|
History in
a Pecan Shell
Bobo
was a stop on the Houston, East and West Texas Railway. Bobo has no
official date of birth, but sources say it was sometime around 1885.
They were granted a post office in 1893 and it managed to stay open
until 1898. In 1896 Bobo had a general store and a population of ten
Boboans.
During the Great Depression Bobo had a church, a sawmill, and a store
to supply the sawyers. The rural-urban exodus after World
War II left Bobo with almost the same population as they had in
the 1890s.
Today a few houses and a church remain along with two signs that announce
that it was once a town. |
George Washington
Green historical marker
Photo courtesy Gerald
Massey, April 2011 |
Historical Marker:
US 59/US 84, N side between CR 4657 and CR 4653, 4.4 mi. E of Timpson
George Washington
Green
(December 22, 1858
- December 14, 1937)
Georgia native George Washington Green grew up in Tennessee
and in 1878 set out for Texas. He married Tempie Ann Fowler in Logansport,
Louisiana, that year, and they settled in this part of Texas. Green
worked first as a sharecropper, growing cotton
and corn,
before purchasing his first parcel of land in 1883. Two years later,
as the Houston East & West Texas Railroad began to build its line
through Shelby County,
G. W. Green purchased more land on both sides of the rail line and
soon became a prominent landowner in the area, operating a general
store and cotton gin.
The Bobo community, primarily a train stop, was established on Green's
land and operated a post office from 1893 until 1898. The phrase "Tenaha,
Timpson, Bobo and Blair," used by the railroad conductor to announce
stops along the rail line, became very popular and was used as a cadence
during World War I.
In 1905, George Washington Green made a lasting contribution to the
area when he developed Green's Lake as a recreational spot and water
source for the railroad. From 1905 through the 1940s, families came
to picnic, swim and fish, and churches held baptismal services in
the lake.
George and Tempie Green reared four children: Luther (1880-1956),
R. H. "Cooter" (1889-1969), Inez (M. Drewery) (1895-1965) and Nubern
(1900-1959). George died in 1937 and is buried in the Buena Vista
Cemetery. His contributions to the development of the rail line and
to the Bobo community remain a significant part of the history of
Shelby County.
(2001) |
 |
Tenaha,
Timpson, Bobo, and Blair
by Archie P. McDonald, PhD
Tenaha, Timpson, Bobo, and Blair are communities in Shelby County
whose names were appropriated for a plea by crapshooters for good
luck when seeking to roll double fives. Similarly, dice throwers hoping
for an "eight" would sing out, "Eighter from Decatur, the County Seat
of Wise." Later the alliteration in the sing-song phrase "Tenaha,
Timpson, Bobo, and Blair" helped a folk song recorded by Tex Ritter
popular.
How did the communities become involved with dice and popular music?
... more
|
| 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. |
|
|
HOME
