DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way out in Navarro County, there's a place called Pelham — but that wasn't always its name. Before it was Pelham, before it had a post office or a postmaster or a postmaster's wife with fond memories of Alabama, folks around here just called it Forks of the Creek.
Simple. Honest. Exactly what it was.
And after 1866, Black families began settlin' there and building something from the ground up. Now that's the kind of story worth slowing down for. They didn't just build houses.
They built institutions. Wesley United Methodist Church was organized in 1878, and that congregation did double duty right from the start — because the church also housed the first school. Think about what that means.
The same walls that held Sunday worship held children learnin' to read the week after. By 1890, Wesley had moved to a location near what is now the cemetery. Then Brown's Chapel A.M.E.
Church was formed in 1905. Then Union Baptist in 1916. Three congregations, one community, roots going down deep.
The post office arrived in 1898, and that's when the name changed. Postmaster Lewis Richie's wife — the marker doesn't give us her first name, so we'll honor the mystery — she named the town Pelham, after her home back in Alabama. Just like that, Forks of the Creek became Pelham, and it stuck.
The town kept growin'. Post office, schools, stores, a cotton gin, a telephone company — all of it humming along. And in 1926, population hit its peak: three hundred and fifty souls calling Pelham home.
Now the post office is gone. The schools are gone. The stores, the cotton gin, the telephone company — all gone.
But here's the thing about a community that was built the way Pelham was built. You don't just erase it. The heritage, the marker tells us, remains strong.
Forks of the Creek knew that from the very beginning.
What the marker says
First called Forks of the Creek, this town was settled by Black families after 1866. Wesley United Methodist Church, which housed the first school, was organized in 1878 and moved near the present cemetery in 1890. Brown's Chapel A. M. E. Church was formed in 1905 and Union Baptist in 1916. Granted a post office in 1898, the town was renamed Pelham by postmaster Lewis Richie's wife for her home in Alabama. Population peaked at 350 in 1926. The post office, schools, stores, cotton gin, and telephone company that served the village are now gone, but the community heritage remains strong. (1975)