Black Gold, Volume 3, Number 1, 1976 Page: 13
This periodical is part of the collection entitled: Texas Cultures Online and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Panola College.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
WE MAY KNOW How THE LEOPARD GOT ITS
SPOT BUT NOT How GARY TAP GOT ITS NAME
By Pauline Tatum & Ray Taylor
Gary Tap, the Black community of Gary, Texas, is located
about ten miles south of Carthage, Texas. It is surrounded by
three creeks: Brushy on the west, Neil on the south, and Murvaul
on the north. Once called " Nigger Ridee," it is approximately
five miles from the town. of Gary. In order to find out more
about this community, Black Gold interviewed Mrs. Martha McGee
and the Rev. T. J. Ingram, both natives of the Gary Tap communi-
ty.
The community is over 100 years old, which would date it as
a post-civil war town. There are different sayings of how Gary
Tap got its name. Some say the boys wore taps on their shoes,
and on Saturday night could be heard tapping to music at the
creek store. This may be a folklore story. Others agrees that
the " tap" of the variation of the legends handed down from time
to time, the real origin of the term " tap" still is not agreed
upon by all of the community citizens.
Mrs. McGree
One or our main sources of work was fariming or sharecropping.
Oxen was used for plowing instead of horses. The sharecropping
was done because some of the people in this community didn't own
any land. We had one man by the name of Albert Calloway. He
once owned a cotton Min and alone with this ~in was a grist meal.
These was all on his 200 or 300 acres of land southwest of the
present church location. Also, there was a syrup mill operated
by Peter Johnson, where brown cane was made into syrup.
Rev. Ingram
Way before this gin came into operations the people would
carry their cotton in the falls from late August to late Novembers13
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Panola College. Dept. of Communications. Black Gold, Volume 3, Number 1, 1976, periodical, 1976; Carthage, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth151414/m1/15/?rotate=90: accessed April 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Panola College.