Willow Springs located 7 1/2 miles Southwest of Athens and bounded
by Beck's Chapel, Cross Roads, Post Oak and Rome, it is probably one of the
older settled areas of the County. The more recently developed community
of Tricities which grew around the large Lone Star Gas installation in the area
also joins this community and the newly developed Shady Oaks Addition has
grown into a well populatted village.
We failed to learn when the cemetery was first started. However, Henry M. Gage,
son of the late Joe Gage who was born here nearly 90 years ago said that his father
told him that the cemetery's first grave was that of a young daughter of a Mr. Hand.
The oldest date we found on a tombstone was 1873 so we are sure the cemetery
has been here well over a hundred years.
Settlement of the area seems to have begun in the early 1850's. The following para-
graph copied from the abstract of land now owned by B. B. Atkins shows the date
that will probably fit other tracts in the area:
"Patent certificate No. 1058 issued to S. D. Wood, 18th day of June 1850 by virture
of his colonization certificate by J. M. Crockett, commissioner of Mercer's Colony for
320 acres of land."
The document was signed by E. M. Pease, Governor. In 1854 the tract was assigned
to J. W. Trimble. Then names which will be familiar to many older citizens of Henderson
Co. to appear in the records. Nat P. Coleman was deeded the tract in 1856. He deeded
to Jno. P. Morrison in 1865. Four years later in 1869 Wiley Thornton purchased it from
Morrison. Then in December 1880 M. T. Pace purchased the land. He will be remembered
by the older generations as "Uncle Tony Pace" and was a Primitive Baptist minister. The
gravestone mentioned earlier was that of Mr. Pace's first wife A. E. Pace born 1850 died
1873.
Many of the graves in the older part of the cemetery are those of young people, babies
and very young children, mute testimony of the conditions under which these early
settlers lived.
There were few roads, few doctors, very little medicine and, of course hosptials were
nonexistent.
We are not sure when the community came to be called Willow Springs but probably well
before the turn of the century. However, there was at one time a tiny Post Office located
on land now owened by J. H. Trammell. Henry Gage knew of the first post office and
that a Mr. Lewis was the postmaster. The late Sam Goodgame told me once while making
a well on our place that he carried the mail on horseback from Athens out here to the
post office. However, it was not until I visited Mr. Walter Jackson at Malakoff and met Mrs.
R. J. Horn of Palestine that I learned the name of the little post office. She said it was
"Bute" and she has among her mementos a letter postmarked Bute in 1898.
In County Superintendent Ballow's office I looked over old records of Willow Springs
School Dist. # 14. The earliest date found was 1884 and L. V. Pringle was the teacher.
He received $30 a month for 5 months. During these early years there were four
different names listed for schools in the district. There were Thompson's Mill, Sand Hill,
Big Spring and Willow Springs. R. L. "Buster" Sparks remembers from his childhood of
hearing or knowing that there was a Woodmen Hall at Thompson's Mill and that there
was an active Woodman of the World organization, also a Woodman Circle. We have
noticed Woodmen monuments in the cemetery.
One of the early schools was a colored school, I do not know which. The salaries
averaged $30 per month. But Mittie Miller was paid $35 for January and February.
Hattie Crane was paid $30 from November through January 1893. Among the
miscellaneous expenses it was recorded that J. C. Louis was paid $1.00 and $1.90 for
"taken cences" (sic) and $5.00 was spent on repairs of the schoolhouse.
Mr. Walter Jackson of Malakoff started to school here when he was about 7 years old.
The school then was below the cemetery and was a one room box structure with a big
chimney and fireplace. On occasion the men would haul a load of wood to the school
but mostly the boys rustled wood from nearby areas. Although it was winter some of the
children were still barefooted. Mr. Jackson told of one boy who was always ready to
play jokes. He hid a live coal or two under the ashes on the hearth. A big barefooted boy
stepped on the coal. In spite of the 80 years gone by since the incident Mr. Jackson
could not tell of it without laughing.
The second school house was farther to the east and near the fine spring which furnished
water that was carried in buckets by the children. This building did not have a dividing
wall but did have two teachers. A curtain served as a partition. Henry Gage who went to
the school there remembers two of the teachers were Miss Maggie Derden and Miss Lila
Shelton. The third building was quite a bit more modern and had two rooms. Mrs. Grace
Rogers who was Grace Barr says this was the only school she ever attended until she
went to Summer Normal School in Athens. Among teachers she mentioned were Miss
Hattie Mitchell, Miss Lucy Mitcham, Mrs. Julia McCulloch and Frank J. Davis. About
1928 the high school ace pupils were transferred to Cross Roads and around 1935
the consolidation was completed and all of the small schools were closed around the
country and buses carried the children to Cross Roads.
In the early part of the century there was no chuch in the community. However, worship
services and a Sunday School were held in the school house. Brother Martin, a Baptist
preacher and Bro. Chisolm, a Methodist preacher, preached on alternate Sundays.
The Sunday School was a union of both groups.
Then for a long period there was no church services of any kind in Willow Springs except
for and occasinal service in the unused school house or a brush arbor revival. One such
I remember was when the late B. B. Atkins and W. H. Hines and other put up an arbor.
The revival preacher was Bro. Copeland a Protestant Methodist. He was the father of
the present Bishop Kenneth Copeland of the United Methoidst Church, Texas Conference.
