Peacock

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Peacock, out there in Stonewall County. Now settle in, because this one's got all the makings of a West Texas saga — a town that got named, got built, got knocked flat, and got back up again. That's the short version.

Let me give you the real one. Like a lot of West Texas communities, Peacock didn't just spring up from the caliche on its own. It grew up alongside a rail line — the Stamford and Northwestern Railway, to be precise.

Before it was Peacock, the place went by the name Alluvia. Then came 1910, and three brothers changed everything. John W., Braxton B., and James M.

Peacock moved their mercantile store in from nearby Oriana, about three miles to the west, and the town took their name. Just like that, Alluvia was gone and Peacock was on the map. A man named G.A.

Gray, who had purchased land from the railroad, sold a hundred acres for the original townsite — lots for businesses, lots for homes, the whole foundation of a community laid out in one transaction. And what a community it became. By shortly after 1910, Peacock had three groceries, a barbershop, two drugstores, a lumberyard, a dry goods store, a blacksmith shop, a bank, a hotel, a school, cafes, a jewelry store, a tailor shop, and a grist mill.

You want to talk about a town punching above its weight — folks noted that Peacock's early growth seemed to parallel that of Aspermont itself, the county seat. The Peacock Mercantile also served as the post office, which opened in 1910, though it's worth knowing the area had seen postal service as far back as 1902, under the name Lingo post office. So the roots here go deep.

Growth was continuous. Right up until 1914. And here's where the story turns.

In 1914, a catastrophic tornado tore through Peacock and leveled almost every business and every home in town. Now, when I say leveled, I mean leveled. The marker doesn't soften that word, and neither will I.

What it does say — and this is the part that matters — is that nearly every resident survived. Nearly every one. And within ten years, the citizens of Peacock had rebuilt their town.

That's not a small thing. That is the whole thing. The Great Depression came, and decades of urban migration followed, and population declined the way it did across so much of rural Texas.

But Peacock held on. By 1934, the Peacock school district had absorbed the surrounding Centerview, Oriana, and Double Mountain schools — drawing the region together under one roof. Then in 1963, a year before Peacock's schools consolidated into Aspermont's, the town started holding annual homecomings.

They've been going ever since, bringing back residents and descendants of those original settlers to celebrate the history of a place that a tornado tried to erase and couldn't. Some towns get their name on a sign and that's the end of the story. Peacock earned theirs.

What the marker says

Like many other West Texas communities created with a coming rail line, Peacock developed in conjunction with the Stamford & Northwestern Railway. Originally called Alluvia, Peacock was renamed in 1910 for three brothers: John W., Braxton B. and James M. Peacock, who moved their mercantile store from nearby Oriana (Orianna) (3 mi. W). G.A. Gray, who had purchased land from the railroad, sold 100 acres for the original townsite, including many of the lots for businesses and homes. The Peacock Mercantile also served as a post office, which opened in 1910, although earlier service to the area began as early as 1902 under the name Lingo post office. Soon after 1910 there were several local businesses, including three groceries, barbershop, two drugstores, lumberyard, dry goods store, blacksmith shop, bank, hotel, school, cafes, jewelry store, tailor shop and grist mill. The community's early development seemed to parallel that of Aspermont, the county seat, in population and resources. Growth was continuous until 1914, when a catastrophic tornado devastated the town, leveling almost every business and home. Nearly every resident survived, though, and within ten years, citizens had rebuilt Peacock. The Great Depression and decades of urban migration caused a decline in population, but Peacock remained a strong community. By 1934, the Peacock school district had absorbed surrounding Centerview, Oriana and Double Mountain schools. Annual homecomings began in 1963, the year before Peacock schools consolidated into Aspermont schools. The homecomings continue to bring residents and descendants of original settlers together to celebrate the rich area history. (2003)