 The Northern Standard (Clarksville, Texas) Vol. 9, No. 40, Ed. 1 Saturday, July 31, 1852 EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE McCarty's, Grayson Co., April 26th, 1852. This morning, the District Court opened at Gainesville, but no benire having been issued in consequence of the death of the Clerk, and not enough persons appearing at the Town, out of whom the Juries could be constituted, and there being little business on the Docket, Court was adjourned to the next regular term. Accordingly, after early dinner, four of us, including his Honor and the District Attorney, started for Grayson. The Court being anxious to get home pushed on rapidly, but being a loiterer myself, and having come up here to see the country and its inhabitants, I halted at the hospitable residence where I write, and shelter myself for the night with friend McCarty, who was the first settler out here and has a choice and beautiful tract of land. All the way from Gainesville, here, the country has been most pleasant to the eye, a succession of prairie and wooded ridges, within the cross timber region for 12 miles. Getting this side of the cross timbers, the country improves both in beauty and quality, and at Hartsuggs', 3 miles west of this, and at this place, the view is such as the traveler feels inclined to turn his horse and look all around upon. Reeves' Monday Evening This morning after breakfast, left McCartys and after traveling about the neighborhood somewhat, got here this afternoon, after crossing Big Mineral, a clear creek, with a muddy bottom, cut up by the Government teams, hauling to the Northern line of Forts. The road which we struck into a little the other side of Spring creek, and which continues to Preston, is termed the Military road, and is broad, plain and much travelled by wagons carrying supplies for the Posts, and express riders from the Post to the Depot at Preston. A little this side of the residence of Mr. McCarty, the view of the surrounding country becomes very fine, the high lands near Sherman being distinctly visible. This place is a very pleasant one, well divided between timber and prairie, with highlands in view from the house. Around it, are 3 leagues of University land, 2 of them almost entirely prairie, but of fair quality, save the lack of timber, the third a superb league, well timbered. Of the 50 leagues appropriated by law for 2 Universities, 28 leagues have been surveyed in this Cooke Counties. SHAWNEE TOWN, WEDNESDAY EVENING Went this morning with Col. Reeves, all over the Georgetown tract, famous ever since I have been in the District as a magnificent tract of land, and in 1840 or thereabout, the station of a Company of Rangers. It's pretensions as a Town are about those, near as I can learn - a man named George Ivey once lived there, and from that circumstance, it was called George's town or Georgetown, its town character being perhaps increased by the residence of the Rangers. Some of the cabins erected by the troops are still standing - The tract is part prairie and part timber, lying finely either as regards cultivation or beauty. - The land in some places, black sandy, and in some, red sandy. Of the thousand acres, every acre is tillable. There are several fine springs, one a Chalybeate, welling up strongly, in a little ravine. Came from Georgetown to this place, which has a coexistent reputation with Georgetown, and is at present the residence and plantation of Col. Wm. C. Young. Shawnee town, however, was once an Indian town. Their fields and some of the cabins are still here, and the creek which runs through the tract has always been known to the whites as Shawnee creek. This tract is of red sandy land, very rich, and has a front of 2 miles on Red River, the tract containing 1200 acres. On the east side of the Creek, is a high hill, the commencement of a range, which are bald, save grass and cacti, and run from the edge of the bottom, for some distance out in the prairie, and also sinuously with the course of the river. From it may be seen the surrounding country for miles. The locality is such a one as Indians always choose for villages when practicable; the conjunction, hills, rich vallies and clear running water. The creek affords perch, trout and suckers. The under layer of the banks is of argillaecous limestone, with great numbers of Ammenites and other shells imbedded. Petrifactions are deposited upon the little bars at the bends. In places, benches of white lime stone occupy one side of the bed, creating basins for the water. The soil here, as at Georgetown, is shown by the creek banks to be 8 or 9 feet deep. This is the place whose product of corn last year, with indifferent cultivation, was 70 bushels to the acre, as published last Fall. There is an Apple orchard on it, which bore last year, fruit of very large size, and excellent flavor. This tract of land, was originally nearly all heavily timbered. There is a region of Country about here, on the river, which I should like to visit, if I had time. It is in Cooke County, has now only a half dozen settlements upon it, but is said to be magnificent land, with heavy timber. Bottom prairies extend out a mile from the timber, affording rich fields cleared by Nature, ready for tillage. Red River at the place of John D. Black, which is the highest settlement, is fordable, nearly always. Col. James Bourland has a trading place, for Indian traffic, in that region, and his brother, Wm. H. Bourland, lives also in the vicinity. It is a portion of country which must soon command attention, for its great richness, and its convenience to the market furnished by the frontier posts, for grain. Friday Evening Have been to day, upon the hills by the bottom, and sauntering about for curiousities, have found upon the summit, Scallop, Oyster, and Muscle shells petrified. The Oysters were most of them in halves and at first I was disposed to doubt their identity, but at last I came upon one whole, whose rough coat and irregular shape could not well be mistaken, and putting the point of a big knife to the seam, it opened so familiarly, that I almost expected to see the ancient inhabitant within it. I found 3 kinds of cacti upon the hills. C. De. M.   Ghost Towns of Texoma, vol 4 ~ Georgetown, Fink & Reevesville by Natalie Bauman Large pring paperback amazon.com Georgetown History Susan Hawkins © 2024 If you find any of Grayson County TXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |