Oak Grove   Oak Grove is located on Farm Road 1183, four miles southeast of Burnham on Cummins Creek. In 1847 John and Mary Humble moved from Mississippi to what would become present Ellis County. In 1850 they bought six hundred forty acres out of the Gideon White survey located on Cummins Creek Other pioneers settled on the banks of this stream and the community was given the name Oak Grove because of the many big oak trees. The creek furnished water, wood was plentiful and the rich soil was conducive to farming. When Ennis came into existence, Oak Grove was five miles to the south. In the early days, John Humble gave a plot for a slave cemetery on the banks of a small branch east of Oak Grove. A Negro child was the first to be buried there. When Mr. Redwine bought the land the burial ground became known as Redwine Cemetery. Some years ago, it was in the middle of a private pasture and difficult to access. When we visited, we found it grown up with brush. Few stones were visible, but it appeared that they were scattered over a sizable area. Names we did locate were Hamilton, Lanier, Terrell, Woolen, Madison, Ashton and Ashby. Although I have not been back, I believe the cemetery has now been cleaned and an access road has been built to the east. The Hamilton slaves were good people, and when Hamilton, in a financial bind, was forced to sell "Old Sam" for $2,000, he later redeemed him.   Sam was buried in the slave cemetery and a marker on the grave carries his name. A trusteeship was formed to care for the cemetery, but it must have been inactive for a good many years. Three Afro-Americans, land owners in the community, were John Dennis, Sam Lanier and Dubois. In April, 1858, John Humble paid $1,200 to James W. Loyd for Andrew, a fifteen-year-old slave. Families continued to move into the community. In April 1867, Mrs. Anna Sweatman (whose husband died in Houston in April 1866) moved with her sons and Mrs. E. W. F. Middleton to her farm at Oak Grove. Mrs. Middleton's diary reveals many interesting facts. She was a teacher and soon set up classes in an old building. After the slaves were freed, the white women were kept busy spinning wool and cotton yarn, weaving cloth on home made looms and knitting. In addition, they had all the house work to do, sewing, planting gardens, even making hearths and backs to chimneys. When the freed women could be persuaded to do the family wash, they were paid twenty-five cents worth of cotton rolls. Peddler McKinney made his rounds though the country in his horse drawn vehicle and was very welcome as he carried needed household necessities, dry goods, shoes and medicines. Free men often complained if asked to do any work, even though they would be paid. On Oct. 11, 1867, Terry, a free man, quarreled with Mr. Sutherland at the mill and they both left the area. On Oct. 11, 1868, the free women were given a fright when the Ku Klux Klan whipped some of their men. Mr. Gordon shot free man Dave Oct. 13, 1869 and fled the area to avoid a writ being served. One set of triplets was born here, children of John and Jennie Moat Marcia. John was the son of Abram Marcia, who had settled here in 1872. The babies were called A, B, and C A being the only survivor. On Jan. 2, 1872, while on their way to the newly established Ennis, Mr. and Mrs. Tabor found a man frozen to death at the corner of what became Dallas and Crockett Streets. Life wasn't dull around Oak Grove! Mr. Parks herded cattle for $25 a month. Anna Sweatman, widow of T. S. Sweatman, married H. C. Arden Nov. 25, 1868 and to them were born Mollie, W. D., Annie and Jim, each becoming a valuable citizen. The Sweatman heirs sold the mill to Mr. Pennington in September 1869 for $1,480. E. D. Tabor and his wife settled here in 1871. His house was the only one with glass windows and he was the first farmer in this area to have a cultivator and a double shovel. He donated an acre of land for a school building, which also served as a Methodist church. The first prayer meeting was conducted by Mr. Rodriquez, a devout Methodist. Some of the teachers at Tabor School were Messers .Ray, Martin, Murdock, John Boston, Cebe Newman, W. M. Tidwell and Mrs Meredith. Some pupils were Fred, O. B. and Leonard Sellers, Harry and Lock Parks, Blanche Tabor, Mattie, George and Lizzie Harvey, Otto and Tom Mayfield, Paul, Bob and Milton