|
Sikes Grove, Texas
Sikes Grove is a community that disappeared and is not recalled by people that did not grow up in that area of Hunt County. Today, the former Sikes Grove Community is sometimes called the Cedar Grove Community. Meadowview School, a couple of miles north served the educational needs of the community. The Cedar Grove Baptist church, founded in 1896 and the adjacent cemetery are the only remnants of the community.
History
of Cedar Grove Baptist Church
Sikes was seven miles from Greenville in central Hunt County. Its settlement occurred sometime in the late 1870s, when the town's founder, J. T. Sikes, built a gin. A post office branch opened in 1897 and closed six years later. The population of Sikes never exceeded fifty, and the community ceased to exist shortly after World War II. There was a two-story structure facing what is today CR 2176 where it intersected with present day CR 2178. The lower floor of the building was occupied by the Sikes Store and the post office. The second story was a lodge hall for the Woodmen of the World lodge. Present CR 2178 is labeled Sikes Road in the 1940 census. To the east, across the road from Sikes Store was the cotton gin. A pool used to cool the gin engines is still there today. In times past, the church used the gin pool for baptism services.
The Sikes community had a large Woodmen of the World franternity and a women's auxiliary known as Woodmen Circle. In the photo, the ax handles are arranged to spell W C. On the banner at the left end is Sikes Grove, Texas.
Woodman Circle. Banner on the left says Sikes Grove, Texas. In the original photo, H. E. King can be seen printed on the glass window in the door. This building was the home and the office of Dr. Henry King, an early Hunt County physician. Note that the ax handles are arranged as the letters W and C. #1 is Arizona Wilson Williams, wife of John Williams, #2 is Martha Ida Gray Williams, wife of Charles Gilmer Williams #3 is Ida Mae Stafford Williams, wife of James (Jim) Wiley Williams. One of the ladies is Lula, the wife of Dr. King.
Back to Cities & Towns page
|