In the late 30's a Rev. Sawyer came here and preached for a revival and the Willow Springs
Baptist Church was organized as an Independent Baptist Church. Immediate plans were
made for the building of a church house. Logs were purchased from Mr. Kidd of Brownsboro.
The logs were hauled from East Texas piney woods by the Kidd trucks to the present site
of the church, land having been purchased from the late B. O. Conditt. Little if any, labor was
hired. The men of the community with Brother Sawyer returned to Ft. Worth. The war came on,
many people left for jobs in the defense industry and the young men for service in the Military
so the little church stood idle except for a brief period when Bro. Tom Johnson served as
pastor.
Then in 1946 the Rev. James D. Gordon of the Ft. Worth Theological Seminary heard of the
plight of the little church. He came here and held a revival which led to the reorganization
of the church which then became affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, its
present status. The church grew and prospered and was served by a number of good
pastors. Repairs and improvements were made from time to time and then in the mid-fifties
under the pastorate of Rev. Olen Cantrell plans were made for the modern brick sanctuary.
The fine educational unit was added a few years back to make this one of the nicest rural
churches anywhere.
Before the turn of the century many of the people in this community may have attended the
Primitive Baptist Church at Rome which is only two or three miles from here. The Rome church
was constituted in 1881 with services held in the schoolhouse. M. T. Pace was one of the
Elders who preached there. Following the consolidation of the school with Cross Roads in
1935 the schoolhouse and land were abandoned by Cross Roads. Since the land had
been donated by Andy Boyd Sr. for as long as they had school there it then reverted to his
heirs, C. R. Boyd and Luther Boyd. They then gave the land to the church and cemetery.
In the early 1960's the old house was torn down and a new church was built which still stands.
Throughout it's history this area has contributed its share of men to the service of our Country.
And we found one marker in the cemetery to the memory of John K. Simmons born 1839 died
1911 1st Cpl 12th Reg Al Cav Vet. Confederate States of America. He was the grandfather
of John K. and Percy Simmons, both of whom served during World War II they are sons of
Mrs. C. T. Simmons.
Other WWII veterans are Henry Gage, T. C. Williams, J. R. Boyd, Howard Trammell, Toby
Trammell and Bernice Boyd(deceased). Sons of Mr. & Mrs. C. R. Boyd who served are
Hubert, Grover, J. P. and Emmett Boyd. Maury Crist who now resides here is a veteran of
WWII and J. C. Rogers in a Navy Veteran.
Men from here who served in WWI included Elbert Boyd, Ben Gipson, Bob Stone and Verda
Trammell. Mr. Trammell is the only living member of this group.
Mr. & Mrs. C. F. Rogers lost a son in the Korean Conflict. In Nov. of 1950 they were notified
that their son, Bennie Don Rogers was missing in action and presumed dead. Their other son
Gerald H. (Jack) Rogers was in the Merchant Marines during the Korean period.
Looking back over this and seeing the same names appear so often reminds me of the time
Mrs. Margie Mills was writing the news from here and a former neighbor asked her why she
wrote so much about the Trammells and Boyds. She replied that over half of the folks here
had those names. There are still a few of them here. J. H. Trammell, and Duncan Boyd with
C. R. Boyd and Hubert Boyd only a short distance from here.
Another look at the old record I'm using reveals that M. H. Hodge and wife bought land here
in 1889. The late Dr. Robert Hodge once told my father B. B. Atkins that his father Dr. Hodge
Sr. went to a little school out here on land presently owened by J. H. Trammell. It was
probably the Sand Hill School listed earlier in this account. The name of D. J. Mitchell also
appears when he purchased land in 1896 from C. H. Coleman. Mr. Mitchell was an ancestor
of D. C. Mitchell (See Note at bottom:) former commissioner of this precinct. In 1903 P. C. Barr purchased land here.
Among his descendants who presently live in the community are grandchildren, Mrs. Grace
Rogers, Mrs. Bessie Allen, Mrs. Mamie Russell and James Trammell. Many others live in Athens
Cross Roads and other nearby areas.
To say there have been many changes in the almost 40 years I've known this community
would be putting it mildly. When my parents moved here water was drawn from wells with rope
and bucket. The roads were either deep sand or red clay at times almost impassable even in
a wagon. Mr. Hines, Mamie Russell's father, once remarked that when he hauled his cotton
to a gin at Cross Roads it was uphill all the way there and back. In 1935 the road was a
blessing but when electricity came to the area that was really the "most". This was in 1946.
In the old days this was a farming community with cotton as the money crop and corn grown
for feed. Peas also became a good source of income as did tomatoes in the forties and fifties.
Now there is very little farming except for pasture improvement and hay crops. Most of the
residents have employement in town and have cows varying from a few head to quite
large herds.
The frame or box houses of yesteryear are gone having been replaced with modern homes
equipped with all the conveniences of town or city dwellers.
Willow Springs today is very little like the Willow Springs of a hundred years ago but the
fine spring from which the name must have come still flows. The cemetery is in the same
place though much larger and much better cared for than in those early times. The folks
are still friendly and we think we have one of the best places anywhere in which to live.
note to editor: Doubtless many who read this will remember things that should have been
written, or find a few errors. However, I have done my best and am imdebted to many
people who gave me names and information. I simply did not have time to do much
research.
Lorna N. Newman