Fitzgerald, John and Oscar Rice, John, Will, Marion and Jeff Perrin, Fannie, John, Charlie, Jessie, Jennie and Mac Edmondson. A school house was built on property adjoining the church property. Pupils from the Tabor (or Arden) School enrolled at Oak Grove School. Among the teachers were: Misses Sallie Bailey, Carrie Linsey, Mary Chaney, Hattie Chaney, Sallie Wheeless, Cebe Newman and W. M. Tidwell. After serving the needs of the community for a number of years, this school, with others, consolidated and formed Central High School, located between Oak Grove and Ensign. The first general store was built and owned by Nathan Feagin and Jake McPhail. Fred Sellers bought out Feagin. In 1918 it was owned by O. B. Sellers and in 1950 by Mr. Walker. By 1954, J. A. Banks and his wife, Gladys Newman Banks, had a small stock of canned goods, cold drinks and candy in the old building They were able to manage this even though Mrs. Banks was partially paralyzed for several years. The first gin in the village was owned by Frank Cook in 1900 and Silas Donahue owned a gin a mile south of Oak Grove. Cotton was pressed by mule power. N. Feagin bought the gin from Cook and ran it until it was bought by John Boren of Ennis. He ginned for the entire countryside until 1949 when the gin was destroyed by fire. Kel (Calvin) King, the blacksmith, had his shop at his home on the Ennis road. Farmer School community, two miles east of Oak Grove, was centered about the school built in 1879. Muddy roads and swollen streams necessitated these small schools. Families who participated in community life here were J,. A. Hesser, Nathan Fitzgerald, T. S. Smith, Mr. Littleton and E. A. Richmond, who came here in 1875. Richmond was the first man to put up barbed wire fencing in this section, putting the bards on by hand. Mattie Littleton (Mrs. Will Campbell) attended school here in 1890 and Emmett Smith was a pupil in 1894. Pupils transferred to Oak Grove and Alma, and still later to Central High School, and the little Farmer School community gradually faded away. The Baptist Association met at Chatfield [Navarro County] July 19, 1868 and was well attended by people from Oak Grove. Cyrus L. and Madore House Kendall gave two and one-half acres of land for a Methodist church May 21, 1873. Meredith Bushnell was the main carpenter with all the men lending a helping hand. Bushnell had built the Tabor school house which also served as a place of worship. Rev. C. G. Shutt was the first pastor to serve in the new church. The many oak trees surrounded the building, were conducive to camp meetings. During the late 1800s, Oak Grove was the site of a series of these meetings. The Baptists built their church across the road from the Methodist church on land belonging to the Abram Marcia family. In the spring of 1994, I visited with a couple whose home is now located on the old Baptist church lot and Newman Roads. Their daughter's house was north and across the road on the Methodist church property. The church , still standing behind their home, was being used for a shop. Singing schools played an important part in the life of Oak Grove. These schools organized into an auxiliary which put on musical programs. The East Ellis County Singing Auxiliary held a convention here on Sept. 24, 1898. Schools represented were: Oak Grove, Loli, Bethel, Alma and Antioch. Song leaders participating were W. H. Williams, R. A. Clough, J. L. Land, T. J. Chandler, Hardie Harrison, A. C. Ware and I,. G. Copeland. Duets were rendered by L. F. Hamilton and R. A. Clough and Misses Lizzie and Laura Hill. A quartet was composed of W. H. Williams, J. W. Davis, W. L. Vandegriff and Mrs. Ella Skinner. Organists were Mrs. Irene Flemming, Misses Mollie Davis, Lizzie Hill, Barnett and Jennie Warren. Oak Grove's population never exceeded some fifty persons; however, it served as a community center for area farmers. In 1900 the population was reported as ten. References: A Memorial and Biographical History of Ellis County, Texas. Lewis Pub. Co. Chicago,1892 Hawkins et al, Ellis County History Workshop, Ellis County History, Texian Press, Waco, 1972 "OAK GROVE, TX." The Handbook of Texas Online Personal interview with Mr. and Mrs. Charles Newman, Oak Grove, 1994   Copyright © 2002-2016, Ellis County TXGenWeb. All Rights Reserved. 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