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"Yvonne
and Jack in 1938 or 39 at the home of Oscar Williams. The camera is
looking East. Across the street to the right, is the old Church of
Christ. The old Church was just west of the present church and faced
West."
Photo courtesy Jack Williams |
History
in a Pecan Shell
Founded in 1890, the town had been named Wright, after a local
preacher. On the stage coach line from Canyon
to Plainview, with
a school, post ofiice and store, it had everything a 19th Century
town needed to prosper.
When the railroad arrived in 1906, the post office / store moved to
the rails. The town was renamed for Pioneer George H. Kress.
In 1909 a promotional booklet gave the town's population as 500 -
a number that was probably inflated. The first school opened in 1907.
In 1915 the first garage and filling station was erected, a grain
elevator was built, and a weekend rodeo was organized for local recreation.
The main highway through town (Hwy 87) has moved twice - forcing businesses
to relocate as well. Infrastructure in the form of electricity and
gas were introduced in the late 1920s.
Kress was home to over 650 people by 1953. A bank opened in 1963 -
ending a bank-less period that had lasted from the 30s to that date.
© John Troesser |
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Mary,
Jack and Vida Williams, 1943
"The photo is looking east from our house (the one by the pine
tree) toward the grain elevator run by our next door neighbor, Marvin
Morton."
Photo courtesy Jack Williams |
Kress, Texas
Forum
Kress was home
to all of my grandparents. I lived there from 1943 to 1948. I planted
the pine tree just south of our house on old 87 across the street
from and just north of Losson's Service Station in 1943. The last
time I was there it still stood and was the only pine tree in Kress.
Here are a few vintage photos. It was great to live in a town where
everyone was a friend. - Jack Williams, July 12, 2005
Remembering
Christmas by Louise George
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