Rains County

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. We're talking about Rains County, and this story's got roots that go down deep. Now, before there was ever a county line drawn on any map out here, somebody had to be first.

That somebody was J. H. Hooker.

In the 1840s, Hooker built a grist mill right on the Sabine River, and that made him the first known settler of what would one day become Rains County. Think about that. Just a mill, a river, and a man willing to plant himself at the edge of the known world.

After 1840, emigrants from the Old South started coming in, finding their way to this corner of Texas, drawn by whatever it is that draws people to a place. But the county itself, the official, name-it-on-a-map county, that didn't come until 1870. Nearly three decades of people living here before anyone in a capitol building got around to making it official.

And when they did make it official, they named it for a man worth naming something after. Emory Rains, born in 1800, died in 1878, a pioneer who served as a Senator in the 8th Legislature, representing a district out of which this very county was later carved. The marker calls it a long public service career, and that phrase carries some weight if you let it sit a moment.

Now here's the part that ought to stop you cold, because Rains County carries a distinction that reaches far beyond its own borders. This is the birthplace of the Farmers Cooperative and Educational Union of America. Founded in 1904, right here.

An organization born in one Texas county that would go on to represent the hopes and the hard work of farmers across this whole nation. Not bad for a place that started with one man and a grist mill on the Sabine.

What the marker says

One of the earlier areas of Texas to be settled. J. H. Hooker, first known settler, built a grist mill on the Sabine River here in the 1840s. Emigrants from the Old South came in after 1840, although the county was not created until 1870. The name honors pioneer Emory Rains (1800-1878). He served as Senator in 8th Legislature from district out of which this county was later carved and had a long public service career. Rains County is known as the birthplace of the Farmers Cooperative and Educational Union of America, founded in 1904.