Early Settlers of Eustace

The Earliest  settlers of Eustace (Henderson County Texas) came mainly from Goshen, 
Payne Springs (formerly known as Mallard Prairie), and Cottonwood. Goshen and Payne 
Springs had already been established for a number of years as thriving places of business. 
The merchants, however, were eager to take advantage of the new railroad facilities, 
and they soon began to move to the Eustace town site.
On the day that the train made its first scheduled run in 1900, people gathered up and 
down the tracks for miles, straining their ears for the sound of the first whistle and their 
eyes for the first glimpse of the great "iron horse”, the first that many had ever seen.  
The locomotive with its billowing black smoke must have been an awe-inspiring sight 
both to the on-lookers and to the horses and mules that had brought the visitors to the 
scene.
Although there is a slight difference of opinion as to some of the following "firsts", the 
first business houses in the new town are said to have been as follows:
The first Depot was two box cars brought here by the railroad to be used for storing 
freight and for selling tickets to those passengers who wished to ride the train. The 
boxcars burned within a short time, however, and were replaced with a frame depot 
in 1903 which lasted until 1945 when Eustace became a flag station.
The first cafe or eating place was operated by Jim Hansard while the railroad was 
being constructed in 1899-1900. It was reputedly housed in a tent, part of its furniture 
consisting of large wooden crates. The first building erected for cafe or restaurant 
purposes was built by Tommy Walker in 1904 on the southwest corner of the Old Pear 
Orchard which originally belonged to Mr. Moore and later to Dr. Cockrell. (A few of the 
old pear trees are said to be still standing).
The first grocery and dry goods store was owned by Mr. J. W. Moore in 1900, although 
J. W. Teal and G. F. Weakes soon put in similar establishments. The first post office 
was also in Moores store, thus giving rise to the report that he was the first or acting 
postmaster of Eustace.
Opinions differ as to who built the first residence in Eustace. Some say it was Joe 
Pickle, while others contend that it was either Jack Isler or John D. Evans. It is 
generally conceded that the Joab Melton home was built in 1901 when Mr. Melton 
moved to Eustace from Goshen where he had been a successful merchant.
The first saloon was operated in 1900 by W. E. McKinney and his brother in law, 
C. E. Hamilton. They sold out in 1902 to Mr. Isler.
The first boarding house came into being in 1901, and was run by Mrs. Parilee 
McNeil.
The first candy store was put in about 1901 by Henry Reynolds who also had a 
dry goods and grocery store.
The first barber shop was established by Will Flannagan in 1901, and offered 
baths (for men only!) as well as shaves and haircuts. It was located on the south 
side of the railroad.
The first gin was erected in 1900 reputedly by Jack Isler, although another source 
credits this first to Seb Varner. The old gin tank is still a landmark.
The first drug store was established by John Foster about 1901, although Faulk’s 
History of Henderson County Texas states that Foster and Cockerell were partners 
in the enterprise.
The first doctors were Dr. Lonnie L. Cockerell and his brother Dr. Ed Cockerell.
The first ice house was built by Burkhalter Bros. and was located right by the 
railroad tracks in 1905. Ice was shipped in by refrigerated cars, unloaded, and 
stored in the ice house.
The first meat market was put in in 1911 by Ed Burkhalter.  Prior to this date, 
meat was peddled throughout the town from the back of wagons.
The first lumber yard was owned by Mr. Joab M. Melton in 1900 or 1901 and 
must have been a profitable enterprise with all the building that was taking place.
The first grist mill was put into operation about 1911 by Mr. B. A. Monroe, who 
ground the shelled corn into the cornmeal that was a staple part of the early 
East Texas diet. The gristmill was operated for a "toll"--a portion of the cornmeal 
was retained as payment for grinding, usually 1 peck per bushel of cornmeal. Mr. 
Monroe also operated Eustace’s first garage soon after the "horseless carriage" 
came into vogue shortly before World War I.
Other firsts--although somewhat later ones--include the livery stable run by Ed 
Selman and Doug Gilliam in 1908; the brick building erected in 1908 by George 
Cook; the first bank in 1910; the first newspaper in 1911; the first telephone 
system in 1914; the first movie in 1919 by Jim Jones; the first variety store by 
M. C. Andrews in the early 1920’s; and the first beauty parlor in 1949 by Mrs. 
Bert Baxter.
Other business men and merchants who contributed to the development of 
the new town included Seb Varner, general mercantile establishment, 1901; 
Henry Reynolds, grocery and dry goods, 1901; J. F. Cooper, dry goods and 
grocery, 1901; S. C. Campbell and George Cook, general merchandise, 1901; 
and John D. Evans, who in 1901, purchased the G. F. Weakes grocery store.
About 1904, a disastrous fire struck the little village, destroying almost all of the 
business establishments south of the railroad tracks, including the drugstore 
owned by A. J. Cook, the barber shop owned by Will Flanagan (where the fire 
is said to have started); and the general merchandise stores run by J. W. 
Teal and J. F. Cooper. The candy store and general merchandise store run 
by Henry Reynolds miraculously escaped being destroyed. This area of the 
town was later rebuilt and occupied by C. L. Green, groceries; by A. M. 
