Barry

Duane's take

The way I heard it told, this comes straight from the official marker for Barry, over in Navarro County. Now let me lay it out for you the way the record reads. This agricultural community got its name from a Corsicana businessman by the name of Bryan T.

Barry. He's the one who developed the land, land that had been deeded for the townsite by early settlers Dave and Effie Wright. So right from the start, you've got a businessman, a piece of land, and two people willing to hand it over and let something grow.

That's how a town begins. The year 1886 turned out to be a busy one for Barry. The post office was established that same year the St.

Louis, Arkansas and Texas Railroad came through town. Now, the first post office wasn't some grand official building. It was housed in a general store operated by Owen Taylor, who also held the title of the town's first postmaster.

And then there was Henry Allison, who later served as rural mail carrier for forty years. Forty years of riding those roads, knowing every name on every mailbox. The business community filled in steadily after that.

A First State Bank opened in 1909 and operated until 1931. Grocery stores, gas stations, drugstores, blacksmith shops, a newspaper office, a meat market, a cafe, and a hotel. In 1910, W.

T. Woodruff and R. W.

Varnell formed Woodruff and Co., selling dry goods, hardware, and farm implements. The kind of outfit that could outfit a farm family from boot to barn. And what were all those settlers farming?

Cotton. Rich farmland drew people in, and by 1920 most of the land had been cleared and planted in cotton. Barry's first cotton gin was established in 1899 by Dan McCammon, and E.

Y. Jordan and Jack Hodge also operated early gins. Meanwhile, the community was building something more than commerce.

Methodist and Baptist churches were both organized by the end of the nineteenth century. And the Barry School opened in 1895 and served the area all the way until 1958. Over six decades of children walking through those doors.

That school outlasted the bank, outlasted the hotel, and probably outlasted a good many of those cotton gins. A name on the land, a railroad rolling through, a postmaster behind a general store counter. That's how Barry, Texas got itself built.

What the marker says

This agricultural community was named for Corsicana businessman Bryan T. Barry, who developed the land deeded for the townsite by early settlers Dave and Effie Wright. The Barry Post Office was established in 1886, the same year the St. Louis, Arkansas & Texas Railroad came through the town. The first post office was housed in the general store operated by Owen Taylor, who also was the town's first postmaster. Henry Allison later served as rural mail carrier for 40 years. Early businesses in Barry included the First State Bank, which operated from 1909 until 1931, grocery stores, gas stations, drugstores, blacksmith shops, a newspaper office, a meat market, a cafe, and a hotel. In 1910, W. T. Woodruff and R. W. Varnell formed Woodruff and Co., which sold dry goods, hardware, and farm implements. Settlers were attracted to the area by its rich farmland, and by 1920 most of the land had been cleared and planted in cotton. Barry's first cotton gin was established in 1899 by Dan McCammon, and E. Y.Jordan and Jack Hodge also operated early gins. Methodist and Baptist churches were organized by the end of the 19th century, and the Barry School, which opened in 1895, served the area until 1958. (1985)