Navarro County Texas Archives History .....Blooming Grove History 1939
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Virginia Crilley http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00003.html#0000642 November 12, 2009, 10:30 am

The Blooming Groves Times
Vol XLVIII No 12
April 14, 1939


History and Progress of Blooming Grove
by R.W. George

Blooming Grove is a town not burdened with longevity but Blooming Grove is
sufficiently up in hears to be well established in the minds and affections of
the general public. However in a little bird's eye glance back over the vista of
time one finds Blooming Grove not without some early history. Sometime before
the Civil war a many by the name of Darling conducted a sheep ranch where now
stands the town of Blooming Grove.  Those who love to live in the past may refer
to Darling's sheep ranch days as the halcyon days. In those days neighbors were
few and far between and instead of sheep-killing dogs, it was sheep-killing
wolves. Along with Darling's enemy wolves there were at that time wild turkey
roosts where now we boast of a great town, Blooming Grove. And occasionally came
scampering thru a wild buck with his tail behind him.

In those days it was Darling's sheep ranch up here and Gradyville, a hustling,
bustling little town a mile south later known as Old Town. In connection with
Gradyville history records the names of old timers like Dr. Ransom, Palmer, Dr.
David, Ham Sewell, Capt J.J. Jones and others.  Of its business institutions
Gradyville boasted of open saloons, and a briskly, typical western town it was.
 But fate made Gradyville a "Deserted Village".  Along about 1886 a
shrewd-thinking Cotton Belt R.R. official up in Chicago with his feel across a
mahogany desk and his eyes on  Texas saw in a Branch Line between Corsicana and
Hillsboro a good proposition.  Civilization, with torchlight in hand, had blazed
the way; happy ranch and farm homes could be seen nestled here and yonder over
the prairies; the wild turkeys had left out for the wilds of the Trinity river
bottom and the prairie dog's tracks could be seen in the sand going westward. A
new era had burst in upon this favored section in all its effulgent splendor.

And so, one dazzling afternoon in Dec 1887, while the business man of Gradyville
was plying his trade as usual the fun turned were drinking deep of hilarity,
could be seen down the lines toward Corsicana a huge headlight---it was the
coming of the first freight train.  At the improvised depot in a townsite
without a name came and stopped our first train. This hug iron horse with box
car tonnage a plenty was greeted not as Napoleon when across the Alps at sunrise
he appeared in Rome, but greeted by warm-hearted citizens who recognized in the
coming of the railroad an agency willing, able to help develop for this section
the untouched possibilities.  One good old sister, along with the crowd to say
"howdy" to the train, scanned it up one side and down the other, pushed her
bonnet back on her head and exclaimed: "God is mighty smart, but man has come to
be a pretty big rival."

So we find Blooming Grove at this time (1887) just a wide place in the road. The
boys down at Gradyville began packing up to move, and as it were, a new town up
on the railroad sprang up over night. We shall call it Blooming Grove from the
beautiful oak grove at White Church cemetery.  The new comers found Darling's
ranch absorbed by W.D. and Henrietta Grady. To the Fort Worth stock market had
gone Darling's sheep, to the land of flowers over the river Darling had gone.
The Gradys put up the Alamo hotel, and sold lots to Tom, Dick and Harry for
dwellings and business houses.  The town was incorporated by J.H. Jones, J.A.
Wallace, Capt High, Miles Trulove and others, a mayor was elected and we think
Will Fennell was the first city marshal. He was black-eyed, wore a black
mustache and to enforce his commands wore in his hip pocket a foot-long
pearl-handle six shooter.

