St. Paul Community   The St. Paul community is located on St. Paul's Church Road about five miles northwest of Midlothian on US Highway 287 in a rich black land farming district. It is approximately halfway between Midlothian and Mansfield and was a thriving community for many years. Quoting the Midlothian Argus dated Jan. 13, 1916," Midlothian is fortunate in having a pike road to this excellent community which gives us an advantage over all our competitors in bidding for their trade. It is an old and historic community; has a fine country church, schoolhouse, cemetery and every convenience and comfort that enterprising country people could have." William Gardner donated land for a school and cemetery (Deed Vol. 27, pg. 226). which was named Gardner School, even though everyone called it the St. Paul School. Sometime in the late 1940s, the school was disbanded, the building sold and moved to Midlothian where it was converted into an apartment house. At one time a cotton gin, built by Toma and Bill Gailer, was located on or near Mountain Creek but was moved Britton in 1895. Several identical houses were located on one of the black dirt roads between Soap Creek and Mountain Creek which housed migrant workers during harvest season. W. S. Fife donated the land for the church on the condition that it bear a "Biblical" name. (Ellis County Deed records Vol. 82, pg. 181). Lumber was hauled by wagon from Midlothian. One carpenter, Mr. McElroy, of Midlothian, was hired, and the settlers themselves actually built the church which was completed in July, 1984. According to the ledger which hung on the wall for many years, the Sunday School was organized in 1878. The first funeral held in the church was that of Jim Mathis, son of John Mathis.. The church was on the Britton Methodist Charge which made it impossible to have preaching every Sunday, since the pastor sometimes served three or four other churches. However, people met each Sunday for Sunday School, and even now, meet the third Friday night of each month for singing, in addition to the annual homecoming each July. Today, the church is leaning and showing the effects of many years of service to the community. According to cemetery association meeting minutes of Feb. 21, 1906, the committee appointed to lay off the cemetery included J. W. Gainer, W. J. Gardner and J. D. Ellis. The land had been donated by william Gardner in 1885 which he had purchased in 1870 from the State of Texas. Several persons were buried there before the spot was officially the cemetery. Charter members of the cemetery association included: J. W. Gardner, Larry Mills, J. C. Boyce, I. B. Curry, P. M. Riley, I. L. Rawdon, J. H. Sumpter and W. R. Galloway. Names noted on the tombstones include Mrs. Pearlie Gainer (1875); S. A. Gainer, May 22, 1811 - Dec. 23, 1879); Joe H. Lane, 1864-1876; W. F. Stone, Aug. 8, 1826 - Jan. 1, 1879, William Gardner Nov. 2, 1810 - Sept. 25, 1887; Laura E. Ogwine 1860 - 1882. A Cox infant was one of the first to be buried there in 1877. Probably others died at an earlier date but the graves have no markers and others were illegible. The next recorded meeting of the cemetery association was June 14, 1912. J. H. Cox was chairman. Officers elected: T. P. Darby, President; John Galloway, Vice-President; W. G. Abernathy, Treasurer, E. Wilson, Secretary. Managers were W. Harmon, H. H. Beard and L. Galloway. Some of the early settlers of the community include the following: J. W. Gainer, Larry Mills, J. O. Boyce, L. B. Curry, P. M. Riley, I. L. Rowdon, J. D. Ellis, J. H. Sumpter, W. R. Galloway, T. S. Way, W. J. Tipps, W. J. Gardner, J. A. Arnold, J. C. Welch, F. Gainer, S. E. Miner, N. H. Rowdon, E. J. Welch, Elisha Massey, Prather, Miller Gainer and many others. Lumber to build the church was hauled by wagon from Midlothian. One carpenter, Mr. McElroy, from Midlothian, was hired and the settlers themselves actually built the church. It was completed in July 1894. According to the ledger that hung on the wall for many years, the Sunday School was organized in 1878. Today, the building is leaning and showing effects of many years of service as a community church and a landmark in the St. Paul area. The first funeral held in the church was that of Jim Mathis, son of John Mathis. For many years, the church was on the Britton Methodist Charge, along with other neighboring churches. This made it impossible to have preaching every Sunday, as the pastor sometimes served three or four other churches; however, the people met each Sunday for Sunday School, and even yet, meet the third Friday night of each month for singing, in addition to the annual homecoming each July. Revival meetings were held in the summer - sometimes lasting two full weeks. People came from miles around every night in wagons, buggies and on horseback. Many also attended the 10:00 a.m. worship service each day . Sometimes cottage prayer meetings, prior to the regular services, were held which meant longer travel between various homes. Charter members of the church were: Mr. and Mrs. R. F. Craig, Mr. and Mrs. Tom Tipps, Mrs. Sherman Way, Mr. and Mrs. John D. Ellis, Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Cox and Mr. and Mrs. B. Curry. Harold Davis, who still lives in the community, was Sunday School superintendent for 25 years. His sister, Mrs. Lorene Beard of Fort Worth, was pianist for many years and played the old fashioned pump organ before there was a piano. Another sister, Mrs. Neva Gilstrap of Mansfield, was secretary of the Sunday School. The community Christmas tree, together with a program and a visit from Santa, has become a tradition down through the years. Even yet, some faithful residents of the community, Rufus Hinton, Harold Davis or others, get a live cedar which the women and children decorate for the annual party. The St. Paul Home Demonstration Club was organized in the home of Mrs. Dovie Davis March 21, 1952, with the help of Mrs. Jo Ann Gray, Home Demonstration Agent and Miss Miriam Windle. The eight charter members were: Mrs. B. W. Allred, Mrs. Ethel Hughes, Mrs. Dovie Davis, Mrs. Hattie Turner, Mrs. Forrest Wilson, Mrs. Rita Goad (deceased) and Mrs. Iva Craig. Joining later were Mrs. Fay Jones, Mrs. Crouch, Mrs. J. A. Brown, Mrs. Wynelle Mathis, Mrs. Letty Wilson and Mrs. Lela Evans. Through the years, the St. Paul Club has furnished two council chairmen, Dovie Davis and Juanita McVean. It has sponsored the March of Dimes, participated in the cancer crusade and brought programs on ways of saving soil and conserving water as well as other interesting lectures on travels abroad. One of the highlights of 1976 included honoring the St Paul Club's oldest living member, Mrs. Lizzie Hendrixson, age 97, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Janice Springer, in Waxahachie. In 1976, (the Bicencennial year), the Club has a total of sixteen members and is still growing. For 24 years, it has been serving the ladies of the community, giving them an opportunity to learn many new and improved skills in the art of home-making. Also, it has given its members a way of expressing their love, concern, and friendship within the St. Paul Community. Reference: Article from the vertical files, Sims Library, Waxahachie, Texas, written and edited by the Bicentennial Committee, St. Paul Home Demonstration Club, Juanita McVean, Chairman, Mary Kilchenstein and Betty Mackie. The old church burned in the fall of 1995 and the only reminder of the old community is the cemetery and a Texas Historical Marker, commemorating the church and cemetery.   Copyright © 2002-2016, Ellis County TXGenWeb. All Rights Reserved. This page was last modified: Thursday, 01-Jul-2021 13:17:27 MDT