Freestone County, Texas
Reflections


Other settlements along Trinity River
By Bill Young


In last week’s article I wrote about the abandoned town of Trinidad which was located on the east 
bank of the Trinity River. This community was not included in the list of settlements along the 
Trinity compiled by the archeologists from Southern Methodist University in their archeological 
report titled “A Reconnaissance Survey of the Trinity River Basin.” When the archeologists started 
working on the project, they were limited to a certain group of books as reference material. None of 
the archeologists grew up locally in Texas much less along a section of the Trinity. Therefore they 
were totally dependent on the books they had access to whether the information contained in the 
books was totally accurate or had missing items. This happens from time to time and perpetuates 
incorrect or incomplete history. When the archeologists took to the field to start the survey process 
looking for each settlement listed in the books, they were already working at a disadvantage. 
 
In this week’s article, I want to discuss another town or settlement located on the upper end of the 
Trinity River in Ellis County. This town was known as Trinity City and was located near the southeast 
corner of Ellis County on the west bank of the river. I have seen a few history books which 
incorrectly refer to the town as Tellico. The name of Tellico was derived from the Tellico 
Manufacturing Company, a conglomerate company located in Trinity City and the mainstay of the 
town. It included a cotton gin, wool works, lumber mill, and grist mill. Founded in 1849 by Lewis 
Godard and John Dodds, two promoters investing in the future of river transportation and shipping. 
The town was planned to have 98 blocks but its degree of completion is not known. Both of the 
promoters had died by 1853 and no one was interested in promoting the town afterward. The town 
was still in existence during the Civil War but a combination of problems brought about its demise. 
The war, low water tables in the river which restricted transportation and the lack of anyone 
promoting the community ended the little community. Some of the residents moved several miles 
to the west on higher ground and started the new town of Telico, note one L instead of two Ls. 
Telico still exists today with an old historic church and cemetery dating back to 1867. 
 
A couple of years ago, Kathy Hunt from Kaufman and I went down the east side of the Trinity River 
until we were directly across from the site of Trinity City. We could see the higher ground next to 
the river where the town was once located but now it is a jungle of weeds, trees, vines and briars. A 
brush hog would be necessary to cut a path into the old site. While we were standing on the river 
bank, Kathy told me of an old iron bridge which once crossed over the Trinity River at this location. 
It was referred to as the red bank road. She said the old bridge was no longer safe to use during 
World War II so Air Force pilots used the bridge for bombing practice. I read a slightly different 
version of the same story in which the book stated the bridge was blown up by a group of 
commandos practicing for the real thing in Germany. Either way, the bridge contributed to the war. 
There are a few remnants lying about in the bottom of the river channel. 
 
The next town I will write about was located in Navarro County and possibly also in Henderson 
County. The Navarro County town was called Taos and yet most people refer to the community as 
Porter’s Bluff. Personally I have always thought there may have been two settlements. There are 
several reasons why I have come to this conclusion. First is the story which stated when the 
highway department built State Highway 85 and the associated big bridge across the Trinity River, I 
heard several people say the last foundations of the old buildings and homes of Taos were removed 
during the construction on the Navarro County side. Then when the archeologists from SMU did an 
archeological survey for the huge Tennessee Colony Lake project, they recorded several cemeteries, 
a cotton gin, a gristmill, a saloon, and the location of several old house sites up on the high hill east 
of the Trinity River in Henderson County. This location problem has bothered me for a number of 
years and I don’t know if the question will ever be resolved. 
 
There aren’t any recorded cemeteries on the Navarro County side in the vicinity of Taos. Secondly, 
this was a major crossing for many of the early settlers migrating into Navarro County or farther 
westward and if the Trinity River was in any type of flood stage, migrating people were forced to 
stay up on the hill on the east side of the river until the water receded. This might have taken 
weeks or even as long as a month just to get across the stream. The Henderson County historical 
book states Taos was destroyed by a flood in 1866 and some of the survivors established a 
community on the higher ground in Henderson County. Personally I think both towns were in 
existence at the same time. 
 
In the book I am using, “A Reconnaissance of the Trinity River Basin,” the archeologists state 
Taos/Porter’s Bluff was started in 1843 by Col. Porter. He received the land as payment for his 
services during the Texas Revolution. In the next sentence, the archeologists then make the 
statement there were people, buffalo hunters, living at the site in 1845 prior to the beginning of the 
town. I think the 1843 date mentioned above was a typo and it should have been 1848 which is the 
date I saw in our county deed records when Col. Porter hired John H. Reagan to survey and lay out 
the town of Taos. One history book makes the statement Porter’s Bluff was established in the earlier 
1840s but deed records do not agree with this earlier date. 
 
Taos is listed as having a 20-room hotel, a blacksmith shop, stores, a sawmill, wharves, boat 
landings, warehouses and a ferry crossing. I have seen a couple of documents where the 
commissioners of Navarro County granted to two different individuals the right to operate a ferry at 
Taos. At least one of those ferries continued to operate until 1910 when the Bazette Crossing was 
completed. Taos is listed as a major port town but I sincerely doubt many of the boats could get to 
Taos during the low water periods. 
 
Next week: Other early settlements downstream on the Trinity River