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History
in a Pecan shell
Fairy was originally known as Martin's
Gap. James Martin was a settler who took an oxcart through the mountain
gap which (evidently) was a feat worthy of naming the place in his honor. |
Fairy
Fort - the town's namesake
It is somehow appropriate that there is little information available on Fairy
Fort. Born the fifth child after four brothers - she was the daughter of Battle
Fort - Mississippi native, lawyer, Confederate officer and Mississippi Governor.
Little Fairy was one of the smallest Texans ever, although she enjoyed a
relatively normal life. Her size didn't stop her from being married - and divorced.
Twice. Her first husband was William Allen and husband number two was identified
only as T. Phelps.
Details of Fairy Fort's life are hard to locate, but
her height was given by some to be 2' 7" and she weighed something like 28 pounds.
We call on our readers to please correct these figures if possible.
Photos
or Daguerreotypes of Fairy certainly existed - but our research has yet to find
any. Although Fairy's unusually small size might've made her famous in another
time and place - to the folks in Hamilton County - Fairy's size was Fairy's business.
Fairy didn't have children - but she lived into her 70s. She is buried in
the Fairy cemetery.
(For more on Fairy Fort, see forum
below) |
Fairy the
town Fairy
had a post office established in 1884 and a cotton gin dating from 1900.
It had the normal assortment of schools, churches, and businesses typical of regional
farming communities. In 1947 Fairy had a population of 150.
The post
office closed in 1957, and the Fairy school consolidated with Hamilton
schools in 1967. In both 1980 and 1990 the census was given as thirty-one. |
 |
Fairy,
Texas Area Hotels:
Stephenville Hotels - Book
NowFairy
Texas Forum
Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories, and vintage/historic
photos of their town, please contact
us.
Subject:
Fairy, Texas
I would love to see more pics of Fairy, TX if you have any....I live in Idaho
and my name is Fairy Essex... I was named after Fairy Chisum, a Nazarene missionary
to Africa...It would be cool to see pics of Fairy Fort, also, if at all possible.
Thank you, Fairy Arta Essex, July 16, 2011
Subject:
Fairy, Texas
Dear TE, Thanks for making your information available to interested folks. The
web is too often my only connection with Mother Texas, and I appreciate it.
The James side of my family (my mother's side) had a connection with Fairy,
Texas. Many of the younger children were born near Evant
on the family farm, and attended elementary school there. When it came time for
them to go to high school, they had a choice of Hamilton
or Fairy. My mother, Ruth (James) Clemmer, chose Hamilton,
for that's where my dad (Charley Wayne Clemmer) was born and lived. She graduated
from Hamilton High School. My uncle A. E. James Jr. and my aunt Cleda James chose
Fairy, and both graduated from Fairy High School. Mother was born in 1922, between
A. E. and Cleda, so this must have been in the mid- to late 'thirties.
I visit Texas too infrequently, as most of the family is now deceased, but I was
in Kerrville (my birthplace)
just last month. That prompted me to gather information for the monthly newsletter
of a traditional music organization to which I belong, and it was during a little
research for an article that I found Texas Escapes.
I'll work Fairy into a piece one of these times, and perhaps I will visit next
time I come. - Ken Clemmer, Phoenix, Arizona, February 14, 2007
Subject: Fairy,
Texas
Dear TE, I stumbled upon your site quite by accident and found it
fascinating. My grandparents, Johnny and Valeria Jackson, lived on a farm just
outside of Fairy and along with a few others founded the Church of Christ (shown
in the picture as the now Community Center). I spent many summers on the farm
in Fairy and have beautiful memories of that church house and rocky hill. The
vast majority of my relatives are buried in the cemetery there and I expect that
I will be too. My mother, Louise Jackson Vance, and her sisters, Mary and Gwen,
and brother Vernon (all still living) still visit Fairy as often as they are able.
Now 44 years old myself I think about Fairy Texas often. Thank you for keeping
history and memories alive. - Jon Vance, Dallas, Tx, December 24, 2006
Subject:
Fairy Fort - Fairy Texas
I am Charles Allumbaugh. I currently live in Midlothian
Texas. Fairy Fort was my Great Aunt. She was my mothers aunt. Fairy
lived with my mother when she was a young girl. She still has a dress that her
Aunt Fairy used to wear. She currently lives in Grand
Prairie Texas and is 91 years old. She talks about her Aunt Fairy with great
fondeness and can tell many stories about growing up with her. I also have a picture
of Fairy in a scrapbook that I am putting together about the Fort family. - Charles
Allumbaugh, May 16, 2006
Subject:
Fairy Fort
My name is Donnie Fort and Fairy would be my Great Aunt.
My Dad and his brother are children of Hugh Fran Fort who was Fairy's brother.
They still live in Sweetwater,
Texas. W.W. Fort is listed there and my Dad lives at the Holiday Retirement
Center. My Aunt Fay lives in the Dallas area. She is the sister of my Dad. - Donnie
Fort, January 24, 2004
Fairy,
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