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Hopkins County TX
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PEERLESS, TEXAS
AKA
Fairyland (or Fairy Land),
Hilldale and Gay’s Mill


Hopkins County, East Texas

Once on FM 71
11 Miles NW of Sulphur Springs
Population: Between 0 and Unknown

Fairyland, Texas Area Hotels › Sulphur Springs Hotels

TX - Hopkins County 1882 map
1882 map showing Fairyland in northern Hopkins County
From Texas state map #2134
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

History in a Pecan Shell

The first settler, known by the name of Eli Lindley, came here around 1842. In the 1850s as people formed a community, the place was called Gay’s Mill after John Gay who built a waterwheel flour mill here.

That named faded and was replaced by Hilldale in the 1870s, even though the post office (granted in 1880) was called Fairyland (or Fairy Land).

One story states that the local women appeared to be as delicate as fairies and by reason of them living here, the place was refered to as Fairyland.

In the mid 1880s the population reached 400 and the town had all essential businesses including a broom factory. In 1891 the town was called Peerless. The residents were eager to rid themselves of a silly name like Fairyland, so they chose the name Peerless, after the trade name of a type of potato. The story goes: when heavy rains prevented the taking in of the crop, the potatoes rotted in the fields, producing a stink that the residents found to be “without peer.”

In 1900 Peerless had a population of 250 residents with two churches, two gristmills and two cotton gins. The school had retained the name Fairyland, but the post office closed in the first years of the 20th Century.

The population declined to just 150 in the 1920s and Peerless managed to get through the Great Depression without an exodus of people. The school merged with Sulphur Springs schools in 1943 and the population stayed at 150. Thereafter, no figures were available.

With the construction of Cooper Lake, the area received new growth, but there are no numbers from the 2000 census.



Peerless, TX 1893 postmark & post office info
Cover canceled with Peerless, TX 1893 postmark
Click on image to enlarge
Courtesy The John J. Germann Collection


TX Hopkins County 1920s Map
Hopkins County 1920s map showing Peerless
From Texas state map #10749
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

Take a road trip

East Texas

Peerless, Texas Nearby Towns:
Sulphur Springs the county seat
See Hopkins County

Book Hotel Here:
Sulphur Springs Hotels | More Hotels

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