BARCLAY
Barclay, on State Highway 53 nineteen miles southwest of Marlin in
southwestern Falls County, was named for William Anderson Barclay,qv a pioneer
resident of Central Texas who, in partnership with his brother-in-law, W. S. G.
Wilson, established the Barclay Ranch in the adjoining corners of Bell, Falls,
and Milam counties. From 1895 to 1898 Barclay cleared and farmed 3,500 acres.
The present site of Barclay was the location of a general mercantile store that
he established in 1877 or 1878. Barclay also became postmaster of the
community's post office when it opened in 1881. The post office was discontinued
in 1906, and mail was routed through Rosebud and Lott. In 1881 pioneer Lyddleton
Smith of Washington County assigned three acres of land for a Baptist church.
The congregation became known as Beulah (later Barclay) Baptist Church. Part of
the property was set aside for a burial ground. Confederate veteran Paul Pieper,
Sr., who moved his family to Barclay in 1882, donated part of his acreage for a
cemetery in 1886 and set aside plots for Pieper family members. Paul Pieper,
Jr., deeded his inherited hay land to the cemetery at his death in 1926. The
graveyard has been maintained by the Barclay Cemetery Association since 1915. On
April 8, 1984, Barclay Cemetery received a Texas historical marker in a special
ceremony in Barclay. A Barclay school district was organized in 1882, when Paul
and Katherine Wendel Pieper deeded land for the school. School trustees in 1889
were A. J. Murray, J. F. Knox, and H. Ernst. The teachers were J. F. O'Shea and
A. M. Kolb; they each received fifty dollars a month for three months' teaching.
Fifty-five students were attending classes in 1889. Local population was
reported at fifty by 1890 and at 100 by 1896. The community also had a livestock
farm and a cotton gin and gristmill.
About 1910 Barclay had a general store, a drugstore, a doctor's office, a
Woodman of the World hall, a Baptist church, a school, a public cemetery, a
cotton gin, a butcher shop, a blacksmith shop, a corn mill, a molasses mill, and
a water system. By 1933 the number of businesses had fallen to three, and the
population was reported at sixty-six. A Red Cross Society was organized in 1917
as an auxiliary to the Marlin chapter. During its early years the Barclay
community hosted the first Corn Club (later known as the 4-H Club) in Falls
County. The Texas Farmers Union posted a chapter in Barclay before 1920.
After the Great Depressionqv the people of Barclay voted a bond for
materials for a new school with four classrooms, a gymnasium, and a duplex for
the teachers. The construction provided jobs for thirty to forty people, and the
labor cost was furnished by the Work Projects Administration.qv After
consolidation of the school with the Rosebud-Lott Independent School District,
the building became the community center. A citizens' organization elects
officers each year and conducts major repairs. Barclay Community Center is the
site of numerous reunions, meetings, volleyball games, and domino parties. In
spring of 1982, with the help of the Falls County extension agent, Barclay
initiated the Barclay Beautification Committee to improve the area. The
community received special recognition for two years from the Beautify Texas
Council during its annual Governor's Community Achievement Awards contest.
Barclay's population was seventy-five in 1945 and 100 in 1949, when it also
reported five businesses. The population rose to 151 by 1964. It was 125 by 1970
and seventy-two by 1972. In 1990 the population was still reported at
seventy-two, but by 2000 it had dropped to fifty-eight. Please see all of this
information and more at
The Handbook of Texas Online.
Copyright © Texas State Historical Association with written permission
granted to use above information.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Roy Eddins, ed.,
and Old Settlers and Veterans Association of Falls County, comp., History of
Falls County, Texas (Marlin, Texas?, 1947). Lillian S. St. Romain, Western Falls
County, Texas (Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 1951).
TITLE |
DESCRIPTION |
CONTRIBUTED BY |
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James H. Weaver |
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|
Robin A. Melvin |
|
Salem Lutheran Church |
|
Robin A. Melvin |