Abraham Winfree

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Abraham Winfree, born in 1801, came out of Louisiana and first set eyes on what is now Orange County back in 1830. He liked what he saw well enough that by 1831 he had purchased land, and by 1833 he had brought his wife Millie and their five children out to Texas to put down roots for real.

Their homestead sat on Cow Bayou, close by the Opelousas Trail, also known as La Bahia Road, one of the important early travel routes threading through this part of Texas. People passed through. And Abraham Winfree was right there to meet the world coming and going.

Now, a man in that time and place couldn't afford to do just one thing, and Winfree didn't. He worked as a rancher, a cattle drover, a shingle maker, and a logger. Whatever the frontier asked of him, he answered.

Then came November of 1836, and the Winfree home became something more than a homestead. It became the site of an election, one in which a man named Claiborne West was elected to represent local citizens in the Congress of the Republic of Texas. Think about that.

A family's front door, basically, serving as the polling place for a brand-new republic finding its footing. The very next year, 1837, Abraham Winfree was appointed county commissioner for his precinct. The land around him grew.

Neighbors settled in. A community took shape in that area, and in time it became known as Winfree. His own name on the map.

Abraham Winfree died in 1865 and was buried on the very homestead he had carved out of the Texas wilderness, in the same family graveyard where his wife Millie would eventually be interred. Now here is the part that stays with you. He requested that no stone be placed on his grave.

No marker, no monument, nothing to point at and say, here lies the man. And so it remains, unmarked to this day. The cemetery itself became known as Winfree No. 1, after another family graveyard was established nearby.

His descendants still live in Orange County. And the community that still carries his name, that is the stone he never asked for, and maybe the only one that was ever going to last anyway.

What the marker says

(1801-1865) A native of Louisiana, Abraham Winfree first came to present Orange County in 1830. He purchased land by 1831, and in 1833 brought his wife Millie and their five children to Texas. Their homestead on Cow Bayou was near the Opelousas Trail (La Bahia Road), an important early Texas travel route. Winfree made his living as a rancher, cattle drover, shingle maker, and logger. The Winfree home was the site of an election in November 1836 in which Claiborne West was elected to represent local citizens in the Congress of the Republic of Texas. The following year, Winfree was appointed county commissioner for his precinct. Eventually, the community that grew up in this area became known as Winfree. Abraham Winfree died in 1865 and was buried on his homestead in the same family graveyard where his wife Millie was interred. He requested that no stone be placed on his grave, and it remains unmarked. The cemetery became known as Winfree No. 1 after another family graveyard was established in the area. Winfree descendants continue to reside in Orange County. The community which still bears his name is testimony to the life of this pioneer Texas settler. (1992)