This information was found in the vertical files of the genealogy department of the Longview Public Library.

THE AVINGER CITIZEN
Special Historical Edition
June 18, 1954

BEAR CREEK USES SCHOOL AT AVINGER

A fringe area community on the edge of the Avinger trade district is Bear Creek. Consisting of a Baptist Church, a large brick school building and a number of scattered attractive farms and residences, it has more or less always had divided ties between Avinger and Linden. At the present time some of their high school students go to Linden in which school district the community is located and a certain number of others, who live over this way, transfer to Avinger.

Some pioneer families in the area were the Clarks, Throckmortons, Hodges, Glovers and Hedges. P.W. Clark, a direct descendent of the first Clark ancestor to come to Texas in the early 1850's, resides in Avinger at the present time. Mrs. P.W. Clark, was Mildred Summerlin whose parents came into the community around sixty years ago.

Other families of long standing in the community are the Ayres, Hayes, Wells and Dairymples. An adjoining community that includes a Methodist Church is named Wells Chapel after the Wells family. Well's Store was a well known mercantile established in the area for years. It was located near the old J.& N.W. spur that used to run through the community.

Of much assistance to us in compling this paper were Mr. & Mrs. J.H. Brown, presently of Bear Creek Community. Mrs. Brown, the former Fannie Sturdivant, descendant of the Fred Sturdivant family of Pruitt's Lake Community (not the Hickory Hill Sturdivants) makes, as a hobby, miniature replicas, built to scale, of early modes of transportation.