DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just passin' it along to you straight. December 22, 1858 — that's when George Washington Green came into the world, a Georgia native who grew up in Tennessee and, in 1878, pointed himself toward Texas. That same year he married Tempie Ann Fowler over in Logansport, Louisiana, and the two of them settled right here in this part of Shelby County.
Now, George didn't arrive with a deed in hand. He started as a sharecropper, putting cotton and corn in the ground, working somebody else's soil. But George Washington Green was not a man content to stay still.
In 1883, he purchased his first parcel of land. Two years later — and this is where things start to move — the Houston East and West Texas Railroad began to build its line through Shelby County. George saw what was coming.
He purchased more land on both sides of that rail line, and before long he was a prominent landowner, running a general store and a cotton gin to boot. On Green's land, a community took shape — Bobo, primarily a train stop, with a post office that operated from 1893 until 1898. Now here's the part that tends to stick with people.
The railroad conductor, calling out stops along the line, would announce: Tenaha, Timpson, Bobo and Blair. That phrase caught on. Caught on so well, in fact, that it was used as a cadence during World War I.
A train stop on a man's land, turned into a marching rhythm an ocean away. In 1905, George made what the marker calls a lasting contribution — he developed Green's Lake, both a recreational spot and a water source for the railroad. From 1905 through the 1940s, families came out to picnic, swim, and fish.
Churches held baptismal services in those waters. George started something that kept going long after the moment called for it. He and Tempie reared four children: Luther, born in 1880; R.
H., known as Cooter, born in 1889; Inez, born in 1895, who became Inez M. Drewery; and Nubern, born in 1900. George Washington Green died on December 14, 1937, and was laid to rest in the Buena Vista Cemetery.
The marker says his contributions to the development of the rail line and to the Bobo community remain a significant part of the history of Shelby County. A sharecropper who bought land, put his name on a lake, and somehow got soldiers marching to his train stop — that's a life that left tracks.
What the marker says
(December 22, 1858 - December 14, 1937) Georgia native George Washington Green grew up in Tennessee and in 1878 set out for Texas. He married Tempie Ann Fowler in Logansport, Louisiana, that year, and they settled in this part of Texas. Green worked first as a sharecropper, growing cotton and corn, before purchasing his first parcel of land in 1883. Two years later, as the Houston East & West Texas Railroad began to build its line through Shelby County, G. W. Green purchased more land on both sides of the rail line and soon became a prominent landowner in the area, operating a general store and cotton gin. The Bobo community, primarily a train stop, was established on Green's land and operated a post office from 1893 until 1898. The phrase "Tenaha, Timpson, Bobo and Blair," used by the railroad conductor to announce stops along the rail line, became very popular and was used as a cadence during World War I. In 1905, George Washington Green made a lasting contribution to the area when he developed Green's Lake as a recreational spot and water source for the railroad. From 1905 through the 1940s, families came to picnic, swim and fish, and churches held baptismal services in the lake. George and Tempie Green reared four children: Luther (1880-1956), R. H. "Cooter" (1889-1969), Inez (M. Drewery) (1895-1965) and Nubern (1900-1959). George died in 1937 and is buried in the Buena Vista Cemetery. His contributions to the development of the rail line and to the Bobo community remain a significant part of the history of Shelby County. (2001)