Bosque County: Land and People (A History of Bosque County, Texas) Page: 89
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Belle Starr log cabin in Fairview community.
Fairview Cemetery
driving their cattle there for water. Drinking
water was also hauled from the shallow well.
Thig well has never known to be pumped dry,
and today remains a strong well with plenty
of water.
In 1870 the R.E. Conines moved to the
community, pre-empted 160 acres of land,
later buying 600 more acres at 50 cents per
acre.
The small creek that ran through this
property was called "South Coon Creek."
The community was a prairie with sage grass
higher than a man's head. Not a fence of any
kind and only two houses could be seen
between Fairview and Clifton, a distance of
13 miles. Every man carried a gun for
protection as there were still danger of
Indians and little law enforcement. The story
was told that anyone who drank water from
Coon Creek would either lie or steal.
The Fairview Church was organized in
April, 1889 with twelve members. For eight
years church services were held at the school,
and Rev. J.M. Dean was the first pastor.
In 1897 Gip Smith gave Fairview the land
to build a church and school on. A one-room
school was built and in August, 1897, the
church was moved from Coon Creek to the
school building where it served as school and
church until the church under constructioncould be finished. R.E. Smith served as the
first pastor and school teacher in the new
building. Other teachers were Mr. and Mrs.
Dennis Gary, Mr. Lunchford, Miss Nettie
Smith, and Miss Lillie Richards.
The one-room school was well remembered
by Iva Mc Millan: "the pot belly stove that
was cracked, the east and south doors that
cold air came in . . . Miss Lillie who'd let
you sit by the stove on cold days if you'd
behave but if not, she'd head you back to your
cold seat." It was said that Mrs. R.E. Conine
named the school "Merrivale". She had read
of a little village called Merrivale and she
liked the name.
This one-room school grew into a three-
room school with many children, sometimes
a hundred or more. Men of the community
donated labor and made the school larger. In
1955 this building was torn down and the
lumber was used in the present Fairview
Baptist Church. The church was finished in
1897 and Rev. J.H. Johnson delivered the
institutional sermon.
Fairview's first post office was in the R.E.
Conine home (1892-1902). A.A. Conine was
the postmaster and a Mr. Keller was the first
postmaster. Mail was delivered on Monday,
Wednesday, and Friday with no daily paper.
Mail was brought in by horseback, the late
Sam Davis of Clifton being one of the carriers.
The Conine home also had a general store
to help supply the community's needs. Close
by was the Cayote Post Office that operated
until 1904 when the present rural route came
through from Valley Mills. It still serves the
community today with the Clifton mail route
also serving part of the area.
Gip Smith built a post office in 1882 near
Greenock, some six miles southeast of Fair-
view. In 1902 Gip built a post office at
Roswell, east of Fairview, where he also had
a general store and cotton gin. In the early
1880s Parker Kellum built a cotton gin and
general store at Cayote. All these things
supplied Fairview's needs. Most residents
remember the late Dan Cutbirth who was the
last one to operate the Cayote General Store.
He would supply groceries and other items
until fall when a crop could be harvested and
bills could be paid.
Fairview's first doctor's office was a two-
story house built by Dr. Liverman, nephew
of M.H. Spivey. The structure served as the
doctor's home and office. A Dr. Curby
followed Dr. Liverman. In 1958 this building
was bought and torn down by E.F. Thiele,
and the lumber was used in his new home.
The first burial in the Fairview community
was M.H. Spivey in 1897. His daughter,
Jewel, was buried on the church ground east
of the Fairview Church. Their bodies were
later moved to the present Fairview Ceme-
tery near the church.
In 1903, the Woodmen of the World and
Woodmen Circle were organized at Fairview,
and in 1923 it was moved to Cayote. Mrs. L.A.
Rogers (1864-1906) has a Woodmen tomb-
stone in the Fairview Cemetery.
Serving the community as photographer
was Mr. Philipson who had his business in his
home. Living nearby were the Eck Lees
(daughter and son-in-law) in a house identi-
cal to her parents. These buildings still stand
today.
Of interest to Fairview community was
Belle Starr, "the bandit queen" who owned
160 acres of land in this area. This acreage is
owned today by the Ralph Robersons. BelleHomes of Phillipson and Eck Lee families early
settlers.M.H. Spivey, first burial in Fairview Cemetery.
Fairview Baptist Church, dedicated 1956.
89
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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/m1/105/: accessed July 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Denton Public Library.