PRINTED BY
THE GILMER MIRROR
AUGUST, 1946
A BRIEF HISTORY
OF
UPSHUR COUNTY
BY G. H. BAIRD
God formed a little verdant spot
And filled it with His bounty;
Men come to dwell within its bounds,
And named it “Upshur County.”
About one hundred years ago, the history of Upshur Countybegan.
As one drives over our modern highways, through our townsand villages, and passes the beautiful country homes by the wayside,he can hardly realize the condition of the country one hundredyears ago. No towns, no homes, no roads, with this vastexpanse of territory occupied by wild animals and a few Indians.The hoot of the owl and the yell of the savage were the onlysounds that broke the lonely solitude.
During the period of the Texas republic, a number of emigrantsfrom the older states were induced to settle in Texas, butmost of them settled in the southern part of the state near SanAntonio or Goliad, while a few settled in East Texas near Nacogdoches.
The Civil War checked the emigration for a while, but afterthe war closed, Texas was making liberal offers to settlers, andall roads leading to Texas were crowded with emigrants to theLone Star State. Upshur County, in the eastern part of the state,lay in their path, and was settled at an early date and by a highclass of citizens. This part of the state was well watered andtimbered, and was well stocked with wild game, so the earlysettler had little trouble in building his home and procuring foodfor his family.
Log houses were first built near some bubbling spring wherean abundance of pure water could be had. As there were manyfine timbers here, the early log cabins soon gave way to largerand better homes. Crude sawmills were soon built which convertedthis timber into lumber for building purposes.
A few of these old pioneer log houses have been preserveduntil the present time, monuments of the pioneer days.
The living conditions in Upshur County were very simple inthe early days. They had few luxuries and knew nothing ofmodern conveniences. But they made the best of what they hadand were contented and happy. Every home was a miniaturemanufacturing plant. They made their own clothes and shoes,and, in fact, almost everything else used by the family. Thespinning wheel and loom were kept busy in every home. In thosedays, large families of children were common, and these youngsterswere taught to work. Many little girls, five or six yearsold, prided themselves on their skill in sewing and knitting. Themen and boys wore home spun jeans. Little money was possessed6by the settlers and little was needed. Home made wagons, withwheels cut from large black gum trees, with wooden spindles,were common in those early days. The wagons were usuallydrawn by a yoke of oxen and the creaking noise made by thewagon informed the neighbors when someone was going alongthe road.
Location of Upshur County
Upshur County is situated in the upper East Texas area. It isin almost a perfect square and contains six hundred square milesof territory. Most of U