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First
Christian Church
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2006 |
History in a Pecan
Shell
Grapeland was originally called Grapevine and was an important
East Texas crossroads. It served as a mail exchange point on the Crockett-Palestine
road.
In 1872 the Houston and Great Northern Railroad built through the
county. They signed over a 640-acre tract of land to the New York and Texas Land
Company to be developed as a townsite. When the town applied for a post office
in 1873 they were given the sad news that a town up in North Texas was already
using the name so they quickly changed three letters and resubmitted their application.
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| Signs
in Grapeland
TE photos | |
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| Railroad
tie yard near Grapeland
TE photo | |
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| Grapeland
watertower
TE photo | |
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With its depot - Grapeland
was soon an important shipping point for cotton. Before 1910, Grapeland had over
400 citizens two gins, five stores and a newspaper.
The town lost fifteen
wooden structures in its business section in 1913 - but rebuilt with brick almost
immediately. Cotton, lumbering and ranching were the towns major economic engines
and in the 1920s Grapeland's population reached nearly 1,200.
Cotton cultivation
declined and was replaced with peanuts (of all things). Oil and gas discoveries
in the 30s helped the town through the Great Depression.
Due to growth
in the 1970s and early 1980s, Grapeland's population reached new heights - and
by 1990 there were 1,450 Grapelanders - the same number reported on the 2004 map
of Texas.
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©
John Troesser
Grapeland Texas Forum
Subject:
The Beautiful People of Grapeland
I am not from Grapeland, but visited when my step-mother was laid
to rest on Tuesday, July 31, 2007. I traveled 3 hours to attend
the service. I was not looking forward to this because we had already
had 4 funerals this year, one of which was my son. I came to Grapeland,
expecting a small town and not a lot of friendly people. What I
found was a huge and wonderful surprise. When we lined up to take
my step-mother to her final resting spot, I saw cars moving to the
side of the road and stopping, I saw the people in some of the cars
bowing their heads. I was so moved by this I was in tears. They
were paying respects to a person they didn't even know. They had
shown the ultimate respect to my step-mother - more than I could
have ever wished for. I did not get the same respect for my son
when he passed. I want to let everyone in Grapeland know that I
will always call Grapeland my second home. My father is there still
and I can understand why they lived so far away... Grapeland is
God's Country. It is Texas' finest. The people are so nice you want
to call them family and hug them tightly. I have never seen a more
beautiful place because of the people. Thank you Grapeland, for
respecting my family. I hold you near to my heart always. I will
be back to visit as soon as I can! - Irene Weedman, LaMarque,
Texas, August 01, 2007
Subject:
Two Gentlemen of Grapeland
I very much remember Grapeland as a child approx 5 or 6 years in
this town. My daddy worked at Brimberrys's grocery store in the
market area and my sister and I loved going to see where he worked.
My dad was a very friendly and honest type of guy. He never met
a stranger. His name was Tommie Pouncy, now deceased. My grandfather
worked for years at the Baptist church up near the main highway.
He was a very quiet, religious man. We never, ever, heard him use
any type of profanity. These two gentlemen were perfect role models
for all us kids, especially during a time when they could have had
a different attitude about life. I have been living in Dallas since.
We (my family and I) still visit Grapeland now and then.- Eliza
Wilson, Dallas, Texas, January 14, 2007
Subject:
CLARENCE RAY CHAFFIN
Can you please help me? I'm trying to find the family
of Clarence Ray Chappin. He was killed in action in Vietnam on 10/29/68 and was
from Grapeland. We would like to get a picture of Clarence for our memorial page,
and for the Vietnam Memorial Wall. I served with the 1/5 Mech, 25th Inf Div. as
did Clarence. There is only one Chaffin listed in the white pages and that number
is out of order. Ive tried everything to find his family with no luck. I would
appreciate your help. Thank you - Denis McDonough July 21, 2006 Email:
Denis1146@aol.com
My
name is Lisa and I am from Nottingham, England. I had the pleasure of visiting
Grapeland in April of 2001. I stayed with the Beazley family as I visited their
beloved son Napoleon [who was] on death row and is no longer with us (God rest
his soul). I would just like to say that my son Dale and I had a fantastic time
in Grapeland and the people were so friendly and helpful. I just want to say that
I think Grapeland is a lovely place and the people are great. I hope it won't
be too long before my son and I can come visit Grapeland again. Thank you for
your time. - Lisa Baguley, Nottingham, England, April 15, 2006
I
am trying to speak with anyone in Grapeland about a Cemetery called Mackleroy.
It is old and abandoned but I have found through genealogy research that some
of my GGGrandparent are buried there. They were Weisingers who came to Grapeland
from Alabama around the 1850s. I had a general direction that this was located
somewhere on FM1272 out 9 miles ESE of Antrim cemetery. I went there on Thanksgiving
day but what houses were there, people were gone and there was no one to ask.
Any information on better directions would be greatly appreciated. - Jerry
Martin, December 26, 2005
Anyone wishing to share history or photos of
Grapeland, Texas, please contact
us.
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