City of Springtown

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the city of Springtown, Parker County. Now, every town in Texas has got a beginning, and Springtown's begins with a man a long way from home. Captain Joseph Ward, a native of New Jersey, made his way out to Parker County in 1856 and settled on a creek fed by, well, the name tells you, numerous springs, seventeen miles northeast of Weatherford.

A man from New Jersey, planting roots on a Texas creek fed by twenty-five active springs scattered across three major areas: Smith Springs, Malone Springs, and Kinnard Springs. Whatever brought him there, he stayed. Three years later, in 1859, Ward sat down and designed the town square himself, and he named the plat Littleton's Springs, after a pioneer family by that name.

It wouldn't keep that name for long. By the mid-1870s, the town had taken on the name Springtown, on account of those beautiful springs that came right up to the surface on the creek bank just south of the public square. The springs weren't just scenery, they were the heartbeat of the place.

And that square Ward laid out? It has been a bustling place of activity from the very beginning. Set in the center of town near a well, it was where folks came to shop, to trade, and to visit.

Not much different from a campfire, really, people just naturally gathered there. The spiritual life of the town got organized quick. The First Methodist Church came together in 1857, just a year after Ward settled in.

Then in 1866, a new union church building went up, and it housed the Methodists, the Baptists, and the Cumberland Presbyterians all under one roof, a different minister leading services each week. You'd have to be on your toes keeping track of whose Sunday it was. By 1877, Springtown was starting to look like a real town.

A school. A hotel. Two general stores.

Two blacksmith shops. And three cotton gins. That's a community with ambition.

Now here's a line that earns some respect: from 1884 to 1894, Springtown was known as the educational capital of Northwest Texas. Not just Parker County. Northwest Texas.

That's a distinction that doesn't come easy, and the town wore it. Schools had been established early on, and the commitment to education ran deep. Then came oil.

By 1949 to 1950, Springtown's schools were among the most modern and financially independent in all of Parker County, thanks to oil discovered right in the district. White's Funeral Home opened in 1908 and has served the community for over a hundred years. In a place built on springs and community and gathering, it matters that someone has always been there for the hard days too.

Springtown is often called Parker County's second city. From small beginnings, a New Jersey captain, a spring-fed creek, and a well at the center of a square, the town grew dramatically, and the marker says it will continue to be a source of pride in the community. When a town can say that and mean it, you know the roots go all the way down to the water.

What the marker says

In 1856, Captain Joseph Ward, a native of New Jersey, settled on a creek fed by numerous springs seventeen miles northeast of Weatherford. In 1859, Ward designed the town square and named the plate Littleton's Springs after a pioneer family. The first settlers in Springtown found about twenty-five active springs within three major areas: Smith Springs, Malone Springs and Kinnard Springs. The town received its present name of Springtown in the mid-1870s because of the beautiful springs that came to the surface on the creek bank just south of the public square. From the beginning, Springtown Square has always been a bustling place of activity with many businesses nearby. Located in the center of town near a well, the square served as a meeting and gathering place where folks came to town to shop, trade and visit. The First Methodist Church was organized in 1857. In 1866, the new union church building housed the Methodists, Baptists and Cumberland Presbyterians, coming together with a different minister to lead services each week. By 1877, the town boasted a school, a hotel, two general stores, two blacksmith shops and three cotton gins. White's Funeral Home began in 1908 and has served the community for over 100 years. Many schools were established early on and Springtown became known as the educational capital of Northwest Texas from 1884 to 1894. By 1949-50, Springtown schools were among the most modern and financially independent in Parker County due to oil discovery in the district. Springtown is often called Parker County's second city. From small beginnings, the town has grown dramatically and will continue to be a source of pride in the community. (2017)