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Hagerman before
Lake Texoma
Photo courtesy Gordon Ellison |
History in
a Pecan Shell
Originally the
town was named in honor of S. D. Steedman, a Grayson
County judge. The town was established in 1880 and a post office
was granted that same year. It remained as Steedman until the Missouri,
Kansas and Texas Railroad arrived in 1909 and it was renamed for railroad
attorney James Hagerman.
Information is sketchy and population figures scarce, but it is known
that the post office closed sometime in the 1930s when the town had
an estimated population of around 150.
Hagerman had the railroad, but it may have been too close to Sherman
to have a chance at real growth. The limited infrastructure and paltry
population made Hagerman expendable when plans were being drawn up
for Lake Texoma
in 1944.
Hagerman was submerged and is now a part of the lakebed of Lake
Texoma. The cemetery
was relocated several miles from the original site. |
 |
Historical
Marker: Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge, 6.3 miles SW of Pottsboro,
N side of Wildlife Rd., 0.3 mile NW of refuge visitors center.
Hagerman
In 1904 James
Patillo (J. P.) Smith platted streets here in a 10-acre wheat
field and established the town of Hagerman. Named for railroad attorney
James P. Hagerman, the town
consisted of 250 residents, a cotton gin, school, church, post office,
railroad depot, and several businesses by 1910. The town prospered
and grew to contain three churches and a three-teacher school. However,
in the 1920s residents and businesses began to abandon the area when
it became known that the creation of Lake Texoma would completely
inundate the town. Lake
Texoma was created in 1943.
Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845 - 1995 |
Hagerman, Texas
Historical Marker
Photo courtesy Gordon Ellison |
Photographer's
Note:
"The ghosts in this town need to have submarines as the site is at
the bottom of Lake
Texoma, near what is now Hagerman Wildlife Refuge on the Big Mineral
arm of the lake.
A cemetery was moved to what I believe is the one pictured. The grave
of the founder of Hagerman (Smith) is shown in the photo.
There is a Hagerman Baptist church about 2-3 miles south east of the
cemetery, but it's a new all-metal building and I didn't take any
pictures." - Mike
Price, November 19, 2007 |
James Patillo
(J. P.) Smith Tombstone
Photocourtesy Mike
Price, November 2007 |
Hagerman Cemetery Crabtree tombstones
Photo
courtesy Mike
Price, November 2007 |
Hagerman, Texas
Namesake
James Hagerman
|
James Hagerman,
Hagerman, TX namesake
Courtesy
Gordon Ellison |
"My great^3
grandfather was James Hagerman the KATY railroad attorney. (Above
the X in the photo.) He later became president of the American Bar
Association." - Gordon Ellison, May 6, 2022
Click on image to enlarge |
From The book
of St. Lousians published in 1912
Click on image to enlarge
"More info of James Hagerman. His son James Hagerman Jr. moved
to Washington DC and worked under Woodrow Wilson's cabinet in 1916.
James Hagerman III, mentioned under James Jr., died of typhoid at
two yrs old and is buried in the Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis."-
Gordon Ellison |
Grayson
County 1940s map showing Hagerman - NW of Sherman
From Texas state map #4335
Courtesy
Texas General Land Office |
| Texas
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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