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THE HISTORY OF COMMUNITIES
IN PANOLA COUNTY
DEBERRY
The community of DeBerry had its origin sometime in the year of 1878. In much the same way all the other communities
that grew to towns or villages—by the residences first of log, and then remodeled with lumber, being built close
together for convenience.
Sabine River made it inconvenient to reach Carthage in its earlier history—roads were narrow and rough—wagons were
the popular ways of transportation. These conditions led to the organization of the present town called DeBerry
for Captain or Lawyer DeBerry as he was often referred to. He had signal honor conferred on him. He was the first
Secretary of State after the Civil War. During Governor Cokes administration. He resided in Carthage, Texas and
his law office was on the site of the Grimes residence, known to early citizens as the "Snow Home", the
oldest landmark of that town.
Stell, Furrh and Rogers Company established a big business there Paul and Molt Anderson also had businesses located
here at that time. Others, Jack Rogers and Monroe Caddenhead, and his son. The story is told that Monroe Cadenhead
had a very large farm one and one-half miles from the' present town site. He was quite successful and at the time
of his death he had $16,000.00 in gold buried under his crib.
Some settlers that were here as early as 1835 were Hills, Blacks, Wooleys and Rutledges. Others came from different
states at different times. Some of these are Andersons, Strouds, Tedlocks, Miss D. Anderson and Mrs. Leila Cadenhead.
There has been a post office since a very early date. Among the earlier doctors there were: Dr. Jesse Herndon,
Dr. Wells and Dr. T. L. Turk. Later Dr. Flanagan served his town for a number of years. The Baptist Church was
the earliest organized with one service a month. Education and high ideals of life have ever been preeminent in
the hearts and minds <of the people of DeBerry.
Several landmarks had to be destroyed in building of Highway 64 which makes traffic in this place much greater
than ever anticipated by the earlier settlers. There are neighboring communities that have always done a
most substantial and worthy contribution to the County. They are Deadwood and Tacoma. Some of the families that
have contributed greatly are as follows: LaGrones, Alexanders, Holts, Rays, Ivys, Davis, Jernigans, Jeters, Smarts,
Drys and Staples.
A large per cent of this part of the County is under cultivation and is noted for its bumper crops and its up-to-date
farming methods. Good schools are the pride of each, and school busses convey the high school boys and girls to
the Carthage High Schools. Sons and daughters from these ambitious people have taken their places in various
parts of the state in different professional fields.
FAIRPLAY
Perhaps w-e cannot vouch for the truthfulness of the old adage, "Truth is stranger than fiction,"
but after looking up some of the early history we can vouch for it being more interesting. On writing this I want
to say I have tried to be careful to use only information from trustworthy sources. Fairplay has a history
to be proud of. It is one of the oldest
communities in the county, west of the Sahine River, and with the exception of Grand Bluff and Clayton, has perhaps
the oldest school on this side of the river. Though we had no public schools then as we have now, hut each community
that wanted a school would build a house and take a subscription for a school.
All houses were made of logs then, and the seats were logs split in halves, and two pegs driven in each end for
legs. The first settlers usually settled close together for- protection from the Indians.
Before going very deep into the history of Fairplay, let us go back a little before this. On October 5, 1835, Rev.
Isaac Reed, bought from Immanuel Antonio Romeo 4000 acres of land, known as the Romeo League. He with his son,
Isaac Reed Jr., and two son-in-laws, John Morris and Hough Sheppard, settled on the spring branch near where the
negro church, Bethel, now stands, about one mile over the line of Fairplay school district in Clayton School district.
This evidently was soon after he bought the land.
Here the old church and school he organized was until after the Civil War. It is said the negro church, Bethel,
is a part of the organization, and after the whites and blacks were separated, at the close of the Civil War, the
whites moved their organization to Clayton, while the negroes went on with theirs in the old building. Reed was
an educated man for his day. He taught school and went from house to house to hold religious services. He organized
the oldest living Baptist Church in the state, Old North Church near Nacogdoches. He Induced the settlers to build
a log hut for public gatherings, before 1836. though prior to then the law did not permit the organization of any
church except catholic.
