 MANTUA ... where it started. Bro. John T. Echols of the Mantua lodge was the architect of
the building. Echols along with J. L.
Kelly, E. B. Rollins and James Laf. Leslie constructed the building with lumber
hauled from Jefferson. The building was
completed in late 1858 and the cornerstone laid in 1860. Just a few years later the cornerstone was
"visited by an unholy thief" and ravaged for The first floor housed the school while the second floor was the Lodge Hall. In the Lodge's Blue Book of 1907, Benjamin Gaffney is credited with the painting and decorating of the hall. Gaffney, an "eccentric character," was an artist from New York. He adorned the wall with a representation of King Solomon’s Temple and he decorated the blue ceiling with the planetary system. In 1860, an announcement was published for the second session of the Mantua Seminary. It was under the "superintendence of J. Myers A. M. and Lady with a complete corps of assistants." Tuition ranged from $10 to $20 for classes. Boarding in nearby family homes was available for reasonable terms. In deeds dated February 1862, the stock holders of the Seminary, represented by trustees James Lafayette Leslie and James R. McBride, sold for $300 all interests, notes and land to the Mantua Masonic Lodge. On June 29, 1858, the Mantua post office was founded and Eliphalet B. Rollins was postmaster. Rollins also operated a drug store. A dry goods store was owned by J. M. Douthitt. Dr. William Dixon Lair was another physician to practice in Mantua. Newt Taylor's tan yard used bois d'arc apples instead of bark in his tanning pits. James A. Stinnett ran a corn mill near town. Stinnetts grandson, Gene Lindsey and his
wife, Ruby told about the digging Just as the little town of Mantua was taking off, the threat of war loomed over the country. On June 8, 1861, Captain Thomas H. Bowen raised a regiment of Mounted Volunteers of the Sixth Texas Cavalry with 12 officers and 63 privates. Another regiment organized at Mantua in February 1862 with J. S. Pattie First Captain. There were 18 officers and 76 privates in this unit. Of the 43 Lodge members in Mantua, 36 entered service under the Stars and Bars. An independent company known as Dick Taylor's Home Guard also organized during the war. The soldiers trained on the square under the starry eyes of
young boys and the anxious gaze of women and old men. A confederate machinery repair shop, managed
by Charles H. Wysong, operated in Mantua during the War. The Lodge continued to meet regular under the
leadership of Wysong and John Echols.
But Mantua would never be the same again. Mantua History Susan Hawkins © 2024 If you find any of Grayson County TXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |