DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm just the one behind the wheel passing it along. Back in 1879, when getting anywhere meant hitching up a wagon and hoping for the best, a group of oldtimers started making their way to Sherman, Grayson County, Texas. They came to camp, to reminisce, to swap stories about days that were already slipping into memory — the Republic of Texas, the frontier, the southern Confederacy.
Now, that first meeting had some serious voices in it. Mrs. Julia Shannon King was there — daughter of the man who donated part of the Sherman townsite itself.
And then there was Mrs. Sophia Porter, who had come to Grayson County way back in 1838, as a bride of Holland Coffee, owner of an Indian trading post at Preston Bend. Think about that.
This woman had been in this county since 1838, and she was sitting there in 1879 with something worth saying. That'll put a shiver on you if you let it. The group called themselves the Old Settlers Association of Grayson County, and they were serious enough about it that they incorporated on October 3rd, 1898.
For years they'd been meeting in various groves — wherever the shade was good and the ground was level, I imagine — but in 1899 they finally purchased a permanent home. This site, right here. Popular, accessible, theirs.
Now, paying for it was another matter entirely. The financing ran into adversities, and the marker doesn't sugarcoat them: bad weather, smallpox, and — and this one is worth a slow breath — a power failure on the commuting streetcar line. Three different kinds of trouble, three different kinds of Texas.
But they stayed the course, and by 1909, the purchase cost was paid in full. Done. In 1923, they built an auditorium on the grounds and named it for Jesse Loving, the veteran association secretary.
A man who showed up, kept the records, did the work — and got his name on the building. There are worse legacies. Over the years, the annual conventions drew some names that rang across the whole state: Joseph Weldon Bailey, James S.
Hogg, Roger Q. Mills, Sam Rayburn, John H. Reagan, Morris Sheppard.
Statesmen and orators, standing where you're standing now. The park also served for years as home to the Red River Valley Fair, and today civic and youth groups carry on inside these same grounds. The marker calls it a reminder of the foresight of pioneer citizens.
And that's exactly right. A bunch of folks in 1879, riding in by wagon, looked ahead far enough to build something that's still here. That's the whole story, and it's a good one.
What the marker says
A public-spirited group dedicated to preservation of history and enrichment of contemporary life. Founded in 1879, when oldtimers traveled by wagon and camped near Sherman to reminisce about days of Republic of Texas, the frontier, and the southern Confederacy. Speakers at first meeting included Mrs. Julia Shannon King (daughter of donor of part of Sherman townsite) and Mrs. Sophia Porter, who came to Grayson County in 1838 as a bride of Holland Coffee, owner of Indian trading post at Preston Bend. The association was incorporated on Oct. 3,1 1898. Having met in various groves, it purchased this popular and accessible site in 1899 as permanent headquarters. Financing was hampered by adversities (bad weather, smallpox, power failure on commuting streetcar line), but purchase cost was paid by 1909. The auditorium, named for the veteran association secretary Jesse Loving, was built in 1923. Noted orators at annual conventions have included statesmen Joseph Weldon Bailey, James S. Hogg, Roger Q. Mills, Sam Rayburn, John H. Reagan, Morris Sheppard. Used for years by Red River Valley Fair, and now by civic and youth groups, this park serves as a reminder of the foresight of pioneer citizens.