Shady Grove Community

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Shady Grove Community in Hunt County. Pull up a chair, because this one goes back a ways. Back to the Republic of Texas, in fact.

January 1844, Republic of Texas President Sam Houston granted two tracts of land to Charles F. Mercer, and those tracts were meant for settling families. Mercer's colony took in six thousand five hundred square miles of land around this very site.

Six thousand five hundred square miles. That's not a colony, that's a country unto itself. Among the earliest souls to put down roots here were members of the Concord Missionary Baptist Church, organized in August of 1844 by the Reverend Benjamin Watson on a site that would later become the Shady Grove Cemetery.

A log structure went up not long after, doing double duty as both church and school, the way things had to work out on the frontier. By 1847, the Greenville Post Office was established, and it probably served Shady Grove, though the marker is careful to say probably. In 1849, Reverend Watson built the first flour mill in Hunt County.

The man was busy. Then in 1852, Watson and James A. Burnett deeded one acre of land to the Concord church.

One acre, signed over, made official. Now, fast forward to the final days of the Civil War. James S. and Elizabeth Alexander settled in the community with their family.

They gave the land for a new schoolhouse, a genuine act of generosity, and when it came time to name that school, James Burnett voted to call it Alexander, after its benefactors. Seemed reasonable. Seemed right.

But others, they preferred the name Shady Grove, for the number of large shade trees standing nearby. Shady Grove it was. And the community itself took on the school's name, which is how a place finds its identity sometimes, not through proclamation but through a vote that goes the other way.

The Alexanders did not stop with the schoolhouse. They also built a cotton gin, a corn mill, and a blacksmith shop. Add to that a post office, a store, and Watson's flour mill, and Shady Grove had itself a genuine business section.

The village was filling in. In 1885, Shady Grove Methodist Church was built, with the Reverend W. S.

May serving as pastor. Three years later, in 1888, Shady Grove Baptist Church was organized. Two churches, a mill, a gin, a school.

This was a community with real roots, and real shade. But 1918 brought a change. The Shady Grove schoolhouse closed when the area was consolidated with Moore's Prairie schools.

The school that gave the community its name was gone. The Baptist church, though, remained active as of 1999, still standing, still holding. The marker says the story of Shady Grove is a vital part of the history of Hunt County.

Standing here under those old trees, it's hard to argue with that.

What the marker says

Republic of Texas President Sam Houston granted two tracts of land to Charles F. Mercer on which to settle families in January 1844. Included in Mercer's colony were 6,500 square miles of land around this site. Among the earliest settlers here were members of the Concord Missionary Baptist Church, organized in August 1844 by the Reverend Benjamin Watson on a site that later became the Shady Grove Cemetery. A log structure soon was erected to serve as both church and school. The Greenville Post Office, which probably served Shady Grove, was established in 1847. The Rev. Mr. Watson and James A. Burnett deeded one acre of land to the Concord church in 1852. Watson also is credited with building the first flour mill in Hunt County in 1849. In the final days of the Civil War, James S. and Elizabeth Alexander settled in the community with their family. They gave the land for a new schoolhouse. James Burnett voted to name it "Alexander" for its benefactors, but others preferred the name Shady Grove for the number of large shade trees nearby. The community took on the school's name. The Alexanders also built a cotton gin, corn mill and blacksmith shop. A post office, store and Watson's flour mill completed the business section of the village. Shady Grove Methodist Church was built in 1885 with the Rev. W. S. May as pastor. Shady Grove Baptist Church was organized in 1888. The Shady Grove schoolhouse was closed in 1918 when the area was consolidated with Moore's Prairie schools. The Baptist church remained active in 1999. The story of Shady Grove community is a vital part of the history of Hunt County. (1999)