A Brief History of Upshur County

by G. H. Baird

Big Sandy has had a very romantic history. Dame Fortune has never smiled upon her in a miraculous way, yet she has had her periods of prosperity as well as adversity. She has suffered from fires, thieves and robbers. In spite of all this, however, Big Sandy continued to grow steadily, and until a few years ago she held a place of considerable importance in the commercial world. The business houses now standing and others that burned, were occupied and doing flourishing businesses. Crowds came to Big Sandy, especially on Saturdays and trades days, and took wagon loads of goods home with them. There were two banks, both of which had all the business they could handle. Big Sandy was recognized as the best cotton market in this part of the country. But the motor vehicle and the good highways have taken a considerable part of the business away from Big Sandy. The development of the larger towns near by, and the easy means of transportation have shifted a part of the trade to these towns. Lately, however, Big Sandy is gaining back what she has lost. A number of new businesses have been put in, and a large oil refinery is being built here, which will add considerably to Big Sandy. While Big Sandy has lost part of her business, she has gained in importance as a residence community. She has all modern conveniences which offer ideal service. With its magnificent high school, with pupils coming in from all the surrounding country, with its four friendly churches, all cooperating together in the religious and moral development of the town, and the social, friendly citizenship, all combine to make Big Sandy a pleasant place to live.

Rosewood

The town of Rosewood occupies the location of the old Double Springs community. Back in the beginning, Double Springs was a thickly settled community, filled with a lot of mighty fine people. There was a school and a Missionary Baptist Church located here since the early days of Texas history. Some of the early settlers were: the McKinneys, the Wades, the Stephensons, John King, Dr. Carson, Rev. William Arrington, the Bullocks, the Hurts, the Carters, Berry Wilson, Pack Williams, Henry Petty, Steve Williams, and many others, living like most other people lived at that time.

When the Marshall and East Texas railroad was built through here, it passed through Double Springs, and the town of Rosewood was built up. Town lots were sold and soon a considerable town was in operation. Several stores were opened and Rosewood became a considerable trading center. A bank was established and a postoffice secured. A nice school building was erected and a large school was maintained for several years.

After the railroad went out of business and was discontinued, Rosewood, like all other towns along the road, lost its importance as a commercial town. The bank was closed. The postoffice was discontinued and rural delivery established. The Rosewood school district is at present a part of the Harmony consolidated district, with the school building located just west of Rosewood on the Rhonesboro road. This is a fully accredited high school. They have a nice rock building, with all modern equipment, with a number of buses bringing high school pupils from the surrounding districts.

Shady Grove

The early settlers of Shady Grove were of a high moral class of people. It seems that the rough, lawless characters that we hear so much about back in the early days, were absent in the Shady Grove settlement. Texas was, at this time, a country with its boundless resources undeveloped. She was offering unusual inducements to settlers, and all roads leading to Texas were crowded with emigrants to the Lone Star State.

It is not known at this time just who made the first settlement in the present Shady Grove area. We know that the community was well established before the war between the United States and Mexico in 1846. When Texas joined the United States in 1846, Mexico declared war on the United States. Tom Ellison, then a young man, came on horseback from Tennessee to join the forces against Mexico. He came through Shady Grove and stopped a while with some of the citizens. After the war was over, he came back and homesteaded a tract of land on Big Sandy creek, and built the log house in which his son, Jim Ellison, now lives.

The Snows came to Texas in 1849. Sam Snow built a little house and cleared a plot of ground. The first year he made one bale of cotton. He carried that cotton to Shreveport to market. He sold it for a little over a hundred dollars, and was paid the hundred dollars in gold. He still had that hundred dollars in gold, with other accumulated gold money, when he died in 1903.

The Mayfields, McWhorters, Calhouns, and Wilsons all came together in wagons from South Carolina in 1848. Charlie Calhoun had come to Texas sometime before and was living near Fort Worth. Fort Worth was at time only a pioneer Indian fort, with a few settlements nearby. These new comers went to Fort Worth in search of Charlie. Failing to locate him, and being in danger of hostile Indians, they returned to East Texas and settled near Shady Grove. The black lands were not very attractive to settlers at that time. Water was scarce, and there was no timber for fencing. Barbed wire had not come into use at that time, so the black lands seemed worthless to these South Carolinians.