It must have been the winter of 1836, when Elijah Allred, having come from Tennessee, built a log house of poles,
which he could carry himself near where Arthur Henigan's dwelling now stands. He cleared a patch and made a corn
crop. There was a dogwood tree standing in the chimney corner that he tied his horse to at night for fear the Indians
would steal it. In the fall the Indians got so hostile that he went to Reed's to stay. They had been forted up
for some time, but not seeing any signs of Indians for a few days, the men decided about dusk they would go out
and see what the Indians had done. When they got to the Sheppard house, seeing a light in the corn crib, they hailed.
It proved to be Indians, and Isaac Reed Jr. was shot. The others thinking he was dead, ran to the fort. After getting
there they could hear Reed calling, but all were afraid to go to him. Finally one old negro said he would go if
he got killed. He brought Reed to the fort. Reed told about raising up on his elbow, taking aim, and shooting at
the Indian, but did not know whether he hit him or not. Reed died during the night. Not having lumber to make a
coffin, they wrapped him in a blanket and buried him in Old Bethel Cemetery. This is said to be the first white
person buried in this section of the county. The next morning the Indian was found thrown in the branch with some
brush over him. Reed Sr. had a daughter living near where Mt. Enterprise now is, and this being the nearest whites,
unless it was the Martin near Tatum. It was decided; to send Alfred to tell them. Allred said it was a clear moonlight
night, the ground was frozen, and he thought he never heard a horse make so much fuss. By piecing bits of history
together this must have been in February, 1837. When Allred finally went home the Indians had taken a liking to
him, and had gathered his corn for him, and put it in his house.—(as told by Elijah Alfred's daughter and Isaac
Reed, Jr.'s son.)
The next settler in Fairplay school district was perhaps Ed Sweat, who settled just north of Fairplay on the old
Sam Allison or Smith place. In 1838 John and Primes Williams came. John Williams settled near where S. T. Allison
now lives, and Primes settled near the old Williams Cemetery just west of Fairplay. It was Primes that gave the
land for the first school, church, and cemetery. The Williams bought bread corn from the Rev. Isaac Reed
when they came. Reed had a number of slaves. It is said that he was a very pleasant and social man. His wife was
money maker but not so social as her husband. After loading, Reed insisted that they stay for dinner. Mrs. Reed
said, "Oh! It is a long time until dinner," to which John Williams replied, "We are not in a hurry,"
and stayed. The result was dinner was served in a short time.
The Barksdales Wyatts, the widow Hail, who was a daughter pf the old man Wyatt and widow Morgan, all came together
in 1838. None of these headwrighted land in what is now Fairplay school district .except widow Morgan. She settled
near where Bob Browning now lives. Wash Wyatt's wife was a. Morgan so he lived with his mother-in-law.
Stephen Allred, Sr., and his son-in-law, James Robinson came in 1841. Robinson borrowed an axe from Primes Williams,
with which he cut the logs,, split the punchions, and boards for the floor and cover of his house. (Told by his
son Steve Robinson, who is still living.) From the records these seem to be the only that headwrighted
land in the district that settled on it. Most of them with their families are buried in the Old Williams Cemetery.
Herrins Morris and others headwrighted land, but lived out of what is now Fair-play district. These were all from
Tennessee. The records show that all that settled in this section before 1850 were from Tennessee. Others that
came here early that have descendants living here now are the Gentry's who settled here in 1847, the Allisons,
1849 (Allison first settled on east side of Sabine River), Murrays 1850, Harris 1851, (Harris first settled in
Rusk County in 1848). Shaws 1858.
