Ponder

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, the story of Ponder, Denton County, Texas. Settle in. This one starts before the town even had a name.

Back in the 1850s, settlers began making their way into western Denton County, drawn by the promise of rich agricultural land. Among them, in 1855, came Silas Christal, born in 1810, rolling in from Missouri with his wife Mary Elizabeth, born in 1811, and their twelve children. Twelve.

Now that right there tells you something about the kind of people who built this part of Texas. Silas didn't waste any time. He built an ox-driven mill to grind corn, and then in 1880, he put a school right there on his own property.

The Denton Creek system helped make it all possible, offering settlers ample resources and fertile land for growing wheat, corn, oats, and cotton. The land was generous, if you were willing to work it. Then came the railroad.

In 1886, the Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe Railway decided to run a line from Fort Worth up toward Indian territory in what is present-day Oklahoma, and a town called Gerald was established right along that route. There was just one problem. Another town in Texas already went by the name Gerald.

So the town was renamed. It would be called Ponder, in honor of William A. Ponder, born in 1848, a prominent landowner in the area.

William A. Ponder, born 1848, died 1911. A town carries his name to this day.

With the railway humming and the land producing, Ponder grew fast. Churches came to serve the community, a Baptist church, a Methodist church, and a Church of Christ, all taking root in the late 1800s. Then in 1894, a man named Cornelius N.

Skaggs, born 1869, opened the first business in Ponder. A store and post office. He became the second postmaster.

After that, the town filled in around the railway with general stores, a lumber yard, a cotton gin, a mill, a bank, and a hotel. In 1897, one of the area's largest landowners, H.F. Wakefield, donated land for a school.

And the community kept building on itself the way small Texas towns do. Come the 1930s and 1940s, boys high school basketball was bringing folks together, and in 1939, three men, Chester January, Sidney Ford, and Dr. M.L.

Holland, organized the Ponder rodeo. Ponder was incorporated in 1966. And those traditions, the businesses, the schools, the churches, the rodeo, they didn't stop.

They're still going. Silas Christal arrived with twelve kids and an idea to grind corn. Somewhere along the way, a whole town grew up around that spirit.

That's Ponder, Texas.

What the marker says

Settlers began to arrive in western Denton County in the 1850s in search of rich agricultural land. Silas Christal (1810-1883), his wife, Mary Elizabeth (Burnett) (1811-1883), and their twelve children arrived in 1855 from Missouri. Christal built an ox-driven mill to grind corn and, in 1880, built a school on his property. The town of Gerald was established in 1886 when the Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe Railway decided to create a line from Fort Worth to Indian territory in present-day Oklahoma. Another town in Texas was named Gerald, so the town was renamed Ponder in honor of William A. Ponder (1848-1911), a prominent landowner. The Denton Creek system provided settlers with ample resources and fertile land for agricultural production of wheat, corn, oats, and cotton. In the late 1800s, churches formed to serve the growing community and included a Baptist church, Methodist church, and Church of Christ. In 1894, Cornelius N. Skaggs (1869-1938) opened the first business in Ponder, a store and post office, and became the second postmaster. The town quickly grew around the railway and included general stores, a lumber yard, cotton gin, mill, a bank, and a hotel. In 1897, one of the area's largest landowners, H.F. Wakefield, donated land for a school. Community activities such as boys high school basketball and the Ponder rodeo, organized in 1939 by Chester January, Sidney Ford, and Dr. M.L. Holland, have brought the town together since the 1930s and 1940s. These local activities, businesses, education, and religious groups continue to represent the traditions and spirit of this small, rural town, incorporated in 1966.