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Hawkins-Holly Lake Ranch, Texas - GAZETTE ARTICLE ONLINE

WOOD COUNTY HISTORY - AS TIME GOES BY

 

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AS TIME GOES BY

Wood County History

By LOU MALLORY — Chairperson, Wood County Historical Commission

 

County Historical Commission

Wood County Historical Markers

 

The arrival of our beautiful early fall weather leads to a continuation of our previous look at some Wood County historical markers if you are in the mood for an outing.


These are in the Quitman area and the first is the well-preserved Collins-Haines home. It was the first brick structure in Wood County. The Collins family built it and assumed residence in 1859. They were settlers from Mississippi.


The bricks to build the house were molded and baked nearby on the plantation. The furniture that graced the home was made in the plantation workshop. The home was also enhanced by a finely landscaped garden.
In the years 1861 through 1865, Confederate units marched by the property, to camp and to war.
 

In 1870, the home was acquired by the family of George W. Haines. The home and the marker are located a short distance south of Quitman on FM 778.
 

The Flora Lodge #119 A.F. and A.M. was founded before the Civil War at Quitman. A petition for charter was made on January 5th, 1852. The first officers were Worshipful Master James E. Brown, Senior Warden A. Gunter, and Junior Warden Francis C. McKnight. The other petitioners included George Birdwell, W.L. Brown, S.W. Flournoy, J.D. Goes, E.H. McKee, J.H. McKee, W.M. Matthews and Joshua Smith.
 

The Lodge was given its present name on Christmas Day, 1852, without any recorded explanation. Original furniture for the Lodge was made by the illustrious Wood County pioneer, Peter Gunstream, but in 1854, a fire destroyed the lodge along with the charter, the jewel and the furniture.
 

Subsequently, a combination Presbyterian Church and Lodge Hall was built and occupied in 1855. By the time the Civil War was ending, the Lodge was almost penniless and hard pressed to even buy candles.
 

Electric lighting came to the area in 1917.
 

The early Lodge worked diligently, often meeting on a Saturday morning, dismissing to attend preaching services in the church then resuming work.
 

The Flora Lodge built a new two-story structure in 1949 on the historical location. The marker was dedicated in 1972.
 

The First Baptist Church of Quitman is one of the earliest churches in Wood County. It was organized on November 16th, 1850, by pioneer settlers in a meeting moderated by a Cumberland Presbyterian, the Reverend Simon W. Weaver.
 

The charter members included Ursula Benton, M.M. and Mary Bigham, James Silas, Robert, Mary, A.L. and Elizabeth Duncan, Joseph Alexander, Martha Greer, Peter Frances, Mary Rozell, James N. Stedman and John and Augusta Williams.
 

In the early days, worship services were held in homes and in the open air. A two-story building was erected at College and Goode Streets in 1855 by the Presbyterians and the Masons.
 

In 1855, the Masons bought the building and made it available to all faiths, until it was razed in 1900. On the same lots, the First Baptists and the Masons erected another two-story frame edifice.
 

Under capable pastors, the congregation grew. The building at Lane and College Streets was replaced by the present building in 1952. The old bell, used from 1855 until 1929, has been preserved as a historic relic.
 

The pulpit of the church has been filled by some notable guests including Rev. George W. Truett, a very well-known pastor from Dallas.
 

The church was also the home church of James Stephen Hogg (1855-1906) the first native-born governor of Texas. The historical marker was dedicated in 1970.

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