Hash Cohen, Mack Robinson came with uptown stores, J.T.S. Fitzgerald and Miles
Truelove, Tom Elliott, F.Y. Doke came.  Elliott with open saloon, Doke with
long-leaf pine lumber yard. E. Forgey appeared upon the scene to take the folk's
pictures. At Doke's lumber yard they had an umbrella china tree, under which
tunnelling white rabbits.  In the midst of all this came down from Marshal, Mo,
Gower, a fellow about the size of R.W. George. Gower was smart and he started a
newspaper and he named it the Blooming Grove Rustler. That was in 1890. Of those
here then to read Gower's first issue and who are here now we mention W.B.
Rutherford, Johnny Erwin, M.G. Deason, Mrs. Dashie Jones (nee Dashie Cobb), Lee
Ramsey, E. Forgey, T.M. George cannot quite qualify, he came about the time
Gower's Rustler was celebrating its first anniversary.  Another newspaper, the
Sun, burst forth one week end and its hieroglyphics looked like success, but the
Sun suffered a total eclipse.  The Rustler kept tugging away. P.O. Jones, under
Hen Roost Cluckings, made weekly contributions and no newspaper with P.O. Jones
(B.F. Carroll)  behind it could fail. The Rustler still lives under a new name,
the Blooming Grove Times.

The streets were named after the town was incorporated. Main Street, east and
west, along the railroad; Fordyce, north south, through business section;
Hinkley north side running north-sout; Kerr east side, running north-south.  In
those days (proverbially so) milk and honey trickled down the streets. The women
wore bustles, long, sweeping skirts, high top lace shoes. The pinkish glow about
the cheek was God-given and a permanent wave was a laugh.  The men as a rule
wore tight-fitting trousers, derby hats and fork-tailed coats. Every man parted
his hair on the side, blacked his own boots at home and recognized that it was a
breach of etiquette to smoke a cigarette in the presence of a woman.  That was
early Blooming Grove, at least a period coming up from the railroad year, 1887.
 Not a bad period. Those were also the days of mourner's benches right here in
Blooming Grove, the days whose custom it was to call preachers by the year. In
those days, the gallants went forth with horse and buggy, over in the rural
school house, it was a "square" and not a "round" dance. Easter came in the days
of early Blooming Grove just as Easter comes now. The Blue Bonnets blossomed
forth for Easter decorations back in the days of Gradyville with as much
effulgent beauty as they do today. In those early days of Blooming Grove, the
days back in the fall of 1887, there was not quite as much "style" possibly, not
so many rules laid down to cramp you when you talked and to pain you when you
laughed, but they were good old days. Memory cherishes them, history records,
adores and with miserly care preserves them for future generations.

But let us say before we get too far off the subject of early Blooming Grove --
let us say that in connection with early histoyr, one single item if no more
stand out today as one of the old landmarks--we refer to what is known as the
John W. Phillips dwelling on the eastern suburbs of what was then known as
Gradyville. That building was made of the right stuff. No doubt the material was
hauled over land by ox team from Houston. John W. Phillips and Mrs. Phillips
have passed away, the old dwelling stand in a fair state of preservation as
though it were founded upon the rock of Gibraltar.

Blooming Grove of today is "up town" in the estimation of its own citizens, is
great in the estimation of others, held up as a good town by all but what we are
we owe it to those who so nobly wrought and so wisely balanced the mortar that
went into the foundation work of a town destined to endure and go on through
tempest as well as through sunshine.

It might be well to mention some of the old landmarks about town. Every town has
them, but it is not on every occasion that it is in keeping with good taste to
mention them. The E. Forgey dwellng situated at the corner of Fourth and Hinkley
Street is probably one of the really outstanding landmarks of the town. This
building, back in the hectic days of Gradyville (probably as early as 1880)
stood down at Gradyville. When the railroad came through in 1887 this dwelling
house was moved to the new town.  We think it was the property of Park Eason'
later on W.B. Armstrong owned and occupied it. This building is now somewhat
disfigured, but as a whole it has withstood the ravages of time, the cyclonic
twists of wind, has withstood the snows of many winters and warded off the
erosions of many summers.

