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COLMESNEIL HISTORY (continued from page 4)Stewart. Next door were saloons operated by a Mr.Gullihofn and Pete Doucette. In later yean another drug store was added to thisrowofhouaesby Dr. McBride and Sam Fuller. There was also an Alliance or Granger store with Dick Cammack, Jack Riley and Preston Stewart as clerks. Across the track from this street, where Mrs.Lurley Bradshaw'sold home stands, there was a big general mercantile store, the first business of the town, belonging to J. C. Shillings.grand-father of Mrs. Daisy Smith. Down the slope near the branch, where the old Wallace shop now stands, wasabigginbuiltby John Shillings and John Butler. A few feet southwest of the gin was built later a large two-story building which became the S. H. Meadows General Merchandise business and which is still in operation.In front of this store, and on the end of the row of buildings leading down from the track was the big T.H.Neyland store and nearby was a grocery store operated at one time by Herbert G leaves,Pat Gleaves' father. Bet ween the Meadows and Neyland stores were a watering trough,hitching posts and a sycamore. Diagonally across from the Meadows store, on Marlin Fortenberry's lawn,were a hat shop and dental office.In this office Dr. Derrick and Dr. Kelley pedaled their drill by foot, eased the aching teeth with laudanum and extracted teeth w itli crude forceps.One of the most prosperous streets in appearance was the one which extended from the branch up the lull toward the Masonic Hall. Next to the branch,where the Munsell home now stands, there was a dressmaking shop and also the pi»st office. Up the street, where the home of Mrs.Minnie Sturrock is, two two-story buildings stood. Here was the doctor's office, occupied in turn by Dr. Seas-trunk, Dr. Haynes and Dr. Eillison. Later doctors were Hamilton, Roberts, Turner, Trotti and the beloved Dr. VanStewart.In this early day, these, doctors were quite proficient in doling out calomel.quinineandbluemass. There were also presses for the news papers of the town. Frank Robinson had come to town from the New Orleans Times-Demo crat and the Jasper Newboy to publish the first paper, The j Times of Ogden and Colmesneil which later became The Tyler | County Times, the forerunner | of The Booster. The United States Republican was published weekly by J. Rich Hamlin and the Parsonage Record was edited monthly byj. M. Porter in the interest of Christianity and the Methodist Church within the bounds of the new Colmesneil Circuit, East Texas Conference.’ In one of these buildings Jess Unsworth operated a saloon. Here he killed a Negro woman, his dog and himself and left his money to a little girl, JessieGraig.who was named for him. There also lived in one of these houses a very queer old man who was considered insane. He was known as Rev. Woodward as he pretended to be a minster of the gospel and attempted to preach. Tradition has it that he that he located a sizeable sum of money which had been buried at the rear of the building, since there were no banks in Colmesneil. Digging up the little fortune,he disappeared mysterious i ly and no one ever heard of j him again. Across the street, in front of a home now owned by Claude Crews, and in which a Mr. Votaw then lived, there was another hat shop, establ ished by Mattie Votaw and Cora Stewart and later operated by Jennie Woods and Jennie Scott.This is the first of two parts of the Early History of Colmes-! neil. Watch for part two.MOT1 HELD The Baptii held on K Hall The their the V pers« Tei tion Step; Rare Falg Call Kart Spur Tli tern kin gr-CvisMrnei
Newspaper Details
Woodville Pineywoods Press
Woodville, Texas, US
Thu, May 21, 1964
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Catherine B.
USA 15 Oct 2023
Other Publications Near Woodville, Texas
Woodville Star
Woodville Pineywoods Press
Woodville Tyler County Messenger
Woodville East Texas Optimist
Woodville Eureka
