Freestone County, Texas Towns Mound Prairie The site was originally called Mound Prairie, but the name was changed to Fairfield when the location was chosen for the county seat in 1850. Please note there is a Mound Prairie in adjacent Anderson County. Fairfield (a.k.a. Mound Prairie) Fairfield, the county seat of Freestone County, is at the junction of Interstate Highway 45, U.S. highways 75 and 84, and Farm roads 27, 488, and 1580, in the center of the county. The original townsite, 100 acres of the Redin Gainer league, was donated by David Hall Love. In 1851-52, 128 lots were auctioned off for prices ranging from $6 to $101. Rich farmland, vast amounts of timber, clear springs, and proximity to the Trinity River for transportation attracted settlers from the eastern states. Fairfield acquired a post office in 1851 and by September 1852 had three dry-goods stores, two hotels, a grocery, and a jail. A Fairfield Masonic lodge chartered in 1853 was still active in 1989. Fairfield appears in the list of post offices in Texas furnished by the postmaster of Galveston in December 1, 1856 to Dr. Braham that published in "Braman's Information About Texas" printed in Philadelphia in 1857. The first of four courthouses, a small wooden building described as "no better than a pigsty," was built about 1852. New courthouses were built in 1854-56, at a cost of $8,330; in 1891-92, at a cost of $22,120; and in 1919-21, at a cost of $125,000. In 1891 and 1918 the need for a new courthouse led to county- seat elections in which Fairfield defeated Wortham and Teague, respectively. A weekly newspaper, the Texas Pioneer, was established at Fairfield in 1857. Subsequent newspapers included the Ledger (1869-72) and the Recorder, first published in 1876 and still in existence in the 1990s. In the fall of 1854 a school for girls opened in a new two-story building, the upper floor of which was used as a Masonic hall. A school for boys seems to have opened in a different building in 1856. The first session at Fairfield Female College was held in 1859 under the direction of Henry Lee Graves. The school offered preparatory and college curriculum and enrolled over 100 students in its first year. The college remained open during the Civil War, when its enrollment actually increased because of an influx of Southern refugees. During the Civil War, Freestone County and specifically Fairfield contributed men to the rosters of Confederate regiments. Towards the end of the war, a soldier home was established at Fairfield by Judge D. H. Love in 1864. Freestone County was one of four Texas counties in which martial law was declared during Reconstruction. On October 9, 1871, Governor Edmund J. Davis imposed martial law in the county in response to reports of coercion and fraudulent voting in Fairfield during the election of October 3-6. Martial law was lifted a month later, on November 10. By 1884 Fairfield reported a population of 500. The community had two hotels, four general stores, and five groceries and served as a shipping point for cotton and hides. In 1887, Fairfield had 450 inhabitants, seven dry good stores (four small), a few other business houses, and two newspapers, the Fairfield Recorder and the short-lived Freestone News. The student population for the year as 125 pupils. By 1892 the town had a bank and Baptist, Methodist, and Cumberland Presbyterian churches. The 1895 Rand McNally atlas shows Fairfield with 499 people and a post office, but no express office or railroad. In the same year, 1895, Fairfield Baptist Church headed by E. J. Brown had 76 members. A 1900 Directory of Texas Industries lists Fairfield with grist mills and cotton gins. Cotton and hides are principal shipments. L. C. Kirgan was listed as editor and publisher of the local newspaper, Recorder, published on Fridays with Democratic leanings and 1,700 subscribers. T. L. Childs is listed as an insurance agent for Hartford Fire. The community experienced a series of reverses around 1900. A meningitis outbreak killed thirty-two people in 1890, a tornado heavily damaged the central area of town in 1902, the boll weevil scourge destroyed the cotton crop in 1903, and fire ravaged part of the business district in 1911. Nevertheless, the population advanced steadily, to 629 by 1904, 1,047 by 1940, 2,074 by 1970, and 4,093 by 1988. Fairfield never acquired a railroad. The Trinity and Brazos Valley bypassed the town by ten miles when it built its track through Freestone County in 1906-07. Although the lack of a railroad did not cause Fairfield to decline, it did deprive it of a strong economic stimulus. The town obtained water and sewer lines in 1933 and a public library in 1954. From 1890 to 1931 and again in 1933, Fairfield was the site of an annual