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Old photo showing
Lee Black homestead and Black family baling hay
"My family members. Standing - Earl Black and Oscar Parish.
Sitting - Lee Black, Angie Beene (Aunt Lydia's daughter), Grace Willbanks
Knoff.
The house in the background still stands and is owned by Charles Royce
White." - Elizabeth Erwin, July 29, 2018 |
History in
a Pecan Shell
The area was first
settled in the 1850s by Alabamans and was first known as Avant
or Avant Prairie. In 1870 the Sunshine Methodist Church moved
here from Harrison Chapel and the community's name was changed to
Sunshine, Texas. The last name came about in 1885 when the
town applied for a post office. Like many towns, there was a mix-up
caused by either poor penmanship or poor eyesight and the desired
name of Drew (after a local person) was officially recognized as Dew.
By the early 1890s, the town had most essential businesses and a respectable
population of 150. After WWII
the town still had less than 200 people. In the early 1990s, only
71 residents called Dew home.
A cemetery association that had been organized in 1912 is still operating
and the town has an annual homecoming. |
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Historical Marker:
SW corner of US 75 and FM 489, Dew
Dew Cemetery
The first families
in this community migrated from Alabama in the 1850s. Originally known
as Avant or Avant Prairie, the settlement became Sunshine
after the Sunshine Methodist Church moved here from Harrison Chapel
in 1870. In 1869 W. S. Compton, one of the early settlers, and D.
A. Self, local merchant and dentist, donated land for this community
cemetery. First burial was that of a young girl, Missouri A. E. Humphrey
(1869-1871). Other early graves date from the yellow fever epidemic
of 1873. The town was renamed in 1885 when Dew Post Office opened.
The name "Drew" was requested to honor a local resident, but postal
officials misread the application.
A market center for cotton farmers of the area, Dew had a cotton gin
and several stores. Rural delivery replaced the Dew Post Office in
1909. A land donation by Wiley Black in 1901 enlarged the graveyard,
which lies adjacent to Dew Methodist Church where funeral services
are held. About 1912-13 a cemetery association was organized. Descendants
and community residents gather at annual Memorial Day observances
to tend the 11 and 1/3 acre site. The 1000 graves here include many
from the 1918-19 influenza epidemic.
1977
More Texas Cemeteries |
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Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact
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