), Sacred Harp composer, born in Talbot County, Georgia, but lived in Oakwood from the 1880s, died there in 1918 and is buried in the town cemetery.
  • Frederick "Firpo" Marberry (November 30, 1898 – June 30, 1976), famous Major League Baseball pitcher in the 1920s and 1930s, pitched in the 1924, 1925 and 1934 World Series.
  • Nanceen Lavern Perry (April 19, 1977 - still living), USA Track Team member for 2000 Sydney Olympics.
  • George Washington "Wash" Phillips (January 11, 1880 – September 20, 1954), gospel blues musician, born in the county.
  • William B. Slaughter (rancher) (1852–1929) was an American rancher, cattle driver, banker and county judge. Born in Freestone County, but grew up in Palo Pinto County, Texas.
  • Winfred O'Neal Tubbs (September 24, 1970 - still living), played college football for the Texas Longhorns and played in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers.
  • George Watkins (June 4, 1900 – June 1, 1970), Major League Baseball player who owns the record for highest batting average as a rookie.

Cemeteries

Various links to the various cemeteries in Freestone County:

Sources

  1. ↑ https://texasalmanac.com/topics/government/freestone-county
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freestone_County,_Texas
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcf09
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 http://www.texasescapes.com/CentralTexasTownsNorth/Fairfield-Texas-Freestone-County-Courthouse.htm#1919
  5. ↑ https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcf09




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