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History in
a Pecan Shell
Originally known as Pease, Texas, it was the (first) county
seat of Hardeman County
in 1884. The name comes from the first white child born in the county
- Margaret Wesley. The town had a link with Texas history when Cynthia
Ann Parker was rescued by Texas Ranger Captain (Sul) Ross near
here in 1860.
In 1891 with the establishment of Foard County, Margaret found itself
in the new county – but not the county seat. To add to the towns worries,
it was bypassed by the railroad in 1908. But since it was bypassed
by a mere three miles, an attempt was made to move the town to the
tracks. The hard work paid off – for a time.
The Great Depression, WWII
and bypassing by the improved highway system in the 1950s, left Margaret
a shadow of her former self. From a 1940 population of 100, it has
been reduced to the 2000 census figure of 51. Although Margaret’s
1909 school closed in 1943, it has been in use as a community center
for many years. |
 |
"Site
of Old Pease City" Marker
on Texas State 6 at FM 3103
Photo
courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2008 |
"Site
of the Town of Margaret"
Centennial Marker
|
"Site of
the Town of Margaret"
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2008 |
"Site of
the Town of Margaret" Centennial Marker
Photo
courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2008 |
Margaret,
Texas Vintage Photos
Photos courtesy Roger Harden |
"Kerley's Confectionery
Jewelry Cold Drink and Tobacco"
Photo
courtesy Roger Harden |
"Kerley's
Confectionery Jewelry Cold Drink and Tobacco"
Photo
courtesy Roger Harden |
"I was going
through some boxes that had belonged to my grandfather and ran across
some pictures that might interest you. One is the outside of "Kerley's
Confectionery Jewelry Cold Drink and Tobacco" that was either in Chillicothe
or Margaret Texas. I believe he moved the store from Margaret to Chillicothe
but I can't say for sure, so I don't know exactly where this store
was located….my guess is Margaret, as it was in a cigar box with letters
addressed to Margaret Texas.
The other picture is the inside of one of the stores. Again, I'm not
sure which. I assume it is the Chillicothe
store. My great-grandfather John Marcus Kerley is the gentleman in
the white shirt. The note my grandfather stuck to the back of the
picture said it was taken around 1922." - Roger Harden, April
11, 2017 |
Kerley's
Store, 1920
Photo
courtesy Roger
Harden |
Kerley's
Store, 1920
Photo
courtesy Roger
Harden |
Margaret
United Methodist Church
Photo
courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2008 |
|
Methodist
Church cornerstone
Photo
courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2008
|
I saw the sign
that read "MARGARET 13," and turned north off US70W. Good thing I
didn't yawn or I would have missed the sign that read "RAYLAND",
right after the one for Foard County... [See Rayland]
Once again, had I yawned or blinked, I would have missed the sign
that read "PEASE RIVER BATTLEFIELD". A quick turn north onto a deeply
rutted red dirt (that's redundant out here – all the dirt is red)
– this would be trouble after a rain – and a mile or so later, I read
the marker about the recapture of Cynthia Ann Parker. See photo. Onward
to MARGARET again… |
"Marker
for the recovery of Cynthia Ann Parker is out in the middle of nowhere,
between Margaret and Rayland"
- Rick
Vanderpool photo |
Pease
River Battlefield Centennial Marker
Photo courtesy Rick
Vanderpool, 2010 |
| What? There was
an OLD MARGARET? That is what the sign read, that I would have missed,
if I had, well, you know… One more side trip, down another dirt road,
another marker (this one explained how the town of MARGARET was once
named PEASE, but was changed to honor the first-born Anglo child,
daughter of Mr. & Mrs. John Wesley – hey, it may have been THE Methodist,
John Wesley, but didn't know he got this far west – see below) then
onward to NEW MARGARET? |
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Nope, the sign
simply read "MARGARET". This stretch of Foard County is not in wheat,
but the land was prepared for something to be planted.
I counted about a dozen inhabited residences in MARGARET, and only
3 vacant ones. I saw some agricultural equipment and an abandoned
building or two. Bob White Quail were calling from the brush, and
that's a rare treat in most parts of Texas these days. Dang Fire Ants
and feral cats!
Two residents of MARGARET were espied – one gentleman waved to me
from the door of his shed at the end of Florence Road.
I had seen what I noted as an abandoned church – no sign and very
unkempt landscape. As I reached the western town limits (another sign
for MARGARET), I beheld a sign for MARGARET UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
and surmised that perhaps the groundskeeper was not in the habit of
attending regularly.
Adios, Miss Wesley…
© Rick
Vanderpool
Texas Plains Trail Journal entry for April 27, 2010 |
| Nine miles East
of Crowell on FM 98 is a marker commemorating
the recapture of Cynthia
Ann Parker, Texas' most famous Indian captive. Captured in 1836
near Groesbeck,
she was "rescued" 24 years later in 1860 and died shortly thereafter
- after attempting to escape back to the Comanches. She was the mother
of Quanah
Parker who grew up to be go on wolf hunts with President Theodore
Roosevelt and have Quanah, Texas
(30 miles North) named after him. |
 |
Centennial Marker
Pease River
Battlefield
In 1860, at the
Battle of Pease River, Indian captive Cynthia
Ann Parker and her daughter, Prairie Flower, were rescued by Texas
Rangers under Captain L. S. Ross (later Governor of Texas). Cynthia
Ann, most celebrated of all Comanche captives, had been taken at age
9 in a raid on Fort
Parker, May 19, 1836. Traders who saw her later said she had taken
the name "Naduah" and wished to remain among her adopted people. She
married Chief Peta Nocona, by whom she had 2 sons, Pecos and Quanah
Parker. Although she was returned to her uncle's family, she was
never completely happy and tried to escape several times. She died
1864. |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history and vintage/historic
photos, please contact
us. |
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