Prime Williams' wife died before coming to Texas. So in 1841 he and 'widow Hail were married. John Williams and
Newt Williams, Prime Williams' sons, were staunch Methodists. Newt was grown up and interested in church affairs
from a youth. He was a Colonel in the Civil War and it is said he would hold a religious service before going to
bed. It is only surmising but perhaps they were instrumental in Littletown Fowler, the early Methodist Missionary
to Texas, coming this way. Anyway he seems to have made Primes Williams (Newt's father) Headquarters while in this
section. It was Primes, as already referred to, that gave land for the church and cemetery. The old records of
church have been lost and we do not know just when it was organized but know the house was there in 1841. This
was about three miles from Reed's Church, Bethel, which is now Clayton. From records we can find that these were
the only two churches, in what is now Panola County, west of the Sabine river, until 1845, when Macedonia was organized.
Fowler was said to be one of the most consecrated and untiring workers, that ever came to Texas. He is buried in
Sabine County under the pulpit of a small community church, his tombstone forms the back of the pulpit.
The early setters did all they could to encourage others to come. If there was; no house they would let them live
in the church and school house until they could locate land and get a house or help them to build one. Sam Ross
in describing building houses said, they came to Texas in 1838, and settled near Mt. Enterprise. There were nine
families living within ten miles of where they settled. After locating a building place, the day set for putting
up the house, the two living furthest off got there by sunrise, all bringing their rifles for protection from the
Indians. Many times the house would be built, floored, if it had any, and covered in a day. When the Gentrys came
here in 1847 they lived in a church until they could get a house.
How Fairplay got its name and when its postoffice, I have been unable to find. The people, before getting the office
here first got their mail at Grand Bluff, then Pine Hill, and then they got a postoffice here. At first there were
no public roads. The old Shreveport, Nacogdoches and Douglas road was the first public road, and for years was
the main thoroughfare for this: section. This was before the days of railroads and the people carried their produce
to Shreveport (it being the nearest boatlanding of any importance for a large section of East Texas, and bring
back their supplies. It is said that long strings of covered wagons passing was a usual occurrence, while many
droves of cattle would pass being sent to New Orleans. The first store and postoffice was near where John Hull
now lives, run by a Mr. Heifner. This was before the Civil War. The church and the school house as already referred
to, were about 3-4 of a mile west of where Fairplay now is, at the old Williams Cemetery. Not many years after
the Civil War the Allisons put a store near where it now stands, and the postoffice was moved there. When the Beckville
R. F. D. was begun, the postoffice was discontinued. M. C. Harris was the last post master. There have been one
or two stores at what is now Fairplay since soon after the Civil War.
The first school house at the Old Williams Cemetery has already been referred to. It was a log house with a dirt
chimney at first but afterward a brick chimney, plank floor and other improvements were made. When the first school
was taught in it we do not know, but we do know that it was there when the Gentrys came here in 1847.
Mrs. T. G. Allison was born in 1835, and went to school there when she was a child so there must have been school
taught there before 1847. This served as church and school building until 1868. A lady by the name of Mattie Trigg
was teaching when one night it burned down. There was a vacant log negro hut near where the school now stands,
so the school was finished in it. There are some still living, who were going to school at the time, John Gentry
being one of them. As soon as the school was out and the people could, they tore down the negro hut, and built
another log house on the same spot. This served as school house, and Methodist and Baptist Church house (a. Baptist
church being organized before this time) until the Methodist church was moved on the opposite side of the road
from the church.
Mr. Alton Taylor's (one of our present teachers) great-grand-father taught school in one of the old log houses
just mentioned.) In 1887 a frame school building was 'put up near where the present one now stands, only nearer
the Beckville road. In 1904 this one was remodeled. A few years later there was more added to it. In 1917 the present
one was erected. The first county judge of this county, John Allison, lived at Fair play. He gave Panola
County its name. It was named for Panola County, Mississippi. Panola is a Cherokee word for cotton.
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