Bosque County: Land and People (A History of Bosque County, Texas) Page: 27

Whitney Dam, many people have settled in
this area; younger ones commute to their
work in Waco, and in the Dallas-Fort Worth
areas. Good highways have replaced the
rough muddy roads of former years.
One of the much-used roads of the past was
the Lone Cedar road. It traversed the Green-
wade ranch to Highway 22, passed through
Walling Bend before getting to the Brazos
River, which was spanned by the Green wade
Bridge. Counts' Hill was about three miles
farther on and Whitney, Hill County, was
about five more miles away.
A team of two mules/horses could pull a
bale of cotton up the Counts' Hill, but it took
a team of four-strung out-to pull one hundred
bushels of oats.
Cotton was ginned at Smith Bend for quite
a while. Gip Smith's gin at Roswell was used
later, as were gins in surrounding towns.
There were several crossings on the Brazos
River. When people wanted to go to Gholson,
Aquilla, and Waco, Spivey Crossing was used.
McCabe Crossing was used when Prairie
Valley or Whitney were the destinations
desired.
For threshing grain, John Mallory an early
pioneer, probably had the first horse-pow-
ered thresher in this area. Six or eight horses
(wild ones preferred) were hitched up and
run on a tread device. They were changed
every two or three hours, furnishing power for
the threshing machine.
Following the horse-powered engine was
the steam-powered engine. The Brittains
used the steam power until gasoline was used.
In 1922, a community thresher was bought
by three Bonds brothers; J.C., W.H., and
W.P., and A.B. Hix and Warren Reed. It was
powered by a gasoline engine. A cook-shack
providing meals for the workers preceded the
thresher when it was time to move to another
field. It was exciting for the children to see
it passing. Combines are now used, replacing
threshers which required more time and
labor.
The earliest school for children of Coon
Creek and Smith Bend was about half way
between the two communities on the McCabe
land. It was built of logs with a puncheon
floor (split logs with smooth side up). It had
a single door, very few windows, and was
quite small. Water for it was carried from
"The Spout", a good spring, still running.
When it was not needed, later for a school,
Mr. J.L. Kelly moved it, log by log, in his
wagon up to his place where it became his
corncrib.
The very first school actually in Cook
Creek was constructed in 1885 on the bank
of the creek across the road from the W.P.
Bonds place. It had a fireplace and was
twenty feet square. Later, ten more feet were
added to it. In 1897 the men tore that school
building down and rebuilt it in what is now
called the seven-acre patch, south of FM56.

It was one of the many common schools
prevalent in Bosque County. Many were
three teacher schools and reported monthly
to an elected county superintendent. This
last building was built on land donated by
Mr. Sorrell in 1929 and was built principally
by volunteer labor; however, there was a
head-carpenter.
McCabe Spring was the source of water for
the Coon Creek Schools until a well was dug
a hundred yards west of the school grounds.
The last school was located just north of
FM56 across from the seven-acre patch.

Some teachers in the early years included:
D.H. Gary, Allen, Foster, Simpson, Scales,
Hall, a Marshall Bonds in 1901, Arthur
Sorrell in 1910, Mitchell, Will Lacy, Tom
Hayes, and Misses Patty Barefoot (W.P.
Bonds, Jr.'s first teacher) and Lula Wiseman
of Hico.
Scholars nearly a century ago used
McGuffy Readers, Swenson Readers, Web-
ster's Blue Back Spellers, and Fish's Arith-
metic. The first schools required students to
buy their own text books and that law was not
changed until 1918.
Some of the teachers in the 1920's, 1930's,
and 1940's included Alice Rainbolt, Nina and
Lena Bonds, Omer Lee Hix, Maurice Rice,
Milton Tergerson, Louis Powers, and Troy C.
Eggen.
In the 1930's and early 1940's a Coon Creek
Outsiders' basketball team was organized.
Maurice Rice, principal/coach matched
games for them with Clifton Jr. College,
Crawford, Jonesboro, Turnesville, and Waco,
with the local team being very successful.
When Omer Lee Hix was principal, the
boys' and girls' basketball teams won Bosque
County Championship in 1934.
When Cook Creek School was consolidated
with Clifton ISD in 1944, some citizens of this
community purchased the school building to
use as a place for gatherings, reunions, and
as a meeting place for the Women's Club,
known as the "Good Neighbor Club" which
still meets monthly. It sponsors a Thanksgiv-
ing dinner and a Christmas dinner annually,
and in January prepares a turkey dinner for
the Clifton Riding Club when it meets to
conduct business.
Parallel to the "Club House" (formerly the
school house) a pavilion has been built on its
east side. In 1973, a former resident of this
area, but now of Oklahoma City, Stokes
Bolton, donated the materials with which to
build this nice facility. The work of building
it was done by several community volunteers
including several from the Fairview Commu-
nity.
A beef club was a good project. Louis
Stacha and A.L. (Mac) Siepert butchered
calves furnished by members and the fresh
beef was prorated to families according to
family size. It was usually done in early
spring, but not during Lent.
Another beneficial project was the making
of cotton mattresses with use of long needles,
stout cord, etc. It might have been supervised
by a county demonstration agent.
In the 1920's, some of the housewives
decided to go in together and purchase a
pressure-cooker with which to preserve, for
winter use, much of their garden produce. It
was placed in the yard of Mr. and Mrs. David
Rainbolt, in a little room there. Participants
included Mmes. Rainbolt, Bonds, Holt, Mal-
lory, Reed, and possibly others.
Bosque County extension work began

