Ladonia

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Around 1840, two men named James McFarland and Daniel Davis settled into a stretch of Fannin County that didn't have much of a name yet. It got one soon enough, though.

They called it McCownville, after an early settler by the name of Frank McCown. Simple, straightforward, and it might have stayed that way forever. But then came 1857, and Frank McCown apparently had other ideas.

According to local legend, a wagon train rolled through from Tennessee, and on it was a woman named Ladonna Millsay. She entertained the residents with her singing, and McCown was so taken with the whole affair that he changed the town's name right then and there. Ladonia.

Just like that. Now, that's the legend. The marker calls it exactly that, a legend, so we'll hold it at arm's length and love it anyway.

What's not legend is that by 1858, the settlement had a post office carrying that name, which is about as official as it gets. Before the post office, though, there was already commerce stirring. The town's first merchant was a carpenter named James H.

Cole, who had come to the county in 1855. Cole didn't just sell goods. He planned and staked out the town site himself, and he had the foresight to lay in wide streets.

That kind of thinking tends to age well. After 1860, Ladonia grew rapidly, owing to the fertile farming area surrounding it. By 1885, the community had incorporated, and the numbers tell the story: a population of 700, two cotton gins, a bank, a flour mill, a school, and several churches.

That is a town finding its footing in a serious way. Then came 1887, and the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway arrived. A railroad changes the arithmetic of a place.

Ladonia became an agricultural marketing town for cotton, corn, oats, and wheat, and a business boom followed. By 1897, the population had climbed to 2,000, and the town counted 100 businesses within its limits. That is a place humming along at full steam.

But towns have their arcs, same as people. As agricultural goods began moving over improved roads and citizens drifted toward larger cities, Ladonia declined slowly. By 1936, there were 1,119 citizens and 39 businesses.

By 1990, the population stood at 658. The wide streets James H. Cole laid out are still there.

The name Ladonna Millsay left behind is still there too. Some things a town holds onto, even when the railroad boom is a memory and the cotton gins have gone quiet.

What the marker says

Settled about 1840 by James McFarland and Daniel Davis, this community was first called McCownville after early settler Frank McCown. The town's first merchant, James H. Cole, a carpenter who moved to the county in 1855, planned and staked out the town site and included wide streets. According to local legend McCown changed the town name in 1857 to honor Ladonna Millsay, a traveler on a wagon train from Tennessee who entertained residents with her singing. By 1858 the settlement had a post office named Ladonia. The town grew rapidly after 1860 because of its fertile farming area. The community incorporated in 1885 and had a population of 700, two cotton gins, a bank, a flour mill, a school, and several churches. The arrival of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway in 1887 made Ladonia an agricultural marketing town for cotton, corn, oats and wheat and resulted in a business boom. The population had increased to 2,000 by 1897 and the town included 100 businesses. The town declined slowly as agricultural goods were shipped over improved roads and citizens moved to larger cities. By 1936 Ladonia had 1,119 citizens and 39 businesses. By 1990 the population was 658. (1997)