reunion of Confederate veterans, who held their three-day gathering on land donated by William Lewis Moody and his brother Leroy. In 1951 the town held its centennial celebration on the old reunion campground. The success of the centennial led the townspeople to begin holding an annual rodeo-homecoming festival, which evolved into the county fair held each November. Other annual events include the Queen of the Trinity Star Pilgrimage in the spring, the National Coon Hunters Association meeting in the fall, and an arts and crafts fair in November. Local attractions and recreation facilities include the Freestone County Historical Museum (in Fairfield), and Fairfield Lake State Park (completed in 1972). In 1989 industries in Fairfield included TU Electric, Dow Chemical, TXO Production Corporation, and Texas Utilities Mining Company. Major sources of income were oil, gas, and coal mining, as well as agribusiness. Noted Fairfield residents have included L. D. Bradley, a Texas legislator, district judge, and commander of Company B, Second Battalion, Waul's Legion; John Gregg; and William L. Moody. The population was 3,234 in 1990 and 3,094 in 2000. ======================================================== Current Newspapers: 1) The Fairfield Recorder - established 1874. 2) Freestone County Times Past Newspapers: 1) Texas Pioneer/Fairfield Pioneer (1857-May 1867) 2) The Ledger (1869-1872) Masonic Lodge: Fairfield Lodge No. 103 A.F. & A.M. Eastern Star Lodge: Order of Eastern Star No. 331 Banks: First National Bank Fairfield State Bank - started 1912 Businesses: O. B. Utley & Sons feed store W. T. Watson & Sons store Singer Sewing Machine Co. store Anderson and Gardner's law office L. R. Boyd stationary and book store (primarily school books) Joe Ivy's beef market Mr. Carroll's ice cream A. M. Dunagan & Son store James W. Self jewelry store J. H. McIlveen grocery store J. R. Alford drug store James B. Gordon drug store Fred Fisher's Taylor J. Sims' stock goods store Schools: "Fairfield College" - a grade school Fairfield Female College Cemetaries: Fairfield City Cemetery Fairfield Baptist Cemetery Fairfield Methodist Cemetery ======================================================== Known people in Fairfield were: Acuff, Nellie Alford, J. R.. Anderson, Alexander Dowan Anderson, Miss Lillie Anderson, Jesse Jr. Arnold, James Badgett, Sam Barnett, R. L. Blair, J. Blakely, Hiram Blakely, Martha Ann Wright Blevins, J. O. Boyd, Loften Reeves Bradley, Lucius de Yampert Bush, Chas. Campbell, Maidee Canfield, Warren Chanel, Silas Chansley, Hal Childs, Marcus Jackson Clark, Lizzie Cobb, Della Conley, Jim Corley, S. M. Crawford, Geo. Crim, J. L. Daniel, Americus Lee Daniel, B. D. Daniel, Leona Elizabeth Corley Daniel, Samuel Augustus Daviss, B. P. Daviss, Dr. Ed. P. (moved from Cotton Gin in 1886) Day, G. W. Day, W. C. W. DuBois, T. N. Eades, J. W. (moved here in 1886) Edmons, S. H. Emmons, James Asbury Emmons, J. L. Etheridge, F. M. Evans, Sallie Ezell, Mr. Fryer, S. A. Gardner, B. A. Gardner, Benjamin Howard Gardner, Mattie Gibbons, John Gordon, James B. Grayham, Mary Green, R. J. Griffith, J. L. Groves, Rev. Hancock, J. A. Hatter, R. F. Henderson, J. C. Henry, Conrad Herndon, F. P. Hill, Fred Hobbs, James Horn, L. J. Huckaby, Josephus Huckaby, John Fuller Huckaby, Sallie E. Huckaby, William Fuller. Hullum, B. M. Jackson, T. L. Jefferson, Hope Jefferson, W. S. Jimmerson, J. T. Johnson, Howell Johnson, Jim Johnson, R. T. Johnson, T. E. Jones, Edmond Keith, Rev. C. M. Lacy, Elder W. B. (Baptist preacher) Lake, Tim Lane, Patsy Lane, S. C. Lillard, Lewis D. Livingston, Warren Lott, Tapp McIlveen, J. H. Mosely, Circero Mosely, S. V. Newman, T. B. Oliver, Edward Parker, W. N. Patterson, J. B. Peterson, Frank Poter, Nettie Powe, Miss Sue Preist, Annie Richards, Caroline Richardson, A. Ried, Martha A. M. Roach, Sis Roberts, A. C. Robertson, Mrs. M. Roller, George Sandifer, Lucian Green (post master) Satterwhite, L. Self, James W. Simpson, A. Sims, Frank Sims, Taylor J. Smith, Emma Smith, Jane Smith, Jase Smith, J. D. Sneed, Dr. William Newton Sr. Sneed, Dr. William Newton Jr. Stevenson, S. G. Stubbs, Mrs. Tatum, J. L. Tighteaus, Walt Turner, Will Tyner, Amos Vaughan, E. R. Vernon, Lewis Wafer, James Wales, Wm. Watson, T. B. Watson, T. R. Watson, William T. Williams, M. J. Williamson, R. A. Williford, C. N. Willoughby, James Young, James ======================================================== PRIMARY SOURCES: ====================================================== ======================================================== Texas State Gazette - March 14, 1857; Page: 2 Our State News FREESTONE - A correspondent of the "Pioneer" lectures the citizens of Freestone upon their want of public enterprise. He says that