about this time. Mrs. C.A. Orbeck was the
first Bosque County Demonstration Agent,
followed by a number of others, one being
Mrs. Mangold. Coon Creek women were
interested in club work for many years.
Only two or three stores have operated in
this community. Warren Reed had one at his
home for a while, and Mr. Rider followed him.
Both sold groceries, candy, etc. Later Cal and
Frank Martin had the "Jot-'em-Down" as it
was called by many. H.T. Nichols kept it later
on.
Recreation followed the usual, general

pattern of nearly all rural areas. Similar to
Smith Bend, box suppers, school plays,
picnics, swimming, baseball games, horse
shoe pitching, quilting bees and covered-dish
dinners were enjoyed.
With the advent of automobiles,life took
on a little more excitement. Fences had to be
repaired after some incidents (or accidents)
made by new drivers. The first one out here
to get a Model T Ford was either Will Mallory
or Bruce Moorman. Joe Gouldman got a 1924
Model T; Alice Rainbolt got a 1924 Model T;
Bill Vaughn (Grandpa) got a 1917 Buick that
in 1928 provided the motor, etc. for a four-
wheel trailer made by the Bonds. Stachas had
a Dodge touring car. Bonds' bought a new
1924 Model T truck for $700.00 with a jumbe
gear.
A.G. Gilliam of Clifton had an agency for
cars, as did Doc Goodall in Valley Mills. So
people in Coon Creek were "with it" as far as
cars were concerned.
Coon Creek Community is Precinct Num-
ber 3 and an incomplete listing of some of the
Commissioners are: 1899-1900, G.W. May;
1902-1903, F.M. Locket; 1913-1916, Biffle;
1917-1920, "Jop" Hord; 1921-1924, Rob Neal;
1925-1928, W.H. Bonds; 1929-1936, T.G.
Brittain; 1937-1946, W.C. Hafer; 1947-1952,
M.V. Bonds; terms changed to 4 year instead
of 2 years in 1953; 1953-1964, W.R. Standefer;
1965-1972, T.A. Blassingame; 1973-1980,
P.A. Bonds; 1981-September 1982, James
White, ended because of his death; 1982-
appointed for two months, Mae White
(widow of James White served until Calvin
Rueter could be elected by ballot); 1983,
Calvin Reuter.
Church has been important to the settlers
and their descendants for many years. The
first church that the people of Coon Creek
attended was at Salem in what is now Mrs.
Bryan Moorman's pasture. Early preachers
included Levi Harris, William Harris, and
McLaughlin. At first, circuit riders on horse-
back would arrive, once a month, on Friday
and visit and preach Saturday night and
twice on Sunday. Each summer revival
meetings were held for about two weeks,
sometimes out-of-doors, and later under the
tabernacle built in the 1890's. Kerosene
lanterns furnished light in those days.
Land for a nice church was donated by
W.P. Bonds, Jr. and A.B. Hix, and it was built
in 1922, said land to revert to original owners
if church was discontinued. Methodist and
Baptists and perhaps a few others, donated
the money with which to buy the lumber,
hauled from Whitney by wagon. A Mr.
McGrady was head carpenter and his meals
were furnished by the families in the neigh-
borhood.
The first funeral held in the church was
that of W.P. Bonds, Sr. on October 31, 1922.
Numerous outstanding ministers got their
first experience in preaching at Coon Creek.

Dr. Sidney Roberts, and Dr. James Shuler are
two.
Services are still held by the Methodists on
part-time basis with Rev. Bobby Baggett
coming monthly on first and third Sundays
from Whitney.
An historical marker is at the entrance of
Smith Bend-Coon Creek Cemetery. The
cemetery was begun by the John J. Smiths in
1856 when Burton (1832-1856) was buried.
Sponsors of the marker were Mrs. Marshall
V. Bonds, Mrs. Lois Smith Hill and Mrs.
Camille Smith Womack. It is between the
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