A Brief History of Upshur County

by G. H. Baird

Gilmer today is one of the outstanding towns of East Texas. It has conveniences that many towns larger than it doesn’t have, including city mail delivery. Gilmer has a number of merchandising establishments, including four wholesale concerns, that do an extensive business throughout the country. There are two national banks here with a combined deposit of over five million dollars. Gilmer has a magnificent high school, with buses bringing high school pupils in from the surrounding districts. It has a beautiful grade school and a first class school for negroes. Gilmer has a public library, a public park, an active chamber of commerce and two motion picture theaters. There are four friendly churches here, all cooperating together for the moral and spiritual growth of the town. There are two cotton gins located here, a lumber mill, two ice plants, a cottonseed oil mill, a fertilizer plant, a bakery, and many other industrial enterprises. Gilmer is a clean, moral town, and is noted for its absence of saloons, honky tonks and other places of questionable character. The citizens of Gilmer are a big hearted people, working together in a friendly cooperation, with the one goal in view—the happiness of its citizens and the development of Gilmer and Upshur County. With its beautiful paved streets, its modern residences, its beautiful schools and churches, and above all, its friendly citizenship, we can’t understand why everybody doesn’t want to live in Gilmer!

Big Sandy

The town of Big Sandy had its beginning at old Chilton, near where the Chilton Cemetery is located, back in the early 1870’s. A man by the name of Smith, and probably others, ran a store at that place as early as 1873. About the year 1873 the Texas and Pacific railroad was completed through here and a period of development began. About the year 1880, a man by the name of Ferguson built a hotel and saloon just west of the present site of Big Sandy, and the village of Ferguson came into existence. There was no Big Sandy till about the time of the completion of the Cotton Belt railroad in about the year 1880. This road at first only extended from Tyler, intersecting the Texas and Pacific at this place. It was a narrow gauge road and was known as the “Tyler Tap.” It was later extended on north and later changed into a standard gauge road. A switch was built here at the intersection of the two roads, known as “Big Sandy Switch.” Around this switch the town began to build up. The name, Big Sandy, was derived from Big Sandy Creek and the town was known for a long time as Big Sandy Switch.

Two Jews, Arenson and Yesner, put in a general merchandising business at the Switch, and did a prosperous business. Other businesses began to be established and Big Sandy began her career. It seems that no one knows just when the postoffice was established, but it must have been in 1880 or 1881. A man by the name of Gee was probably the first postmaster.

A Norwegian by the name of Yancy ran a blacksmith shop here in the early days. He later moved to Gilmer. Mr. Slagel also ran a blacksmith shop here for a number of years.

In those days, anyone was allowed to sell whiskey that could pay the license and revenue, and saloons were both common and proper. The whiskey business was the best paying business of that time. Mr. Joe Ingram ran a sawmill near by and put in a saloon at Big Sandy as a side line. Lee Trinkle and John Lowery both ran saloons at Big Sandy in those days. These saloons were popular gathering places for the men around, with their billiard and pool tables, offering means for recreation and amusement. A fiddler like Jerry Walton or Simon Shepperd usually furnished the crowd with music. These saloons were kept open day and night, and it was no uncommon thing to see drunken men lying out in the streets or by the road side.

Melvin Watkins put in a little drug store about the year 1884. Mr. Bob Ferrell also ran a drug business for a while. Mr. Ferrell later united with Billie Shepperd in a general merchandising business under the firm name of Shepperd and Ferrell. This firm was later dissolved and Mr. Shepperd and T. J. Kelly went into business together. They built the first brick building in Big Sandy in 1892. This building was later remodeled and converted into the Commercial Hotel.

Dr. Folks ran a little grocery business down near the Cotton Belt. P. L. Fox ran a restaurant and grocery business down east of the depot. Mr. G. A. Tohill worked a while for Mr. Fox and took, as part pay, Mr. Fox’s beautiful daughter, Miss Essie. Mr. Tohill was made postmaster, in which capacity he served for a number of years.

Mr. Pop Gorman, grandfather of Vance Gorman, ran a large business located about where Clyde Mings is now. It faced the railroad. There was a considerable gully running east and west along where W. P. Mings sidewalk is now. There was a little bridge across it where the street turns south toward the railroad. J. M. Dorrough had a considerable business located where the bank building now stands. A little way north of this building was a rail fence, and most of the town north of that fence was in cultivation. In 1896 W. P. Mings put up the brick building on the corner where he did a big business. Later, in 1904, he had the other two buildings east of this erected. The next year, before either of these buildings were occupied, he sold the one on the east to G. C. Ferrell, who put in a first class drug store, which he ran as long as he lived, and since is being run by his son, Grady Ferrell.

In the early days the most popular part of the business section of Big Sandy was down next to the railroad. A number of brick buildings were put up down there, which now stand vacant.