they have a fine commodious Court House, but hints that it is the only public edifice to boast of. "We have the exterior of a fine building, originally designed for the two-fold purpose of a Masonic Hall and Female Seminary, but it has been standing for years in an unfinished condition, and we believe the building erected for a Male Academy stands in a like condition. We have also the hall of one church, without stove or chimney; and with our bleak northers piercing through the crevices of the bare walls, it is unfit for use, at least during the winter month. Again, some of the "older inhabitants" have told us that in by-gone days, an Artesian Well was being bored in our public square, designed to furnish a plentiful supply of water, pure and timpid beverage, but like our Female Seminary and Church, it progressed for a time and then stopped." ======================================================== Texas State Gazette published in Austin, Texas July 3, 1858 edition Page: 3 FREESTONE - The Pioneer thus speaks of Fairfield, the county seat: "Fairfield deserves a more extended notices for it we are to believe the report of travelers, we have one of the handsomest towns in the interior. Our Court-house of Brick is a large imposing building, costing at its erection some $10,000. Our Jail is made of brick, and for strength and durability, is perhaps unsurpassed in our State -- One huge and commodious church, erected chiefly by the Cumberland Presbyterians, is seen as you pass along main street. A famed Male Academy and large Masonic Hall, bespeak a liberality towards public edifices which are wanting in many elder towns. Three Hotels, offer to the weary traveler a comfortable place for repose and refreshment. Various Mechanic shops strike the traveler’s attention as soon as he looks at our villages: Wagon, Carriage and Blacksmith shops abound." There are also several villages in Freestone, Butler in the East; Troy or Pine Bluff on the Trinity; Cotton Gin in the West; and Personville situated near the Southwestern part of the county. ======================================================== The Weekly Telegraph published in Houston, Texas September 28, 1859 Page: 3 [Original has faded lettering making it hard to read.] Fairfield, Sept. 18th, 1859 ... This place, Fairfield, is beautifully situated in a small sandy prairie, some ten or fifteen miles South of the prairie country. Its buildings are among the neatest I have seen, mostly two stories, there are two hotels, both well kept, and the Planters Hotel is one I take pleasure in recommending to the traveler, who wishes his horse well cared for and attended to. It has a home appearance, and air of comfort about it, and has beside a good ostler, good and clean beds, and is kept by the widow. From appearances there is not as much business done here as formerly, there being four empty business houses and a vacant Hotel. It is a pity the last should be so, as it is a good substantial brick house, convenient and roomy. The health generally appears to be good. The Court House is a brick structure, large and commodious, the court room is in the second story and is very well finished; altogether the county seat bespeaks a thrifty and enterprising people. There is a subscription on foot to sink an artesian well, and about seventeen hundred dollars are already subscribed to it. An effort was made about five years since, but the lack of funds in the then sparsely settled county caused it to be abandoned after reaching a distance of near four hundred feet. There is also another evidence of the energy of the citizens of this county, they have erected a splendid building, about three quarters of a mile East of town, for an Academy, which is in full and successful operation, under the supervision of Professor Graves, the school numbers some sixty young ladies, and forty-three boys, all residents of this county, save one. Two lines of stages pass through this place, three times weekly, crossing North and South, East and West, giving mail facilities equal to any in the State. The soil, so far as I have seen of it, is of a sandy matter, but I do not speak for the county in general, as I have seen but little of it as yet, some other time I may give you a fuller account. C. F. H. ======================================================== Weekly Standard newspaper [of Raleigh, North Carolina] March 07, 1860 edition [Travel account by Major John T. Gilmore, of Cumberland County, North Carolina.] ... We reached Fairfield in the afternoon, which is a beautiful place. Here I was introduced to Mr. Huckaby, a polite, clever and wealthy gentleman, residing a few miles in the country. To him I was indebted for the politeness of an introduction to Mr. Bragg, the brother of