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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEuless Short StoriesE U L E S 8 EIGHT SHORT HISTORIES Elisha Adam Euless Where* We Began We Yigrated We Tilled the Soil We Shopped We Learned We Worshipped Mosier Valley: A Remarkable Gift By Weldon Cannon For Tarrant County College April 13, 1999 ELISF,A ADAM EULESS Elisha Adam Euless (1848-1911) migrated to Texas in 1867 from Bedford County, Tennessee, and settled in Tarrant County. In July, 1870, Euless married Judy Ann Trigg, also a Tennessee native. He began farming and bought land in 1871. Euless was elected a Tarrant County Constable in 1876. In March, 1879, Euless purchased 170 acres in the area known as Woodlawn from him mother-in-law, Mary Ann Trigg. The land included a two-story Grange Hall built in 1877. The first floor was used as a community school and by the local Methodist and Presbyterian churches; the Grange, a farmers' organization, used the top floor. Euless prospered as a farmer and produced considerable amounts of cotton and corn. In 1881, he bought 80 acres where a cotton gin stood. The community that grew around the cotton gin and the Grange Hall cane to be called Euless. A post office, mistakenly named "Euless," opened there in 1886. Euless was elected Tarrant County Sheriff for two terms, serving from 1892 to 1896. He was the first sheriff to occupy the courthouse completed in 1895. He later returned to the town of Euless, then moved back to Fort Worth where he died in 1911 and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery. WHERE WE BEGAN In 1867, Elisha Adam Euless, along with many of his Tennessee neighbors, settled in Northeastern Tarrant County. They established their new homes among farmers who had come earlier with the Peters Colony. Anglo-American settlement had been made possible by the establishment of nearby Bird's Fort and a treaty with local Indians in the 1840s. Mr. Euless purchased land in 1879 and 1881 in the northwest corner of present North Main Street and West Euless Blvd., where he farmed. On this property stood a cotton gin and a multipurpose building that housed a school, a church and a Grange Hall. The community that developed at the site came to be known as Euless, although it had several other names at different times, including Woodlawn, East Bedford, Enless, Grange Hall and The Hall. Mr. Euless served two terms as Tarrant County sheriff in the 1890s. A post office opened in 1886, erroneously named "Enless." In 1888, Euless became a Tarrant County voting precinct. The community declined after 1903, however, when the Rock Island Railroad bypassed it. The settlement even lost its misnamed post office in 1910. Nevertheless, the community of Euless survived, and in the 1920s a few new businesses opened, serving local residents, mostly truck and dairy farmers. In the 1930s, a new highway linking Dallas and Fort Worth passed through Euless. After World War II, Fort Worth built its municipal airport nearby. Euless grew slowly, and in 1949 the post office reopened. The following year, residents incorporated the town, then disincorporated it in 1953 and immediately reincorporated. The city adopted a home rule charter with a council-manager form of government in 1962, which, with amendments, is still the city's basic governing document. Euless has expanded and grown rapidly since, becoming a well -established and widely -recognized city. WE MIGRATED People coming here from someplace else to set roots and to branch out: That's the story of Euless. A series of migrations have determined the basic character of the city of Euless. Native Americans originally inhabited the area. In 1841, Jonathan Bird, under authority of the Republic of Texas, established Bird's Fort, a short distance south of present Euless. Several families moved to the fort, but they soon abandoned their settlement,. About the same time, the Republic of Texas granted a vast North Texas area to the Peters Colony, including what today is Euless. Thus, several settlers relocated to the area in the 1840s and 1850s, taking many of the original land grants. Two significant migrations occurred in the 1850s and 1860s. First, Missouri colonists settled in the northwest corner of Euless on the present border between Bedford and Colleyville. In about 1865, they named their community Spring Garden for their former home. A far larger migration came from Bedford and Coffee counties in Middle Tennessee, beginning in the late 1850s and continuing for the next five decades. Elisha Adam Euless, founder of the city that bears his name, and his uncle, Weldon Wiles Bobo, founder of Bedford, both came from Bedford County, Tennessee. Another significant part of Euless is the Mosier Valley community, created in the 1870s by former slaves from the Mosier and Lee plantations between Euless and Hurst. After 1900, Euless' fine sandy soil, especially adapted to truck and dairy farming, attracted new settlers from other parts of Texas and even other states. After World War II, thanks to its strategic location midway between Dallas and Fort Worth, Euless grew as people sought comfortable lifestyles away from large cities. Although Anglo-Americans are an overwhelming majority of the population, Euless has become home to other peoples of many different national and ethnic origins -- adding to its rich cultural heritage. WE TILLED THE SOIL Almost all the earliest Anglo-American settlers in the present Euless were farmers, and until the mid-20th century most families still earned their livelihoods by farming. Free or inexpensive virgin soil lured farmers from the eastern United States, where lands were worn out or where the population had grown too large to accommodate everyone who wanted to farm. Most of Euless is located in the Eastern or Lower Cross Timbers, a narrow band of sandy and