Bailey (and later his son, J. W. Bailey), groceries, feed and shoe shop; and 
by B. A. Monroe, who had a blacksmith shop, a grist mill and a garage.
With the re-platting of the town in 1907-1908, the merchants began to center 
their establishments around the new public square, and brick buildings began 
to make their appearance in Eustace. George Cook is said to have built the 
first brick building in 1908, although the deed from Cook, Moore, Melton, 
Weakes, and Smith in 1907, mentions a "concrete stone" building owned 
by M. E. Edgar on "Lot 1, Block 4, of the new town plat".
A second building, also erected in 1908, was put up by Ballard and Campbell 
on the north side of the square for their Eustace Mercantile Company. One 
side of the double Campbell-Ballard building was used as a department store; 
the other half as a general hardware store. Eustace enjoyed a large trade 
territory at that time, extending from Big Rock in Van Zandt County and 
Goshen in northern Henderson County almost to Malakoff to the south and 
including the Stockard Community to the east. The Eustace Mercantile 
Company did an extensive business with the farmers in this trade area and 
owned a large fenced lot north of their building where quantities of farm 
equipment were stored.
Eustace’s only millinery shop, run first by Miss Gladys Reynolds and later by 
Miss Vera Noble, was located in the Campbell Ballard building.
A coal-mining operation was begun in 1908 near the Vernon Moseley home 
south of town, and school was dismissed to let the children see the first dirt 
shoveled. Unfortunately, the mine soon went broke, and the operation was 
closed the same year that it opened. J. M. Hussey is said to have been the 
manager-operator during its short existence.
According to Vernon Moseley, the livery stable owned by Ed Selman and 
Doug Filliam was exceedingly popular with "sparking couples" who had two 
alternatives for spending Sunday afternoon; of "walking the trestle" or 2) for 
the magnificent sum of two dollars they could rent a buggy and two prancing 
mares from the livery stables--and take a buggy ride in high style. A modern 
couple in a today’s sport car could be no happier than the two of yesterday 
were in their hired buggy.
In addition to renting horse-drawn vehicles, the livery stables also operated 
a dray service, by which articles of freight were carried from the depot to the 
various mercantile firms. In 1908 Gilliam sold his interest in the stable to A. C. 
McLaughlin, and a short time later Mr. Selman sold his interest to U. V. 
Holland. A few years later, McLaughlin and Holland moved to Kemp and 
sold the Eustace business to Mr. X. Hastings, who later added a truck to the 
freighting business. Mr. Hastings continued to operate the transfer line for 
a number of years.
Clem Westmoreland operated a general merchandise store in Eustace from 
1910 to 1930, occupying several locations during this time. At one time Mr. 
Westmoreland sold his business to Charlie Green, who in turn leased the 
building to Jim Jones in 1919 for Eustace’s first "movie" house. The movie 
business did not last long, approximately one year, and then Mr. Green put 
in another general merchandise business. Eustace was destined to have 
other movie houses in later years, but neither proved to be successful; one 
built by Mr. Lamberth on the north side of the square in 1947 and a second 
operated by Mr. Barrows in 1949.
In 1913, T. B. Green Sr. and his brother in law Sam Carlton, moved to 
Eustace from Athens and put in another mercantile business which was at 
first located in the George Cook brick building on the east side of the square. 
This firm occupied buildings on the north and the west side of the square 
also in later years. Mr. Green, Sr. as well as his sons, played a prominent 
role in the development of the town for many years. Several years after the 
death of Mr. Green, Edwin and Bruce Green moved to Mabank where they 
both still reside.
Although Joab M. Melton had the first lumber yard in Eustace Joe Chamblee 
and Gus Smith put in a second one in 1913. Chamblee and Smith soon sold 
out to R. R. Smith, who in turn sold to George Cook. In 1916, Carey C. 
Williford purchased the lumber business and operated it for many years. He 
added a hardware store, located on the west side of the square in later years, 
which he operated in conjunction with the lumber yard.
The blacksmith was an important man in the village of yester year, and 
Eustace has had a number of such "smithies"; Joe Pickle, B. A. Monroe, 
A. J. Cook, Rube Fugate, A. J. Moseley, Sed Varner, Mr. Compton, Lester 
Wycough, Simon Acker and much later Gordie Easley.
In 1900 the State of Texas regulated the sales of whiskey by what was 
known as "local option", a term that simply meant that a community could 
decide among its residents as to whether the area would be "wet" 
(sell intoxicating beverages) or "dry" and prohibit such sales. From its 
earliest days Eustace was "wet" and remained so for at least a decade.
The town’s first saloon, operated in 1900 by W. E. McKinney and his 
brother in law C. E. Hamilton, was sold in 1902 to Jack Isler. The Ernest 
brothers, John and Jeff, soon opened a second saloon which was reputedly 
located where the old First State Bank building now is. In 1907, Matt E. Edgar 
opened the third saloon, also on the west side of the present square.
There were many hot arguments between the ‘wets" and the "drys" before 
the "dry" were finally successful in voting the saloons out of business about 
1909-1910.
For many years, agriculture played a major role in the economy of Eustace. 
