Thomas Wilson Stegall

Duane's take

Here's how the marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Thomas Wilson Stegall. Born July 28, 1832, in North Carolina.

And if you'd met him on the road, you might not have guessed the kind of man he was just by looking. But the people of Lake Creek, Texas, they knew. They had evidence.

Born in North Carolina, Stegall spent years moving his life across the map. North Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi. Then in 1873, he and his wife Lucinda and their eight children pointed themselves toward Delta County, Texas, and that's where the story really takes root.

He served as a private in the Confederate Army from 1863 to 1865, and then life after that was the business of building something. A family. A community.

A place in the world. Stegall was a Baptist preacher, and folks remembered him not just for his sermons but for his deeds. Now here's the detail that tells you everything you need to know about a man.

Thomas Stegall had a rose hedge. His favorite rose hedge. And at some point a neighbor needed a way through his property, needed an exit.

And Thomas Wilson Stegall took something sharp and cut an opening right in that rose hedge. His favorite one. Just opened it up for his neighbor, no argument, no negotiation.

That's the kind of kind we're talking about. He also built a blacksmith shop on his land. Now a blacksmith shop is a practical thing, a working thing, the kind of place people come to because they need something done.

And people kept coming. And that shop became a community center. And that community center became the nucleus of the town of Lake Creek.

The first promoter of the Lake Creek community, the marker calls him. Thomas Wilson Stegall died April 25, 1900. But he'd already done the work.

Cut the opening. Built the shop. Let people through.

What the marker says

(July 28, 1832 - April 25, 1900) First promoter of Lake Creek community, Stegall was born in North Carolina. He served as a private in the Confederate Army, 1863 - 1865. He and wife Lucinda had eight children. They lived in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Mississippi, then moved to Delta County, Texas, in 1873. A Baptist preacher, Stegall was known for his kind deeds. He once cut an opening in his favorite rose hedge to give a neighbor an exit through his property. The blacksmith shop he built on his land became a community center, forming the nucleus of the town of Lake Creek.