Bosque County: Land and People (A History of Bosque County, Texas) Page: 26
801 p. : ill., ports. ; 32 cm.View a full description of this book.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
City of Clifton.
Active veterans' organizations in Clifton
are Selmer Erickson Post, No. 322 of Ameri-
can Legion and Robert E. Binford Post of
Veterans of Foreign Wars. Auxiliaries of both
organizations sponsor many worthwhile pro-
jects.
How did Clifton get its name? Two ver-
sions have been passed along to later genera-
tions. You may choose the one you prefer.
H.J. Cureton, Meridian lawyer and mem-
ber of a pioneer Bosque County family, said
this settlement adjacent to the well-known
Bosque River watering place and campsite
for ox wagon trains was named "Clifton"
because of the chalk cliffs, then almost devoid
of vegetation, which surrounded it.
A second reason was included in Mrs. O.P.
Pederson's "History of Clifton", a copy of
which was entombed in the cornerstone of
Clifton's second City Hall when it was
dedicated in 1924. Mrs. Nellie Partlow
Pederson, for whom the Clifton Library is
named, was a daughter of "old town" settlers,
Colonel and Mrs. J.M. Partlow.
Mrs. Pederson's history pointed out, "The
town was named by Judge William R.
Sedberry, Sr., father of the late Mrs. E.E.
Major. However, this town was not named for
a town in England (a third version), as was
stated in a previous history of the town, but
was given the name merely because Judge
Sedberry admired it. Thus was Clifton
begun."
by Dorothy Baldridge Kincheloe
BERGMAN SCHOOL
C3
The Bergman School was a one-room
building located on the old John Bergman
farm. The school district, number 58, was
located south and west of the Norse and
Turkey Creek school districts. The students
attending the Bergman School transferred to
Norse for several years in the early 1920's due
to low enrollment. The school was reopened
in 1926 and operated for four more years. In
1930 the school was consolidated into the
Norse school district.
The school had the following teachers from
1926 to 1930: (1926-1927), Madeline Ring-
ness; (1927-1928), Belynda Hoff; (1928-
1929), Mrs. Melvin Grimland; (1929-1930),
Mrs. Melvin Grimland.f f
Steam engine that pulled a separators
Brittains, 1920's.I
Coon Creek Church, built in 1922.
Ift-w tw-by Mary Bergman
COON CREEK COMMUNITY
HISTORYC4
The Coon Creek Community was begun as
a result of a tragic accident in Smith Bend.
John J. Smith of Mississippi had acquired a
big tract of land along the Brazos River in
eastern Bosque County in the mid 1850's. He
sent his son, Burton Smith, with slaves,
horses, cattle, etc. on to start his settlement
near the Brazos River. Predators started
26Coon Creek School, built in 1929;V
house in background.making raids on the Smith livestock, so
Burton, who was in charge until his parents
could arrive, headed a hunting party to kill
a bear which they had tracked along the
Brazos River. On July 5, 1856, hot and
exhausted from the hard chase, Burton
Smith drank from the river and quickly fell
over dead.
Ann Smith McCabe and her husband, Silas
McCabe, had settled in Dewitt County,
Texas, a few years previously, and they with
their three children, born in Mississippi,
came to look after her parents' holdings until
the Smiths could arrive.
They liked Bosque County so well that
belonging to they decided to buy land and stay perma-
nently.
Ann's brothers, Jefferson, Gip, and Van
Buren (Doc) also came with Gip developing
a big settlement at Roswell to which mail was
carried and from there dispensed to Coon
Creek people.
The McCabes' children born in Texas and
who married and had a family in Bosque
County were Delina (1855-1941) who married
W.P. Bonds, Sr. and had six children; Nellie
Helon (1861-1955) who married James Ed-
mond Gouldman and had six children.
Coon Creek Community is bordered by
Smith Bend on the east, Fairview and Boxy
on the west, and Walling Bend on the north.
The Coon Creek is nine miles long, emptying
into the Brazos River.
Gradually homes were built with four or
five early houses standing yet with some
occupied. Silas and Ann lived in a big house
which had floor joists of logs and a barn
enclosed by a stake-and-rider rail fence, just
recently repaired, causing it to lose a little of
its original appearance. It was later the
Gouldman home, occupied until 1955 by
"Aunt Nellie" Gouldman who lived to be
ninety-one years old.
Another early house was the one on the
Stacha land, first belonging to Mr. Sorrell.
(The house has had changes made through
the years.)
A house known as the Arthur Sorrell place
is still on the present Powell Ranch reaching
to FM 56, near the church building.
In the early 1900's the Laura Smith Hayes
home was built, but is now used as a barn by
J.H. Holt.
The W.P. Bonds home was built in 1908.
It still stands on a slight rise a few hundred
yards behind the old school house. A long
gallery is across the entire front where people
could always feel a nice breeze on hot summer
days. Its second story has dormer windows at
the front and many children have romped up
and down the stairs in the wide, front
hallway. It is owned now by Lola Margarette
Eggen and husband, Dr. Troy C. Eggen.
Houses were usually built with fireplaces
and dog-trots, but the latter features was
usually enclosed when screen doors came into
use. Locations for homes were chosen near a
good spring. The spring on the Nellie Gould-
man land being called "The Spout".
Cotton, corn, oats, wheat, and cattle were
raised from earliest days. Cotton was the cash
crop and corn, oats and wheat were used for
meal, flour and stock feed.
More people started coming in the 1870's,
and small farms were the general rule for
many years; however, there was a period of
time in the 1940's when many found work in
W.P. Bonds nearby cities, and then ranches evolved.
In 1951, with the completion of nearby,
-. :
' ,'"
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book 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 Book.
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/m1/42/: accessed July 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Denton Public Library.