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ii ELY 3ETTLIWAT
Allim V. ..;rvin
somervell County
District 8
P.
Interview with N.
No. of words t-500_
File No. 230
Page 1
Reference
dood, Olen Rose, Texas- Erly Settler
"My father brought the family to Texas, to what is now
Somervell county in 1874, then I WIS twelve years old. When we
reached the Brazos River it was up, there was no bridge, end no
ferry. We built a skiff to cross but we had to leave all'our
things on the other side until the river went down, when we
could bring them across in the wagon.
We settled on the land along the river where we landed.
Ne rly everybody lived in log houses. We built a house of cedar
logs. The living room had a puncheon floor, and the kitchen had
a dirt floor. '1() came from Arkansas, and we
house there. I didn't see how we were going
house, but we
had a well-built
to live in this log
were comfortable. The log houses were not as
we
tight -s lumber houses, but/were seldom sick.
People were friendly and glad to see you. If you went to
see anybody and stayed a week, they wanted you to stay longer.
The land was good and would raise lmost anything. Crops
were generally good. The land is not as good now as it was
then. It has washed away. I can show you places where good
land has been washed away and now there are big gullies.
When we came there were, at Barnard's Mill(which is Mr:It
the place was oiled then), the mill, a dry goods store owned
Junr
William V. Irvin, P. W.
Somervell Count,
District 8
File No. 280
page
by Mri.Brown, a little store whioh sold groceries and cigars and
toba000 owned by Mr. White, and a blacksmith shop run by a man
named Levindusky.
Before we came there had been a small settlement or village
over a mile further east on Paco' Creek where there was a large
sulphur spring. It moved to Barnardes Mill after the mill was
The county was organized in 1875, and that year, or a year
later, Baldy Martin put up the first eotton gin. It had only one
little stand. It was operated by a big cog, which was pulled
around by a team of mules. There were four mules used altogether
in running the gin. Two would pull the cotton up to a platform
where a man would stand and push the cotton into the gin with
his hands.
Buyers would come frog Dallas and Fart Worth and buy the
cotton in thwyard, but we would have to deliver it. It would
take two days to go to Fort Worth end three days to go to Dallas,
if the weather was good. One time when it wasn't good, we were
twelve days on the road to Dallas. What cottonseed that wasn't
needed for replanting was thrown away. /t was not needed to
feed livestock as there ive plenty of pasturage.
Buryers would come out and buy cattle and hogs, and we
would deliver them.
Lk= s.21"flAHUIT File NO. 250
page 3
William V. Irvin, P. W.
Somervell County
District 8
Major T. C. Jordan bought the mill from Charles Barnard and
later started the town of Glen Ross. I drove a freight wagon
wagon for Major Jordan, hauling flour to Waeo, Dallas and Tort
Worth, and returning with goods. Everything went along all
right on these trips, except one night when the two other drivers
and I were eamped, we got drunk on mixed peach brandy and cherry
brandy."
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