Poolville

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it: and Poolville's got a story worth tellin'. Way out in Parker County, there's a natural spring-fed pool sitting in the Clear Fork of the Trinity River, about a half-mile northeast of where the town square stands today. That pool didn't ask for a town to grow up around it.

The town just couldn't help itself. Long before anybody platted a street or hung a shingle, cattle herds on their way to market already knew that pool by reputation. It was a well-known watering place, and if cattle knew it, people weren't far behind.

Around 1870, a man named Jim Taylor made the first commercial move: a saloon and a store, which, if you think about it, covers pretty much everything a tired traveler might need. M.L. Scott set up a sawmill on the east end of that same pool, turning the landscape into lumber, and a settlement started pulling itself together one plank at a time.

Now, the community had a school even before the town was properly born; a log farmhouse near the pool did the duty, which tells you something about the people who settled here. They weren't waiting on permission. Then came 1879, and a man known as A.H. 'Major' Dunn changed the shape of things.

He donated land for a townsite, and that donation opened the door to real business and residential growth. A proper building went up in the new townsite, serving both school and church purposes: one roof, two callings. The early twentieth century is where Poolville really started filling in the picture.

Nineteen-oh-five brought the first bank. Two hotels went up. Two blacksmith shops.

A post office, a saddle and harness shop, a wagon yard, a telephone office, a cotton gin. Around 1910, somebody decided the community needed a voice and started publishing a newspaper called The Poolville Searchlight; a name that sounds like it was chosen by someone who wanted their little town to be found. Homes, churches, and schools rounded out what the spring-fed pool had started.

One patch of water in Parker County, and look what gathered around it.

What the marker says

The town of Poolville built up around a natural spring-fed pool in the Clear Fork of the Trinity River in Parker County. The pool, located one-half mile northeast of the present Poolville Town Square, was a well-known watering place for cattle herds on the way to market. Gradually a settlement grew around the pool area. About 1870 a saloon and a store owned by Jim Taylor provided residents a place to shop, trade, and visit. M.L. Scott operated a sawmill on the east end of the pool. About 1879 A.H. "Major" Dunn donated land for a townsite which led to business and residential growth. A log farmhouse near the pool had served as the community's first school, but after 1879 a building was erected in the new townsite for school and church purposes. Early 20th century business development included the first bank, organized in 1905; two hotels; two blacksmith shops; a post office; saddle and harness shop; wagon yard; telephone office; and a cotton gin. A newspaper, "The Poolville Searchlight" was published about 1910. Homes, churches, and schools completed the community. (1992)