James Thomas Holt

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about James Thomas Holt, out of Fannin County. Now, some men come to Texas and take what the land gives them. James Thomas Holt came to Texas and built something on top of it.

Born August 21, 1841, a native Virginian, young James came to Fannin County with his parents in 1849. He was just a boy. But Texas has a way of growing boys fast.

When the Civil War broke out, he served in the Confederate cavalry, right through 1861 to 1865. When it was over, he didn't sit around wondering what came next. He started a freighting operation.

And here's where it gets interesting, because James Thomas Holt had a gift that not every man carries, the gift of knowing what to do with money once he had it. He took the profits from that freighting work and he invested. Ranching.

The Honey Grove Cotton Oil Mill. Planters National Bank. The man diversified before that was even a word folks used at the dinner table.

And if that weren't enough, he built Honey Grove's first public water system. First one. He also owned a store and a hotel over in Mineral Wells.

Now, they called him Tank. James Thomas, Tank, Holt. You don't get a name like Tank by being timid.

He was married to Margaret Elizabeth Self, born 1843, and together they had four children. James Thomas Holt passed on September 4, 1919. Margaret lived on until 1928.

When you ride through Honey Grove today, the water that built the town, the bank that held its money, the cotton and the cattle, a good piece of that story runs straight back to one Virginian boy who showed up in Fannin County in 1849 and decided he wasn't leaving without leaving a mark.

What the marker says

(Aug. 21, 1841 - Sept. 4, 1919) A native Virginian, James Thomas ("Tank") Holt came to Fannin County with his parents in 1849. After serving in the Confederate cavalry during the Civil War (1861-65), he started a freighting operation. He invested his profits in such ventures as ranching, the Honey Grove Cotton Oil Mill, and Planters National Bank. He built Honey Grove's first public water system and owned a store and hotel in Mineral Wells. Married to Margaret Elizabeth Self (1843-1928), he had four children.