Cool Springs (Tundra)

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Cool Springs, also known as Tundra, out in Van Zandt County. Now, some places earn their names the hard way. This one earned its name the easy way, and that might be the whole reason it exists at all.

About a dozen springs and seeps dot the immediate area here, and the community that grew up around them took on the name Cool Springs. That's not all, though. This patch of ground also sits right on the dividing line between three watersheds: the Trinity River, the Sabine River, and the Neches River.

Three of the great river systems of Texas, all meeting at their edges right here. You couldn't pick a more consequential piece of quiet countryside if you tried. In 1850, the Van Zandt County Commissioners appointed a group of men to review and lay out a road from the new town of Canton down to Athens, the Henderson County seat.

And when those men came through this stretch, Cool Springs made itself known as an ideal resting spot for travelers. You can imagine why. A dozen springs bubbling up, shade, water, a place to breathe before pushing on down that new road.

And it wasn't just travelers passin' through who took notice. David L. Riley was operating a gin on nearby Mill Creek, and that gin made Cool Springs a convenient location to process crops.

That kind of practical gravity pulls people. Settlers came to the area, and a community began to take shape. By 1874, Cool Springs Primitive Baptist Church was organized, with John R.

Martin serving as its first pastor. The church originally stood one quarter mile from where it stands now, adjacent to the Cool Springs Cemetery. Then came the Lone Star School in 1883, operating right across the road from the church and cemetery.

Those children of the area attended that school until 1944, when it consolidated with the Canton schools. A full business district operated about one mile west of this site. Gins, a drug store, a general merchandise store, a service station.

The kind of lineup that tells you this was a real, working, humming community. Now here's where the story takes an interesting turn. In 1898, the Ebenezer Baptist Church organized in the community.

Later, that church changed its name to Tundra Baptist Church, B.M.A. And in 1899, the community was granted a post office, and that post office came under the name Tundra. So the same ground that called itself Cool Springs for its dozen springs and seeps was now, officially, Tundra.

The post office closed in 1905, but the community held onto the name. Tundra it stayed. Changes in area agricultural production, the marker tells us, made the once vibrant community obsolete.

The number of residents has dwindled through the years. The springs are still out there, still seeping up from that old dividing line between three great watersheds. But the gin is gone, the school is gone, the business district is a memory a mile to the west.

Two names, one place, a dozen springs, and three rivers pulling away in three different directions. That's Cool Springs. That's Tundra.

And now you know where you're standing.

What the marker says

THE COMMUNITY OF COOL SPRINGS WAS NAMED FOR APPROXIMATELY ONE DOZEN SPRINGS AND SEEPS THAT DOT THE IMMEDIATE AREA. THE SITE IS ALSO THE DIVIDING LINE BETWEEN THE WATERSHEDS OF THE TRINITY RIVER, SABINE RIVER AND NECHES RIVER. WHEN THE VAN ZANDT COUNTY COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED A GROUP OF MEN IN 1850 TO REVIEW AND LAY OUT A ROAD FROM THE NEW TOWN OF CANTON TO THE HENDERSON COUNTY SEAT OF ATHENS, COOL SPRINGS WAS AN IDEAL RESTING SPOT FOR TRAVELERS. THE CLOSE PROXIMITY OF A GIN OPERATED BY DAVID L. RILEY ON NEARBY MILL CREEK MADE COOL SPRINGS A CONVENIENT LOCATION TO PROCESS CROPS AND DREW SETTLERS TO THE AREA. COOL SPRINGS PRIMITIVE BAPTIST CHURCH WAS ORGANIZED IN 1874 WITH JOHN R. MARTIN AS ITS FIRST PASTOR. THE CHURCH ORIGINALLY STOOD ONE QUARTER MILE FROM ITS PRESENT LOCATION ADJACENT TO THE COOL SPRINGS CEMETERY. THE COMMUNITY’S BUSINESS DISTRICT OPERATED APPROXIMATELY ONE MILE WEST FROM THIS SITE. BUSINESSES INCLUDED GINS, A DRUG STORE, A GENERAL MERCHANDISE STORE, AND A SERVICE STATION. THE LONE STAR SCHOOL (1883) OPERATED ACROSS THE ROAD FROM THE CHURCH AND CEMETERY. THE SCHOOL SERVED THE CHILDREN OF THE AREA UNTIL CONSOLIDATING WITH CANTON SCHOOLS IN 1944. THE EBENEZER BAPTIST CHURCH ORGANIZED IN 1898 AND LATER CHANGED ITS NAME TO TUNDRA BAPTIST CHURCH, B. M. A. THE COMMUNITY WAS GRANTED A POST OFFICE IN 1899 UNDER THE NAME “TUNDRA.” THE COMMUNITY RETAINED THE NAME OF TUNDRA AFTER THE POST OFFICE CLOSED IN 1905. CHANGES IN AREA AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION MADE THE ONCE VIBRANT COMMUNITY OBSOLETE, AND THE NUMBER OF RESIDENTS HAS DWINDLED THROUGH THE YEARS. (2009)