Bosque County: Land and People (A History of Bosque County, Texas) Page: 88
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CENTER POINT SCHOOL
C44
Cayote Community Center, built in 1972.
Zion United Church of Christ at Womack.
In 1912 the Woodmen of the World
Insurance Organization erected a tabernacle
with a large hall above it for public meetings.
In the fall of 1915 the Cayote Methodist
Church was built through combined efforts
of the community. The building committee
was composed of of J.D. Hord, J.A. Jeanes,
C.L. Grounds, Edgar Simpson, and C.M.
Whitney.
Methodists and Baptists alternated Sun-
days, each with their own ministers, in this
building until around 1930, and since then,
the church has been entirely Methodist.
This building was damaged by a tornado
in 1958, but members and friends of neigh-
boring communities rebuilt the present
church building.
At one time Cayote village provided for its
citizens with a cotton gin, blacksmith shop,
garage, and two stores. One was a large store
where anything from food, clothing, to the
mode of transportation of the period could be
bought.
The community entertained themselves
with picnics, and they boasted a good base-
ball team as members of the Bosque County
League, playing teams throughout the
county. Often the men would seine the creek,
and they would have a fish fry. Revivals
lasted two weeks at a time with services
morning and night and baptisms in Childress
Creek.
The remaining cotton gin burned in 1947
and was not rebuilt, leaving only two busi-
nesses: a garage and store. The garage closed
in 1962 after the death of its owner, and the
Cayote store closed for the last time in the
1970s.
Many modern conveniences we take for
granted brought change and betterment in
the rural life: Rural Electric Service in 1937,
an improved telephone system in the early
1960s, Farm to Market Road 56 in the late
1940s, FM 708 in 1953, and a rural water
system organized in 1969.
The business section has been closed now
for several years. Since the school's consoli-
dation with Valley Mills, the old brick
building was taken down in 1972, and the
lumber reused, bricks cleaned by local resi-
dents, and a modern community center built
to serve the social functions of the commu-
nity. The Cayote United Methodist Church
shares the pastor with the Valley Mills
Methodist and is the remaining center of
activity.
by Valeria Whitney and Alma W.
MoormanU
1-
-xRecess at Center Point School. L-R: Hoyt Burns, Weldon Pool, Rex Linberg, George Harris (on teacher's
back); Jim Gardner, teacher.Center Point School, which was familiarly
known as the Harris School, was built about
1895 and was located on the east side of the
Bosque River approximately six miles from
Valley Mills, Texas. This school was located
some 200 yards from the Joseph A. "Uncle
Joe" Harris farm, and most of the schooltea-
chers resided in the Harris home during the
school term. The school was also used quite
often for Sunday School, church, and various
programs for the community. It was a one-
roombuildingrwhere classeswere held for
students in grades one through eight. In
about 1927, the school district was consoli-
dated with the Valley Mills Independent
School District along with other smaller
school districts in the surrounding area. For
several years Valley Mills School sent buses
out into the farm areas for students.
Some of the remembered school teachers
at Center Point were: Sallie N. Bible, Ella
Fitzgerald, Mamie Miles, Fred Allen, W.T.
Booker, Willie Howard, Myrtle Nichols,
Pearl Denman, Jim Gardner, Pearl Richards,
Kathleen McNeil, Veo Shrader, and Vivian
Griffin.
by Ada Windham
W- ' .-FAIRVIEW
C45
Fairview School Building, 1897.
The Fairivew community is located near
Lake Whitney Dam, south of Coon Creek just
off Highway 56 near Valley Mills.
Gip Smith (1844-1912) owned most of the
land in the Fairview community at one time.
One of the heirs of John J. Smith, Gip was
a farmer, rancher, merchant, and banker. He
made a fortune in Bosque County and was
well known throughout Texas. He was one of
ten children, seven of whom came to Bosque
County to live.
When Gip purchased land, there were only
three houses in the community: the Wagley
place now owned by the Russell Dorwards,
the R.E. Conine place now owned by the Fritz
Lee Thieles, and the Gip Smith place, now
owned by the Dick Blassingames.
When Gip sold the Blassingame farm, he
reserved the big water hold in the place so the
people in the community could continue88
, . 4
t
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Bosque County History Book Committee. Bosque County: Land and People (A History of Bosque County, Texas), book, 1985; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth91038/m1/104/?q=campbell: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Denton Public Library.