Another of the old relics that came from the old town was the O.J. Butler house
later owned by Capt R.D. George. Fire destroyed it three or four years ago.  The
John W. Phillips house, south of town where Claude now lives, is another of the
really old houses. Up here in town the house owned by the late Mrs. I.N.
Wilkinson used to be owned by Hash Coen, the dwelling owned by Mrs. Mollie
McCormick was in an early day the property of R.M.S. Grady, the dwelling now
owned by Mrs. R.J. Page in an early day was the home of Dr. Buckalew. These
three homes were probably the first three homes to be erected back in the late
89's immediately following the coming of the railroad.

In searching around for historic incidents for this special edition, we have
thought of the cyclone about the first of May either in 1889 or 1890. It used to
furnish spicy conversation for John B and Jack Jones when they got strung off on
that twister. These boys were painters and on this occasion were high up around
the cupola of a new Methodist church just being finished up where stand now a
more modern Methodist church.  Empty barrels and out houses, sheds, buggy
houses, plank fences, etc were hurled through the air like they were goose
feathers. Shade trees were twisted off at the root. These Jones boys made a good
story in telling how their eyes were filled with dust, how they dodged around
and as quickly as possible spread themselves out in a little cave and stayed
there until the elements quieted. That was a memorable occasion with all who
experienced this, the worst wind in the history of Blooming Grove. Mrs. Lollie
Smith (nee Lollie Farmer) 3 miles south of gown could doubtless relate today the
scare that storm brought to Blooming Grove, and Mrs. Jeff Stokes now in Dallas
is another whose memory goes back to that day.

For this special edition we were talking the other day with one of the old
timers, Mel Deason, and it may not be amiss to related some of the things Mel
relates touching the years 1887 to 1890.  Mr. Deason, to the best of his memory,
says the Blooming Grove cotton oil mill was established about 1889. A man by the
name of Wolfenden was architect and builder, but the oil mill was owned by home
capital. J.H. and Joe Jones and J.A. Wallace helped in the mechanical work. S.A.
Roberts, L.E. McCormick, J.H. Watson, Sam Grimes and others were heavy
stockholders. Bob Bryant was probably the first bookkeeper.

Mr. Deason says back in those days the town boasted of a canning factory, and
that was not all, there was a brick yard. Pete Hanson made brick over near Rose
Hill cemetery and nearly all the old buisness brick houses of the town were made
of Hanson's brick.  Another institution of that day was John Scott's livery
stable, and a fellow came along and put in a bakery. So you see we have a town
with a history.

Along with Mr. Deason's early observations comes Mr. Lee Ramsey. Mr. Ramsey can
tell you that S.W. Grimes was the towns' first banker and merchant, Henry &
Hartzell followed closely behind J.T.S. Fitzgerald with dry goods. Mr. Ramsey
speaks of Dr. Buckalew and Dr. Calder as the town's physicians of that day, and
the town's lawyer was Thos H. Jck. Among the mayors of the town, as Mr. Ramsey
recalls were Capt R.A. High, H.J. Jones, R.B. Grady and others.  In 1907 was
organizd an enterprise of far-reaching importance. We refer to the waterworks
and electric light business. The organizers embraced such men as Will High, Dr.
J.A. Green, J.L. Dorsey, T.M. George, J.A. Wallace. J.H. Jones, R.W. George, and
in fact nearly every business man in town took stock in order that the
enterprise might be established.  The first deep well, about 1300 feet, went
down in 1907. This gave the town waterworks and electric lights and then
followed bath room equipment and sewage.  Today we are enjoying these
conveniences, but the town was bonded in later years to finance the
establishment of the conveniences and this bond has not been fully paid off.

Today, with cherished past history the town is on a firm foundation. There is
not a prettier place in which to live. We have concrete , shade trees, al the
conveniences, and our lawns grow flowers and our gardens produce vegetables, and
while there is not too much wealth among our citizens, yet as a rule our folks
are out of debt, are in position to enjoy life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness. With a splendid public school system and a new concrete highway we
are even more fortunately situated than those who faithfully wrought back in the
eventful days of 1880 to 1900.

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