red clay soil wedged between the Blackland Prairie to the east and the Grand Prairie, also blackland, on the west. The Cross Timbers area was covered with large oak and other trees as well as thick brush. The eastern part of Euless is in the treeless Blackland Prairie, where the soil is deep and fertile. Most original settlers were probably subsistence farmers, producing mainly what they needed and using most of what they produced. They grew some cotton as a cash crop so they could buy other necessities. The farm of Mary Ann Whitson Trigg, worked by her children and son-in-law, Adam Euless, is probably typical of area farms, in 1870, when the Euless community began. It produced cotton, corn, wheat and vegetables. Cattle, hogs and horses were essential to the farming operation. Located on the farm was a gin, operated by her son, Daniel C. "Tuck" Trigg, and later by Adam Euless, her son-in-law. It processed local farmers' cotton and ground their corn and wheat for meal and flour. The Blackland Prairie was excellent for growing cotton, corn and grain sorghum. The sandy lands produced these crops also, but were especially suited for truck and dairy farming. Hence, the area eventually became known for its production of fresh fruits and vegetables and milk. Several nurseries were also established in the sandy Cross Timbers because fruit trees and ornamental shrubs thrived there and were easily cultivated. In the 1930s, as good highways connected Northeast Tarrant County with Fort Worth and Dallas, more people found work in the cities. The trend accelerated in the 1940s and 1950s. Rural areas were connected to the urban areas by a strong web of good roads. By 1960, only a few Euless citizens made their living by farming. Nevertheless, farmers laid the economic and social foundations that still determine much of the city's character. WE SHOPPED Back when cotton was king in Texas, agriculture -related businesses ruled. That was certainly true in Euless. Probably the first business in Euless was "Tuck" Trigg's cotton gin. Daniel C. "Tuck" Trigg Jr. was a son of Mary Ann Whitson Trigg, a widow who had migrated from Bedford County, Tennessee, in 1867. She soon purchased land, where the gin was then built before 1879. In 1881, Elisha Adam Euless, her son-in-law, purchased the property and gin. In 1880, Dr. A.F. Scott, a physician, opened a general store and office in Euless, then known as "East Bedford." In 1886, Cyrus S. Snow, a Bedford businessman, opened another store nearby. He secured a post office, intended to be named Euless in honor of the community flourishing around the gin. However, a clerical mistake renamed the post office "Euless," a label that stuck until 1910. In the 1890s and early 1900s, Thomas W. Fuller and John E. Evans operated neighboring stores in Euless. They alternately served as postmasters from 1889 until 1910. John F. "Dep" "Deb" Cruse operated the Fuller store through the 1920s. The Euless Nursery, founded by Arch N. Cannon in about 1900, brought attention to Euless by providing ornamental shrubs and fruit trees to customers in the Dallas -Fort Worth area and many points beyond. The Tennessee Dairies Co. opened a cooling plant in about 1927 to receive milk from local dairies. Homer H. Fuller opened a general store in 1926 and was soon joined by his brother, R. Warren Fuller, and later by his son-in- law, Robert L. Nail. Fuller Bros. Grocery and Feed Store, later Fuller Bros. and Nail, was the commercial focal point of Euless for many years. When a post office opened in 1949, Robert Nail became post master. Many other businesses flourished throughout the first half of this century: general stores, blacksmith shops, service stations, cafes, auto repair shops, barber shops, variety stores and lumber yards. After World War II, the number and variety of businesses boomed, until today Euless has become a commercial center, home of many retail businesses, offices, manufacturers and other business enterprises.. tifE LEr1MNED Knapsacks, chalk dust and lunch pails: Although Euless schools were first loosely organized, they were, nevertheless, the foundation for Euless' future. The community had a school as early as 1874, located in a simple wood -frame structure. In 1877, the Patrons of Husbandry, a farmers' organization also known as the Grange, erected a two-story multipurpose. The Grangers used the upper story, but the lower floor served as a school, a community center and a house of worship. When Tarrant County Commissioners officially organized school districts in 1884, they named the school in the Euless area Woodlawn, an early name for the Euless community. The school met in the Grange Hall until 1894, when trustees purchased two acres from W.N. Moody Fuller a short distance away. There the district built a new schoolhouse. Children of all ages were grouped together in one room. Teachers frequently taught several grades at one time. The schools had no cafeterias or indoor plumbing. Among the outstanding teachers were John W. Calhoun, who came from Coffee County, Tennessee, in 1897 and was a kinsman of many Euless settlers. He later became president of the University of Texas at Austin. The district continued to be called Woodlawn until at about 1900, when it became known as Euless. Children also attended other neighboring schools. In about 1908, a school opened in Tarrant, a new town that had been established by the Rock Island Railroad when it built a line two miles south of Euless. A short distance west of Euless stood the Crossroads School, the commonly used name of the school in the Evett District. In 1913, it later merged with the Euless District. The same year, citizens of the newly formed district erected an impressive, two-story brick building on four acres, purchased from Joseph E. Whitener, one-half mile south of the old Euless school. It was known for many years as the Euless -Tarrant School, since it was located between the two communities. The South Euless Elementary School is now located on the site. In 1925, voters approved the creation of the Euless Independent School District. The Class of 1934 was the first to graduate from Euless High School. Extensive remodeling and additions in 1930, 1935 and 1947 improved conditions for teachers and children. In 1955 the Euless and Hurst districts merged to form the Hurst -Euless Independent School District, and the last Euless High School class received diplomas. From then on, graduates hailed from the combined districts. Further consolidation added Bedford in 1958, to form the Hurst -Euless - Bedford Independent School District. 