Wentworth Community

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. In 1858, Milo and Martha Manning loaded up their family and made the long haul from Kentucky, arriving in Van Zandt County with eight children in tow. One of those children was a boy named Wentworth, born in 1847.

He grew up, became a businessman and land owner, and somewhere along the way this community took on his name. That's the kind of mark a man leaves that lasts. Now, the community didn't stay small or quiet.

In 1886, Starr School opened its doors as the first free school in the area. And because out here folks made do with what they had, that same schoolhouse pulled double duty as an early house of worship. One building, two purposes, doing the work of the whole county it seemed.

Then comes 1903, and Worthy Green Kennedy opens a general store. For two years, that store also housed the Monico Post Office. A place to buy your goods, mail your letters, hear the news.

Kennedy's store had a way of becoming the center of things. Meanwhile, Todd Hill School opened in 1907, and by 1917 the community had tidied things up, merging Todd Hill and Starr together into Wentworth School. There was a grist mill out here, a cotton gin, a blacksmith, a sawmill, and churches too.

This was a community that could feed itself, clothe itself, pray together, and shoe a horse without ever leaving home. But time has a way of consolidating things. In 1949, the school folded into Canton.

And in 1952, the Kennedy store, which by then had long served as the community center, closed its doors. The marker calls Wentworth a testament to generations of families. Standing out here in Van Zandt County, that's exactly what it feels like.

What the marker says

WENTWORTH COMMUNITY IN 1858, MILO AND MARTHA MANNING ARRIVED FROM KENTUCKY WITH EIGHT CHILDREN, INCLUDING SON WENTWORTH (1847-1921), FOR WHOM THE COMMUNITY IS NAMED. HE BECAME A BUSINESSMAN AND LAND OWNER. STARR SCHOOL, THE FIRST FREE SCHOOL IN THE AREA, OPENED HERE IN 1886. THE SCHOOLHOUSE WAS ALSO AN EARLY HOUSE OF WORSHIP. WORTHY GREEN KENNEDY'S GENERAL STORE OPENED IN 1903 AND HOUSED THE MONICO POST OFFICE FOR TWO YEARS. TODD HILL SCHOOL OPENED IN 1907, LATER MERGING WITH STARR TO FORM WENTWORTH SCHOOL IN 1917. THERE WERE ALSO CHURCHES, A GRIST MILL, COTTON GIN, BLACKSMITH AND SAWMILL. THE SCHOOL CONSOLIDATED WITH CANTON IN 1949, AND THE KENNEDY STORE, WHICH ALSO SERVED AS A COMMUNITY CENTER, CLOSED IN 1952. WENTWORTH REMAINS A TESTAMENT TO GENERATIONS OF FAMILIES. 175 YEARS OF TEXAS INDEPENDENCE * 1836-2011