Deep Creek Community

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Deep Creek Community, out in Wise County. Pull up a chair, because this one's got roots that run deep, and a story that cuts just as deep as the name suggests. Deep Creek.

Named for the natural landmark nearby. And it was around 1854 when the first pioneers came to put down stakes along that creek: Sam Woody and Tom McCarroll leading the way. They weren't alone for long.

Word has a way of traveling, and several of Woody's former neighbors from East Texas came on out to join them. Before you knew it, there was a community taking shape. Along the creek, farmers raised cotton, corn, and cattle, the three pillars of frontier life in Texas.

By 1860, two men named Tom McCright and Andrew Mann gave land for a cemetery. Local Baptists put up a church, and that same building pulled double duty as a schoolhouse. Practical as they come, those early Texans.

Now, the marker speaks plainly about the danger of frontier life, and it ought to, because not everybody made it through those years in one piece. There is a grave in that cemetery: the grave of Miss Sally Bowman. She died in 1868.

The marker tells it straight: she was shot after a wild chase by Indians who surprised her while she tended her father's herd of fine horses. The neighborhood erected a monument at her grave. They remembered.

They made sure of it. Also laid to rest in that cemetery are many veterans of the Civil War, 1861 to 1865, men who had survived one kind of hard world only to press on into another. Deep Creek also holds the distinction of being the boyhood home of Lawrence Ward, known as J.

L. Ward, who became a respected resident of Decatur Baptist College (and not just briefly). He was part of that institution during 1900 to 1907, and then again from 1910 to 1950.

That's a long and steady presence in one place. Now here's the part that might surprise you: the part that shows how a patch of Texas ground can echo well beyond its own fence lines. There is a ballet.

A nationally known ballet, produced by the American Folk Ballet, called Winter at Deep Creek. It was originated and choreographed by Burch Mann, a great-granddaughter of John Mann, one of the first settlers in this very community. She reached back through her own bloodline, all the way to these creekside fields and this frontier church, and she made it dance.

The flavor of pioneer days, the marker says, recaptured. And I'd say she did just that: brought Deep Creek back to life on a stage, one generation's story carried forward by another.

What the marker says

Named for the natural landmark nearby. Settled about 1854 by pioneers Sam Woody and Tom McCarroll. Population grew as they were joined by several of Woody's former neighbors from East Texas. Along the creek, farmers raised cotton, corn, and cattle. In 1860 Tom McCright and Andrew Mann gave land for a cemetery, and local Baptists constructed a church, which doubled as a schoolhouse. Testimony to danger of frontier life is the grave of Miss Sally Bowman, who died in 1868. She was shot after a wild chase by Indians who surprised her as she tended her father's herd of fine horses. At her grave is a monument erected by the neighborhood. Other early settlers interred here include many veterans of the Civil War, 1861-1865. The community is noted as the boyhood home of Lawrence (J. L.) Ward, respected resident of Decatur Baptist College during 1900-1907 and 1910-1950. In the 20th-century, a nationally known ballet -"Winter at Deep Creek" -has recaptured the flavor of pioneer days. Produced by the American Folk Ballet, the dance was originated and choreographed by Burch Mann, a great-granddaughter of John Mann, one of the first settlers in the community.