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Golden
Rule Presbyterian Church in Elysian Fields
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, April 2006 |
History in
a Pecan Shell
The name is said
to have come from a suggestion over dinner in New Orleans. In 1817,
Capt. Edward Smith, was describing the area (that he had just visited)
to dinner guests and someone suggested the mythological name. (One
of New Orleans' oldest boulevards is also named Elysian Fields.) The
original Caddo Indians started moving out of the region when white
settlers started moving in in the late 1830s. Smith brought his family
here in 1837 and opened a store. A post office was applied for and
was granted in the mid to late 1840s.
From a population of 60 in 1884, Elysian Fields had grown to 160 by
the mid 1890s. The twin industies of cotton and lumber fueled the
local economy and when the Marshall and East Texas Railroad came through
in 1910, the community moved a mile to the west to be connected with
the outside world. The population had grown to 500 by 1929 but declined
with the onset of the Great Depression.
Cotton and timber gave way to oil
and gas (in the 1950s) and today farming and cattle
raising are the primary businesses. |
A
Sunday Drive
Carthage
: Music from two country masters
(Excerpted from "THE EAST TEXAS SUNDAY DRIVE BOOK" by Bob
Bowman)
"... At DeBerry, turn north on Farm Road 31, go through the settlement
of Elysian Fields (which means "a heavenly place"), and continue until
the highway intersects with Farm Road 2625. Follow it in a westerly
direction until you arrive at the intersection with Texas 43. Turn
south here and proceed through the town of Tatum..."
more
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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
us. |
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