DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Van Alstyne, Grayson County. Now, before Van Alstyne was Van Alstyne, there was Mantua. Established about three miles southwest of here in 1854, Mantua was doing just fine, thank you very much — prospering along, minding its own business.
And then came 1873, and with it, a railroad. The Houston and Texas Central Railway extended its track through this area that year, and here's the thing about railroads in the 1800s — they didn't ask your permission, and they didn't always come to you. Mantua got bypassed.
Unexpectedly, the marker says, and you can imagine what that word meant to the people living there. All that prosperity, all those years of building something — and the iron rails went somewhere else entirely. Where the rails did go, a depot was built and a post office established, and that new town got a name: Van Alstyne.
Named for Maria Van Alstyne, widow of W. A. Van Alstyne, who had been a principal stockholder of the H&TC.
The railroad had a hand in naming the very town it was bringing to life. And life came to it fast. Churches, businesses, and people — from Mantua and from other area towns — packed up and followed the rails.
That's the pull a railroad had. You either moved to meet it, or you watched the future roll past your window. By 1883, Van Alstyne was incorporated and had itself a newspaper.
Columbia College was founded in 1889. And by the turn of the century — 1900 — this town had banks, schools, hotels, an opera house, a literary club, and electric service, all while cotton and other farm production dominated the local economy. An opera house and a literary club in the same breath as cotton fields.
That's Texas for you. Interurban transportation came along in 1908, keeping Van Alstyne connected to the wider world. And then there were the Grays — the local semi-pro baseball team, established about 1902.
They played for many decades, and they were good enough that a number of their players went on to the major leagues. Not bad for a town that only existed because a railroad took a particular route one day in 1873. Many of the local businesses, churches, and social organizations here still trace their roots back to Mantua and the nineteenth century.
And that historic downtown — once the site of popular Saturday night social activities — still stands as a business and social center today. Mantua is gone. Van Alstyne is still here.
Sometimes getting bypassed is exactly how the next chapter begins.
What the marker says
The town of Mantua was established about 3 miles southwest of here in 1854. Mantua prospered but was unexpectedly bypassed in 1873 when the Houston and Texas Central Railway (H&TC) extended its track through this area instead. That year a depot was built and a post office established in the new town named for Maria Van Alstyne, the widow of W. A. Van Alstyne who had been a principal stockholder of the H&TC. Churches, businesses, and people of Mantua and other area towns moved here to be near the railroad. Van Alstyne was incorporated and a newspaper established in 1883. Columbia College was founded in 1889. Van Alstyne contained banks, schools, hotels, an opera house, a literary club, and electric service by 1900, when cotton and other farm production dominated the local economy. Interurban transportation began in 1908. The local "Grays" semi-pro baseball team, established about 1902, played for many decades and produced a number of major league players. Many local businesses, churches, and social organizations trace their origins to Mantua and 19th century Van Alstyne. The historic downtown area, the former site of popular Saturday night social activities, continues as a business and social center.