ex-Gov. Bragg, of our State. I found him a polite, clever and intelligent gentleman. We were invited by Dr. Milner, the friend of Mr. Smith, to enjoy the hospitalities of his house for the night. He was polite, clever and intelligent. His lady appeared to be equally so, and we were entertained with an elegant hospitality. It was there I was introduced to Mr. Henry L. Graves and his lady, both from our own State, and the latter a sister of the Hon. Calvin Graves, of Caswell. They have charge of a female college here, which is in a flourishing condition, with about ninety scholars, and possessing a reputation in advance of any similar institution I have yet heard of in the State. This of itself sufficiently proclaims for themselves character, talent and capacity. Having left Fairfield we arrived on the second day thereafter at the place from which we originally set out.... ======================================================== The Houston Tri-weekly Telegraph December 2, 1864 Page: 3 Crocket, Nov. 25, 1864 [Description of travel from Waxhachie to Corsicana then onto Fairfield] Leaving this town [Corsicana], we pass over a thinly settled region of country, mostly rolling prairie until we come to Fairfield, the county seat of Freestone county. This place shows that it has seen better days; it contains a tastily built court-house, and many stores and other buildings, the stores are mostly closed, and very few citizens are to be seen, the most of them are in the army. The town is in a pretty location, built upon rising ground, and surrounded by timbered land, it is a pretty place and destined to be of some importance at some future day. After leaving Fairfield, and proceeding in the direction of Palestine, the face of the county changes. We now pass over hills and find ourself in post- oak timbered land, the land is of a sandy quality, and in some places very rich. We find a few well cultivated farms. When we get to the Trinity river bottom we find large plantations, here the land is of the richest quality, and the largest kind of crops are raised. As we cross the river, and after leaving the bottom, the land is hilly and heavily timbered, the soil is of a redish sandy loam, and resembles the Red River lands.... ======================================================== Dallas Morning News April 27, 1890 Section: Part 1; Page: 2 The Onward Movement Inaugurated by Dallas in the Interest of TOWN AND COUNTY GROWTH Discourses Upon Productive Lands and Cheap Homes, Natural Resources and Development, Building Improvements and Trade Centers, Etc. ... Fairfield's Prospoects FAIRFIELD, Freestone Co., Tex., April 25 - The First National bank of Fairfield starts off with a boom. Everything in Fairfield is flourishing. Real estate is advancing rapidly in price and several business men and capitalists from other towns are turning their attention towards Fairfield and seem to regard it as one of the most promising towns of the future. Its future is indeed bright, with as a country around it as any in the state. It is a matter of surprise and comment to capitalists here now prospecting that this town and county has been so long overlooked in railroad and other business capital, but is attributable to the want of capital, which is now beginning to come in. The new railroad from Corsicana will be here in a few months, the engineers are already in the field and the road is now a certainty. Fairfield is the county seat of Freestone county, situated thirty miles southwest of Corsicana and fifteen miles southwest of the Trinity river, in a fine agricultural center. Capital is beginning to turn from the panhandle portion of Texas to central and eastern Texas, where there is plenty of wood and good water and good health and plenty of cheap, productive farms. There is here an abundance of fine timber for building and factory purposes, and the one thing needful to make this place one of the most important places in central Texas is a development of her natural resources. There is plenty of cheap lands and town lots here and now is the time to buy, before the railroad gets here and before the rush comes. ... ======================================================== Dallas Morning News July 24, 1893 Page: 4 Down In Freestone Fine Lands, Water and Health - Wortham a Shipping Point WORTHAM, Freestone Co., Tex., July 22 -- [Special correspondence] -- ... Freestone's Capital FAIRFIELD, Freestone Co., Tex., July 22 -- [Special correspondence] -- Leaving Wortham at 12:30 p.m., THE NEWS correspondent landed in Mexia about fifteen minutes later, the distance being only seven miles. At 1 p.m., he mounted the Fairfield limited express, drawn by two Texas broncos with the characteristic names of Black that [should be "and"] Sorrel. Black