 Denison Herald July 25, 1972 VAN ALSTYNE ONLY TOWN IN GRAYSON NAMED FOR WOMAN Van Alstyne - The founding of this prosperous rural community near Sherman was historic for 2 reasons. Van Alstyne is the only Grayson County town named for a woman and its foundation caused the demise of another city, Mantua. The town got its name from Mrs. Mamie Van Alstyne, a Houston stockholder in the Houston & Texas Central Railroad that came through this area in 1872, causing Van Alstyne to be born. All of the businesses at Mantua, founded 3 miles southeast of Van Alstyne in 1857, eventually moved into Van Alstyne and by 1888 Manuta was deserted. Van Alstyne also is a part of the Sister Grove Precinct that was settled in the 1840s. In 1854 W.C. McKinney, James W. Throckmorton and Joseph Wilcox purchased 200 acres of land from Younger Scott McKinney to develop the townsite of Manuta. In September of that same year the trio held a public sale of lots, planning to use the proceeds from the sale to develop the Mantua Seminary, the reason for creating the town. The Masonic lodge was to sponsor the school after the school buildings were put up. As a result, the first building to go up in the area was the Masonic lodge building. On February 7, 1857 Mantua Lodge No. 209 was organized. By 1861 Mantua had 3 stores, 5 hosues and a population of 50. The First Christian Church of Van Alstyne is the oldest Christian church in Texas, having been in continuous operation since 1841. First organized in Bowie County by the Collin McKinney family, the church later moved to Old Liberty which later became Mantua and then into Van Alstyne. By 1865 a post office was set up in the E.B. Rollins drug store, with the druggist serving as the first postmaster. The school was chartered officially September 1, 1856. However, because of lack of funds, the Mantua Seminary opened on the ground floor of the Masonic lodge building. After the Civil War ended, a 2-story, 16-room structure was built. By 1868 it had 8 teachers and 80 pupils. However, in 1872 when the railroad bypassed Mantua and Van Alstyne was created, the entire community picked up and moved to Van Alstyne. In 1880 the school finally gave up. Former Mantua residents organized a reunion, but the last homecoming was held in 1921. Meanwhile, bolstered by the moving in of an entire community, Van Alstyne prospered. By 1885 it had 2 grist mills, a flour mill, and 400 people. By 1890 the population was 800 and Joseph Geer founded the Van Alstyne News. Columbia College was established in 1889 by H.L. Piner and it continued until it was leveled by fire in 1900 and was not rebuilt. By then, however, Van Alstyne had 2 banks, a grain elevator, roller mill, chemical company, and a large number of business houses. Van Alstyne was on the old Texas Electric Railway line between Denison and Dallas as long as that service continued. While Van Alstyne was named for a woman, it took her husband's last name, which differs by 2 neighboring Collin County towns, Anna and Melissa were named after the daughters of Doak McKinney. The first business in Van Alstyne was housed in a tent. Among other items for sale was whisky, but since it was illegal to sell even then, the owner found a way to get around it. He dropped a stick of candy in the whisky and sold the candy for $1 a bottled-stick. Among the early business houses was the McCorkle woodwork shop, which later went into the undertaking business. By 1909 there were 3 hotels, the Carter Hotel which was a U-shaped building where the Spiller family now lives; the Ewing Hotel, where Cole's hatchery is today; and the Baldon Hotel, down by the depot. The first building was erected where Nunnallee's hardware not stands. It later was moved to a spot where the First Baptist Church is located. James Ashley McKinney deed 4 acres of land for a public cemetery, with one acre set aside for the benefit of "persons of African descent." Today the cemetery covers more othan 40 acres and is one of the best kept and most beautiful cemeteries in Texas. Amie McKinney was the first person buried there in 1845. Collin McKinney, for whom the town of McKinney and Collin County was named, is buried there too.   Van Alstyne History Susan Hawkins © 2024 If you find any of Grayson County TXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |