  Herald Democrat September 29, 1997 A river of tragedy, hard times runs through old city by Jed Stockton The quiet winds slanting the standing weeds on the banks of the river give contrast to the once bustling town that stood along this now forgotten area. For a short time in the late 1870, a town once stood before the first indications that a new town named Denison would be built. The town known to old times as Red River City already had a population just under 100 souls, according to records at the Grayson County Courthouse. Searching through old files and asking questions of local historians proved fruitless when trying to find the real story behind the demise of a town whose commerce was just beginning to flourish. The accounts of Harrison Tone, one of Denison's founding fathers and founder of Tone Abstract, sheds some light on the consequences that surrounded the death of the town. In a state o the city address for the Denison Daily News dated Sept. 23, 1873, Tone described the conflict with Red River City. "(Denison) was to be christened 'Red River City' and by this name it was known through a dozen states, even before the site had been chosen." Tone wrote. "The announcement that the name had been changed and the infant rechristened Denison, was received here with with many misgivings and dire predictions." "It was argued that Red River City was known over the whole country and its future already assured, while Denison was altogether unknown," Tone wrote. "Protests were made and threats of abandonment were freely uttered, but all of no avail. The powers that be were inexorable. Denison was the name provided and Denison it must be though every man abandoned it, and a dozen Red River Cities sprang up in the vicinity." And so it went. Red River City was already in the vicinity about eight miles to the north of Main Street in Denison. Although the exact location is still in debate, the existence of the city is proven. In a story written for the Denison Herald in the late 20s, Claude Easterly interviewed the engineer who pulled the first Katy work train through Denison, when the railroad arrived. "Just after the Katy came to Denison, the H and TC (Houston and Texas Central) Railroad decided to build a line that would cross the Red River," Easterly said in an interview Thursday. "The had to decide to add on to their already existing line and cross the river." The competition between Sherman and Denison at this time was fierce, judging by the comments made in both newspapers at the time. Sherman, who already had a rail line established with the H and TC were concerned about their investment with the Katy building up stream to the north. According to accounts in the Sherman Daily Democrat, the H and TC decided to ignore the Katy's progress and pass by the little town of Denison and build into Red River City for their rail line exchange. As written in a March issue of the Sherman Daily Democrat, "The Houston and Texas Central secured an injunction today that will stop the Katy from building a crossing to the Red River. The H and TC, adding insult to injury, were proceeding with their line and filed an injunction against the Katy which would not allow the rail line to cross the river because it was not a chartered rail line in Texas. The founders of the H and TC believed that this would force the Katy to use their line and end the establishment of Denison," according to An Illustrated History of Grayson County. "Ready for all eventualities, William B. Munson (a realtor at the time in Sherman) secured over two thousand acres in the neighborhood of the site selected by the H and TC and the Katy to build a rail line." An agreement was reached between the two rail lines, which allowed the Katy to have its station in Denison and the H and TC would station in Red River City. "When the Katy trains would pass by Red River City people would come out of their houses and throw rocks at the trains," said Donna Hunt, a Denison Historian. "There was a rivalry there." According to newspaper reports in 1876, the two lines were running up and down their respective lines, until tragedy struck. A particularly heavy downpour over several days flooded the Katy and H and TC lines crossing the river. The surging flood waters from the river crept closer and closer to the small Red River City town. Eventually the rains overtook the small railroad city and the H and TC abandoned the line and ran on the Katy rails. Richard Munson, who owns the Red River Sand Company where Red River City was located, said there are some obvious indications that the city was once there. "You can still see the mechanics of the train car they drove out on to the bridge to give the bridge more weight so it shouldn't be swept away by the floods," Munson said. "It obviously didn't work. There are some indications of the old ferrying service that crossed the bridge. It is really interesting to think about it." Long after Red River City was gone, settlers still held picnics on the hill that overlooked the town and remembered for years after, according to newspaper reports. Most of the Red River City townspeople moved into Denison when the H and TC moved their lines to share with the Katy. Not much is left of the city now, just some overgrown weeds and a forgotten platform where the ferries went across the river. The lasting legacy of the city, which is still apparent today, is the railroad spike that was wedged between two North Texas cities, so long ago. Red River City History Elaine Nall Bay ©2015 If you find any of Grayson County TXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |