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History in
a Pecan Shell
It is told that
a local sawmill and landowner here named Perry is the community’s
namesake. There was an earlier community named either Wallington
or Wallingville, but Perry’s success with his sawmill overtook
that community and it became a part of Perryville.
Perryville was near Jefferson Road – the county’s first public road,
constructed in the early 1850s. In 1856 the community got its first
store and four years later a post office opened – spelled Parryville.
It closed the following year and reopened after the Civil War in 1867.
This one only lasted until 1869.
In the mid 1890s, the town’s second post office (with the current
spelling of the name) opened but that one lasted only until 1906.
Perryville at one time had as many as five cotton gins. By 1900, Perryville
was only 2 people away from having 100 citizens. No reports are available
for the prosperous 1920s or the depressed 30s, but after WWII,
Perryville reported a population of just 40.
By 1960, Perryville had no businesses to report and many of the community’s
houses were abandoned. It retained two churches and the cemetery remained
open.
The population was frozen at 52 from the early 1970s through the 2000
census. In the 1980s, the local Baptist Church, received a historical
marker. |
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Historical Marker:
FM 852/FM 2088 intersection, 10 miles SE of Winnsboro
Perryville
Baptist Church
In June 1884 five
neighbors gathered to organize the County Line Missionary Baptist
Church of Wood County.
One month later charter members W. F. Bailey, J. M. Richards, S. M.
Lindsey, Mrs. L. T. Bailey, and Mrs. Martha Cartwright chose J. O.
Carnes as their first pastor. Services were held in the local school
building for several years, until a church building was erected. In
June 1908 the church was called the Missionary Baptist Church of
Christ at Perryville. The name became Perryville Baptist Church
in 1925. Descendants of charter members remain active in the church.
(1986) |
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Historical Marker:
FM 852, 10 miles SE of Winnsboro
Perryville
Methodist Church
This rural congregation
was organized in 1879 by 38 charter members as the Marvin Chapel Methodist
Episcopal Church. The Reverend A. K. Hughes served as the first pastor.
J. D. Hallonquist donated land to the church in 1887, and church buildings
were erected here in 1887 and 1915. The church building became a focal
point for the area and the site of many revival meetings, Sunday "singings"
and community gatherings. Descendants of charter members continue
a long history of service to the area of Perryville.
(1997) |
Wood
County 1907 postal map showing Perryville near Camp
and Upshur County
lines
From Texas state map #2090
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
us. |
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