'VE- WORSSIPPED Churches are the lifeblood of all communities, and religious life in early Euless was founded on a spirit of cooperation and harmony. Early Euless settlers -- no matter their denominational affiliation -- were a worshipping people. They supported -the churches, especially by attending each others revivals and brush arbor meetings. The first Euless church was either a Cumberland Presbyterian Church or a Methodist Episcopal Church, South. That is, not counting the Minters Chapel Methodist Church or the Bear Creek Baptist Church, both pioneer congregations situated on the fringes of present Euless. Both Methodist and Presbyterian congregations worshipped alternately in the Grange Hall, a multipurpose community building erected in 1877 by the Patrons of Husbandry, a farmers' organization commonly known as the Grange. The traditional date for founding of the Euless Methodist Church is 1876; the Presbyterian Church probably was established about the same time. The Grange Hall building was situated on the west side of present-day Main Street, just north of Euless Boulevard. Mary Ann Whitson Trigg, who owned the land, sold the property in 1879 to Elisha Adam Euless, her son-in-law who was a Cumberland Presbyterian. In about 1891, the Methodists erected their own building across the street, facing the Grange Hall, on the farm of John W. Huffman. In 1896, John and his wife, Jane Huffman, donated the property to the congregation, later called the Euless Methodist Church. The Cumberland Presbyterian Church ceased meeting in 1897, but the Methodists survived. They erected a fine building in 1919, where they worshipped until 1960. Meanwhile, the Tarrant Baptist Church, two miles south of Euless, purchased the Grange Hall property in 1910 and soon moved to Euless. In 1922 the Baptists erected a new house of worship that served them well until 1955. In 1931, a Fundamentalist Baptist congregation was organized, and a Church of Christ began meeting in 1957. Since then, many other churches have been established, adding to the rich heritage of devotion, praise and unity. Today, thousands of worshippers gather each week in many churches representing a wide variety of denominations. These churches reflect the unique ethnic mix of Euless citizens. MOSIER VALLEY: A RZYWRKABLE GIFT Located in southwest Euless, Mosier Valley actually began as a unique wedding gift to a remarkable couple. From that present evolved the oldest African -American community in Tarrant County and one of the oldest in Texas. Before the War Between the States, African -Americans arrived with settlers from Tennessee and Kentucky to work on Texas farms and plantations. After the war, emancipated slaves yearned to own their own land and to establish churches and schools so they could freely worship and teach their children to read and write. Recognized as Mosier Valley's founders, Robert and Dilsie Johnson were the first African -American homesteaders in the area. When they married in about 1870, Lucy Lee, a white landowner, gave them an 80-acre farm. Dilsie was a maid for the Lee family, and Robert worked on the nearby Mosier Plantation. Other freed slaves continued to work on local farms for very small salaries. Robert rode horseback to the workers to encourage them to purchase land and build homes near the Johnson farm. By 1872, several families joined them including Zake Blackburn, Pete Field, Claude Jones, John Parker, Anderson Blackburn, Joseph Wood, Oliver Miller, Tom Coble and John Smith. They named their new settlement "Mosier Valley," for the plantation where most of them had worked. Mosier Valley citizens toiled with their hands and by the sweat of their brows, mostly as farmers and housekeepers. Resourceful and hard-working, they raised all their food: vegetables, chickens, turkeys, cows, pigs and sheep. For cash crops, they planted cotton, corn, wheat, oats and sugar cane. Although these former slaves did not originally have the privilege of learning to read and write, they were determined to succeed and to establish a solid foundation for future generations. A Mr. Cursey became the answer to their prayers. Although an unbeliever, he read them the Bible and taught them to read. In 1874, the community's first church, Oak Grove Baptist Church, began. It is now called St. John Missionary Baptist Church, still an active congregation. Beginning in the 1880s, young children attended the Mosier Valley Elementary School. Older children were later sent to I.M. Terrell High School in Fort Worth. When the Mosier Valley School closed in 1967, all children attended schools in the Hurst - Euless -Bedford Independent School District. With a population of about 400 in the first part of this century, Mosier Valley had thriving businesses, among them grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, night clubs and a renowned syrup mill. These are all gone now. About 150 residents still call Mosier Valley home, nearly all property owners. They inherited a distinguished legacy from their ancestors who were determined to preserve their community and to set roots deep in Euless soil.