DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker at Tennessee Colony has to say — and friend, it's got some stories worth pulling over for. Tennessee Colony. Anderson County, Texas.
Founded in 1838 by settlers who rolled in from the Old South by wagon, lookin' for fertile ground and water enough to make something grow. And grow it did. Those early folks set up the essentials right away — a general store, a blacksmith shop, and a cabinet shop that turned out furniture so well-built it's still turning up in homes around that area today.
Now that's craftsmanship. Before long, Tennessee Colony wasn't just a settlement scratching at the dirt. It was a trade center drawing business from as far away as Dallas.
Think about that — places way up the road were looking south toward this little colony to do their trading. Then came the cotton. When those bales started shipping out from Magnolia Ferry on the Trinity River, great wealth followed.
And nobody rode that wave higher than F. S. Jackson, a settler who'd come up from Virginia.
The plantation era, the marker tells us, reached a climax in grandeur right there on his properties. Whatever that looked like — and the mind does wander — it was apparently something to behold. Now, these were people of faith, and they weren't about to let the wilderness get in the way of that.
Circuit riders held religious services in people's homes while the community worked toward something more permanent. Probably in late 1838 — the same year the colony was founded — a log cabin church went up. That one was followed by a second log church.
Faith kept building, literally. The Masons among them had been making the trip to the lodge over in Magnolia for years. Years.
Finally, in 1857, they obtained a charter for Tyre Lodge No. 198, A.F. & A.M., right there in Tennessee Colony. And they didn't stop there. They put their shoulders to building a two-story structure — church, school, and lodge hall all under one roof — and finished it in 1860.
That building went on to serve the community all the way until 1948. One building, doing three jobs, nearly a century of use. That's Tennessee Colony efficiency.
The schools were something else. Outstanding, the marker says, and the names that come attached to that word are Mr. Hooker and Professor Sidney Newsome.
Their reputations pulled students in from Palestine and other towns across the area. But here's where the story takes a turn that echoes a long way down the road. Among the students who came through those Tennessee Colony schools were two brothers — Addison and Randolph Clark.
They went on to become the founders of a college. That college would become the forerunner of Texas Christian University. TCU.
Started, in part, because two brothers once sat in a schoolhouse in Tennessee Colony, Texas. And descendants of those original 1838 colonists? They were still living there when this marker was written.
Some roots go down deep enough that nothing pulls them up. Tennessee Colony. Small place.
Long reach.
What the marker says
Founded in 1838 by settlers who came from the Old South by wagons, seeking fertile, watered farm lands. Later their cotton shipped from Magnolia Ferry on the Trinity created great wealth. Early businesses were a general store, blacksmith shop, cabinet shop (which made furniture still found in area). Town was trade center for places as far away as Dallas. The plantation era reached a climax in grandeur on the properties of F. S. Jackson, a settler from Virginia. Circuit riders held religious services in homes until a log cabin church could be built, probably in late 1838; a second log church succeeded this one. Masons attended the lodge in Magnolia for years, but in 1857 obtained charter for Tyre Lodge No. 198, A.F. & A.M., in Tennessee Colony. They then worked to build a 2-story church-school-lodge hall, which was finished in 1860 (and was to be used until 1948). The schools were outstanding, especially those taught by a Mr. Hooker and by Professor Sidney Newsome. They drew patronage from Palestine and other area towns. Remembered students included Addison and Randolph Clark, later to become founders of a college that would be forerunner of Texas Christian University. Descendants of original colonists still live here. (1971)