is of the masculine gender and Sorrel is the opposite kind of an equine. Black was somewhat indisposed on account of a rather severe attack of Spanish itch and a heavy external application of lard and sulphur, which imparted the surrounding atmosphere a somewhat heavy and stifling odor after Black had got under a good heat and heavy sweat. Miss Sorrel, however, is evidently from a lineage of great endurance and staying qualities. When we reached the half-way relay station, ten miles distant, Miss Sorrel did not show the least evidence of fatigue, but Black was panting like a lizzard. Fairfield is twenty miles east of Mexia, and the line of Freestone county is crossed about four miles from the latter town. The greater part of the road is over hard, smooth prairie with but little dust at any time, and none just now since the recent good rains. Cotton Gin is the only village between Mexia and Fairfield, and it is surrounded by a fine cotton growing section. Indeed, Freestone is one of the best all-round agricultural counties of central Texas. It is an excellent fruit county, too. We passed numerous peach orchards, and I noticed a number of pear trees which were absolutely loaded down with fruit to such an extent as to require many props under the limbs. Melons? Just loads of'em, and fine ones too. In the spring wild blackberries and dewberries are abundant, and at this season the woods and rail fences are black with mustang and post oak grapes. What a grape and wine country this could be made with a little industry! A few miles from Cotton Gin we entered the timber-forests of oak, black jack and hickory mostly. In some of the bottom lands ribbon cane was seen. Many farmers raise a few acres to supply their families with syrup, and this home- made ribbon cane syrup is, next to pure maple syrup, the best batter cake lubricator known to civilization. Crops as a rule are good. Much of the corn is large and heavy, and the cotton, where it has been properly worked, is large and thrifty. We pass some poor fields where it will take stalk and all to make 15 bushels of corn per acre; but these poor crops are the exception. In some of the fields of corn the pencil pusher noticed vigorous crops of stock peas between the rows of corn. This indicates a good sense on the part of the farmers, and the good growth of the vines insures fine fall pastures for farm stock of all kinds. Coming to where the roads fork, THE NEWS man observed a sign board bearing the capitals "H. S. R." "What does that mean, conductor?" I ask the driver. "That means Hardshell road," he replies. THE NEWS man has heard of "shell roads", but he never before heard of a "hardshell road," and seeing no shells of any kind he seeks further information and is told that the "H. S. R." road leads to Hardshell Baptist church a few miles distant. Fairfield is an old, old town for Texas. The present writer was here twenty- three years ago and it was an old town then, apparently. It has grown a good deal since then, although it is twenty miles to the nearest railroad point, Mexia, to and from which place a daily mail hack is run. It is about the same distance to Buffalo, on the International and Great Northern railroad, in Leon county, but little travel is done between that point and Fairfield. I do not think there was a brick building in Fairfield when I was here twenty- three years ago. Now there was a number, including a brick hotel. There is a good brick courthouse and also a jail. The population numbers some 500 souls. There is a telephone connection with Mexia. The Recorder, published by L.D. Lillard, is one of the oldest, best and most influential papers in this entire section. Brother Lillard has long been in the journalistic harness and has ever been an honor to the profession. As may be supposed in an old, steady-going community like Fairfield, educational matters have not been overlooked. There is a good public school here. The Baptists, Methodists and Cumberland Presbyterian have each good temples of worship. Society is unusually good in this quiet old town where "far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife" families have been raised in paths of domestic industry and virtue and children have grown up to maturity in an atmosphre of refinement, truth and honesty which makes itself felt even to a casual visitor. The early settlers of Freestone county were, as a rule, slaveholders of considerable wealth and the improvements they made were good and permanent. There are many fine old farm houses in the vicinity of Fairfield which present to the eye of the visitor most charming pictures of rural comfort and enjoyment. Truly, this is a great old country and Fairfield is, in many respects, a charming old rural town.