Starrville Community Well - Starrville, TX
N 32° 28.180 W 095° 06.944
15S E 301163 N 3594468
The old Starrville well dates at least to the 1850s, and while it has been capped, it still stands as a proud reminder of the town's glory days in front of a Texas Historical Marker at the intersection of FM 16 and FM 757.
Waymark Code: WM11DYQ
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 10/05/2019
Views: 1
The well itself has a concrete cover on it and is protected by a roof and a small chain fence that will deter bicyclists but not much else should some kook come sailing through here at high speed. Some of the bricks are peeking through, and it looks like the concrete/plaster job has been there for some years.
The historical marker provides some community history:
In 1852 the Rev. Joshua Starr, a Methodist minister from Alabama, bought 640 acres of land here on the Dallas-Shreveport Road. Platting Starrville, one of the earliest towns in Smith County, he sold lots with deed covenants against gambling and liquor. In 1853 he helped organize Starr Lodge No. 118, A. F. & A. M.; Methodists and Masons shared a 2-story building which the church bought from Starr in 1854. The post office was moved from nearby Gum Spring to Starrville in 1857. The town thrived with stores and overnight lodgings for freighters. It had grist mills, sawmills, foundries, and a wagon factory; music teachers, dentists, physicians, photographers. Its churches and schools were highly influential. The Methodists supported a female high school; the Baptists founded Ann Judson Female School. A Union academy, male high school, and female college also existed before the Civil War (1861-65).
Bypassing of Starrville by the Tyler Tap Railroad in the 1870s brought population losses. In 1907 the post office and the Masonic Lodge were removed to Winona. The schools of Starrville and Baker Springs were consolidated in 1924, and later were merged with the Winona public school system.
-----
What the marker doesn't mention is that Starrville's own population was their undoing. Usually it was the railroad that would bypass a town, leading to its demise, but in Starrville's case, the religious convictions of the community turned away the railroad and the outsiders that it would bring. From there, it was only a matter of time before Winona sprang up a few miles to the west, taking a chunk of Starrville with it. Gladewater to the northeast also benefited from the town's downfall.
Visit Instructions:
Please share a self-made picture of the Draw Well and tell us something about it. Did you taste the water? You do not have to be in the picture, neither does your GPSr.
Recent Visits/Logs:
| There are no logs for this waymark yet. |
|
|
|