Grayson County TXGenWeb

Timeline

1879	Jesse Rathburn, 1st baby born in Whitewright, delivered by Dr. D.M. Ray, the town's first doctor
1881	R.M. Lively opened a dry goods store
1885	Weekly News, the Whitewright Eagle, established by H.S. Ellis
1887	Land given for the town site by G.W. Blanton on North side, J.S. Gowdy on South side, Kit sears on East side & unknown person on West side.
1887	W.R. Hoard & J.R. Fleming operated a libery stable
1887	J.W. McCurdy was the first depot agent for the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad
1887	W.F. Sanders was the 1st real estate dealer
1887	Merchants & Planters' National Bank (The bank was called Womack Bank for a time since it was established by W.B. Womack and sons
1890	R.L. Sears began his medical practice.
	Jonas Fennel established the first grocery store
1893	V.B. Willis from Tennessee established a drug store; he was later joined by his brother H.C. Willis
1893	J.L. Bow moved his medical practice from Bells to Whitewright.
1903	C.P. Johnson opened his medical practice.

1894 Businesses

3 hotels, 1 tin shop, 1 lawyers, 2 dentists, 6 dray lines, 6 doctors, 2 railroads, 3 restaurants, 1 cotton yard, 1 flour mill, 4 drug stores, 2 cotton gins, 1 bicycle store, 2 newspapers, 2 grain houses, 2 wagon yards, 1 planing mill, 1 private bank, 1 national bank, 2 lumber yards, 1 photo gallery, 6 grocery stores, 3 barber shops, 2 meat markets, 1 bottling works, 3 livery stables, 2 furniture houses, 8 dry goods stores, 1 cotton seed mill, 1 grain and feed store, 1 fire insurance office, 4 confgectionary stores, 1 brick college building, 1 public school building, 1 saddle & harness house, 3 blacksmiths & wood shops, 3 hardware & implement houses, 2 jewelry houses, no saloons

1st Town Government

Mayor : W.S. Benedict
Secretary : V.R. May
City Marshall : H. Chowning
Aldermen : W.D. Hoard, R. May, J.D. Patterson, Sam McGruistian

1880s Town Law

The town custom was to tie drunken men to ladders all night or to throw them into ponds in closed crates.

First man killed in Whitewright was shot by Dave Ray while on duty as a Deputy Sheriff.

Town Newspaper

The newspaper was a weekly news edition. Whitewright Eagle was established in 1885 by H.S. Ellis. This in turn became the Plow and Hammer under A.L. McCampbell's editorship. Later the weekly news was edited by Ben Harrison and W.C. Spearman. The paper then became the current Whitewright Sun.

Whitewright History
Susan Hawkins
© 2024

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