Coon Creek

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Coon Creek, out there in Bosque County. Now settle in, because this story starts before Coon Creek was even called Coon Creek. It starts with a man named Temple Spivey, who purchased land on the Brazos River in 1853, making him the first settler of what would become the oldest settlement in all of southeastern Bosque County.

They called that community Cyrus back then, and from those roots, everything else grew. In January of 1856, a man named John Jackson Smith purchased one thousand two hundred and eighty acres of land, and he sent his son Burton ahead to prepare the settlement. But Burton Smith died in July of 1856, just months after arriving.

That is where this story asks you to pause a moment and feel the weight of that. A son sent out ahead, to do the hard work of making a place ready, and then gone before it was finished. John Jackson Smith's son-in-law, Silas McCabe, and his wife Ann Smith, relocated from DeWitt County to carry on at the Smith Plantation.

Life pressed forward, the way it does in hard country. In August of 1856, school district four was established, and Silas McCabe opened a school in a one-room log cabin on the south side of Coon Creek, right across from his own home. John Jackson Smith also established a cemetery that same year, 1856, and it still serves both communities to this day.

They call it the Smith Bend-Coon Creek Cemetery. Now here is where the geography gets interesting. By 1883, the old Cyrus Community had grown enough, or maybe grown apart enough, that it split into two distinct communities.

The land south of Coon Creek became known as Smith Bend. The land north of the creek became known as Coon Creek. Two communities, one cemetery, one shared history.

A new log school was constructed at Crystal Spring on Coon Creek, two miles west of where McCabe's original school had stood. By 1900, a wooden frame schoolhouse had been completed out there. Then in 1929, the schoolhouse that still stands today was built.

The community also had its churches taking shape across the years. The Coon Creek Methodist Episcopal Church, South, dates to 1874. Then in 1887, the Coon Creek Missionary Baptist Church of Christ was established.

The existing church building was constructed in 1916, and in a fine arrangement that speaks well of the people involved, both the Methodist and Baptist congregations shared it. And then there is the home. The 1909 home of William A.

Vaughn, a two-story frame house that folks came to know by a different name entirely. After Vaughn's son-in-law, Walter Pope Bonds, a man they called Pie, took his place in the family story, the house became known as the Pie Bonds house. The school, the church, and that historic home are what remain of Coon Creek today.

And the marker puts it just right: they continue to bond the community together. Pie Bonds and all.

What the marker says

The Coon Creek Community evolved from the old Cyrus Community, the oldest settlement in southeastern Bosque County. The first settler was Temple Spivey who purchased land on the Brazos River in 1853. In January 1856, John Jackson Smith purchased 1,280 acres of land and sent his son, burton, to prepare the settlement. Burton Smith died in July 1856, and John Jackson Smith's son-in-law, Silas McCabe and his wife, Ann Smith, relocated from Dewitt County to the Smith Plantation. In august 1856, school district four was established and Silas McCabe opened a school in a one-room log cabin on the south side of Coon Creek opposite his home. In 1883, the Cyrus Community evolved into two separate communities. The area south of Coon Creek became known as Smith Bend and the area north of the creek as Coon Creek. The two communities share a cemetery established by John Jackson Smith in 1856: the Smith Bend-Coon Creek Cemetery. A new log school was constructed at Crystal Spring on Coon Creek, two miles west of McCabe's School. By 1900, a wooden frame schoolhouse was completed. In 1929, the existing schoolhouse was built. The Coon Creek Methodist Church Episcopal Church, south dates to 1874. In 1887, the Coon Creek Missionary Baptist Church of Christ was established. The existing church was constructed in 1916 and shared by the Methodist and Baptist congregations. The remaining remnants of the Coon Creek community include the 1909 home of William A. Vaughn, a two-story frame home known as the "pie" bonds house after Vaughn's son-in-law, Walter Pope "pie" Bonds. The school, church and historic home in Coon Creek continue to bond the community together.