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History in
a Pecan Shell
The area was settled
around 1840 by James MacFarland and Daniel Davis. James H. Cole, is
credited with platting the town around 1855. The community had been
known as McCownville but in 1857 the name was changed – supposedly
to honor La Donna Millsay, a Tennessean singer who entertained the
town.
The name La Donna was submitted to the postal authorities for
a post office – and when it opened in 1858 – no one was sure of who
was responsible of the slight change in spelling. In 1887 the Gulf,
Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad arrived and the town grew to a respectable
population of 350 (more or less). Ladonia became a shipping point
for cotton, corn,
and grain crops. In the 1890s the population grew to an estimated
1,500 people – and 2,000 by the end of that decade. In the throes
of the Great Depression the population fell to 1,199 and never recovered
. By the 1970s it was down to just over 800 residents. By 1990 it
reported a population of 658. and for the 2000 census it had risen
to 667.
See
Ladonia Historical Marker ›
Ladonia Cemetery Historical Marker
› |
Granny's Place,
one of the businesses that appears to be operational, although it
was closed at 3PM on a Tuesday.
Photo
courtesy Texana
Pictures - Frank R. Brown, April 2017 |
Downtown Ladonia
Photo courtesy Mike
Price, April 2008 |
Former Ladonia
Presbyterian Church - now Heritage Hall
201 Paris St.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1997
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, April 2006 |
Historical Marker:
201 Paris St.
Ladonia Presbyterian Church Building
The Ladonia Presbyterian Church, U. S. A., originally
organized in the mid-19th century, erected this structure between
1910 and 1912. The building contract was awarded to W. H. Markley
of Commerce for $6,400. An excellent example of 20th century Mission
Revival style adapted to an ecclesiastical mode, the structure exhibits
fine detailing and proportions with a simplicity of form. The congregation
was dissolved by 1976. The character defining central parapet was
reconstructed in 1997.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1997 |
United
Methodist Church in downtown Ladonia
Photo courtesy Mike
Price, April 2008 |
Ladonia
City Hall
Photo courtesy Mike
Price, April 2008 |
Ladonia
Volunteer Department & fire truck
Photo courtesy Mike
Price, April 2008 |
Ladonia
Historical Marker
Photo courtesy Mike
Price, April 2008 |
Historical Marker:
on Town Plaza
Ladonia
Settled about 1840
by James McFarland and Daniel Davis, this community was first called
McCownville after early settler Frank McCown. The town's first merchant,
James H. Cole, a carpenter who moved to the county in 1855, planned
and staked out the town site and included wide streets. According
to local legend McCown changed the town name in 1857 to honor Ladonna
Millsay, a traveler on a wagon train from Tennessee who entertained
residents with her singing. By 1858 the settlement had a post office
named Ladonia.
The town grew rapidly after 1860 because of its fertile farming area.
The community incorporated in 1885 and had a population of 700, two
cotton gins, a bank, a flour mill, a school, and several churches.
The arrival of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway in 1887 made
Ladonia an agricultural marketing town for cotton, corn, oats and
wheat and resulted in a business boom. The population had increased
to 2,000 by 1897 and the town included 100 businesses.
The town declined slowly as agricultural goods were shipped over improved
roads and citizens moved to larger cities. By 1936 Ladonia had 1,119
citizens and 39 businesses. By 1990 the population was 658.
(1997) |
Historical Marker:
near intersection of 200 Church and 200 Paris St.
Ladonia Cemetery
The principal burial
ground for members of the Ladonia community, this graveyard has historically
been divided into two sections: The I.O.O.F. (Odd Fellows) Cemetery
and the Presbyterian Cemetery.
The oldest recorded grave, that of Joe Shelby (d. 1866), infant daughter
of J. E. and S. T. Shelby, is located in the Presbyterian Cemetery
section. Also in that section is the "Stranger's Tomb," marking the
grave of an unknown traveler who died in October 1867. Another early
burial is that of William Lovelace Foster (1830-1869), Civil War veteran
and pastor of Ladonia's first Baptist church at the time of his death.
The I.O.O.F. section of the cemetery was originally maintained by
the local Odd Fellows Lodge. The earliest recorded grave there is
that of Mrs. P. T. (Marie) Hockaday (1838-1881). The Lodge continued
to care for its section of the cemetery until about 1902, when management
of the two sections of the graveyard were merged.
Those interred in the Ladonia Cemetery include veterans of the Civil
War, World War I, and
World War II,
as well as early settlers of the area, Fannin County officials, and
many generations of Ladonia citizens.
(1988) |
Ladonia Recreation
Ladonia Fossil
Park - 2 miles (3 km) north of Ladonia on the North Sulphur River. |
| 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
us. |
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