Most of the farmers in the surrounding trade territory raised cotton and 
depended upon the local merchants to "carry" them financially until the fall 
months when the cotton was harvested and sold. The earliest method of 
harvesting the cotton crop was by picking the cotton from the bolls, which 
were left on the stalks; in later years "pulling" both the cotton and the bolls 
at the same time was used. Both methods were performed by hand, the 
cotton being put into long sacks that were hung over the picker’s shoulders.
The cotton gin was, of course, a necessity, and the Eustace ginner who is 
best remembered is J. C. Harris who went into the business here about 1910, 
after buying out the old Jack Isler-Zeb Varner gin. Mr. Harris was not only a 
prosperous business man but also a man who contributed much to the 
growth of the town in many ways.
A second gin stand, put into operation before 1920 by Lonzo Holland, 
was located south of the railroad . It was soon sold to Jasper Loper, who 
in turn sold it to the Athens Oil Mills. About 1929, J. M. Royal purchased it 
from the Oil Mills, and Edison Monroe operated it for Royal until 1942, when 
the gin was dismantled fro scrap iron and the gin lots were sold for residential use.
Another occupation that depended upon the cotton farmer was that of 
weighing the bales of cotton before the bales were stored on the cotton yard 
until they could be sold. Each cotton yard had its own weigher, for cotton was 
sold by the pound and the bales were not of uniform weight. Some of the 
cotton weighers in Eustace are recalled as being "Dad" Hunter, Cordie 
Chambers, Selman Williford and George Stegall.
The cutting of cordwood also had a financial impact upon the local economy, 
for only by this way could the hundreds of acres of woodland be cleared of 
timber and put into cultivation. The J. L. Kemmerlee and the Roy Clark families 
were prominent dealers in this product. They hauled the wood by wagons to 
be the railroad tracks, where boxcars were loaded and the wood then carried 
to many places to be made into usable products.
The hotel business--or boarding house, as it was called in earlier days--does 
not appear to have been very successful in Eustace. The first person to offer 
accomodations to the traveling public is said  to have been Mrs. Parilee 
McNeil in 1901. She was succeeded by Mrs. A. J. Cook in 1912. Mr. and Mrs. 
Kemmerle built a large home in 1920, in which the teachers are said to have 
boarded, but apparently they did not cater to the traveling salesmen or drummers, 
as such salesmen were known. Mr. and Mrs. Shade Graham are also reputed to 
have managed a successful boarding house, dates unknown.
The first barber shop, as has been previously noted, was operated in 1901 by 
Will flannagan on the south side of the railroad. Subsequent barbershops are 
known to have been operated by Jim Morrow, Edward McKinney, John 
Alexander, Earl Reid, Lester Williamson, Arvie Alexander, Charlie Lewis and 
Everett Morton. The barber who worked so long and who remembered not 
only for his barbering expertise but also for the helping hand that he extended 
to his fellow man was Bill Pickle, no deceased.
In most towns of the early 1900s, the depot agent also provided a means of 
emergency communications by means of the telegraph system. Eustace, 
however, was a "non-telegraph" station, and did not provide such a service. 
The depot agent played a vital role in the life of the town, nevertheless. The 
first depot agents said to have been George Osbourne in 1901, and there may 
have been others before 1908 when Mr. F. D. Shaw moved to Eustace to 
assume that position. Mr. Shaw served the community in many ways before he 
was replaced in May 1930 by Fred Spence. Fred was active in both civic 
and school affairs until he was transferred in November of 1941; his 
replacement was a Mr. Walters, who is believed to have been the last of the 
depot agents for Eustace.
The local Justice of the peace was also an important addition to the life of the 
early town. He was empowered to perform marriage ceremonies, notarize legal 
documents, and collect fines imposed by the constable or municipal officers.
 Among the constables that served Eustace over the years were J. P. Morrow, 
T. H. Moseley, John Gouge, D. B. Reynolds (for many years) and Harold 
Killpatrick, who is the current constable. Justices of the Peace included J. D. 
Evans, George Stegall, a Mr. Lunceford, S C. McLauchlin and E. P. Mixon.
Other businesses that were established in Eustace prior to 1950 were the George 
Frazier general merchandise store in 1941; Georgid Easley’s welding shop in 
1949; Mrs. H. L. Wheat’s sewing shop in 1949; Irvin Tidmore’s grocery store 
in 1947; the Frank Reynolds mattress factory during the 1930’s; Boone Reynolds 
grocery store in 1948; Garrett and Warrens general merchandise in 1914; Irvin 
Yoes variety store in 1939 and J. W. Fords similar establishment in 1944-5; Ralph 
Smith and Johnnie Gilliams garage in 1946; Everett Smiths Humble Filling Station; 
Mixon’s Texaco; Bryon Andrews grocery store and Gulf Station; C. H. Chambers 
Sinclair station; the garages run by B. A. Monroe, R. F. Holcomb, Mangan Bros. 
and H. L. Smith; the ice house run by W. E. McKinney and later D. H. Riddle 
among others.

Published in Texas AGO Journal Winter 1984-1985
Transcribed by Holli Boone Kees