Kelsey, Texas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kelsey is an unincorporated area in Upshur County, Texas, United States that was the longest-lasting settlement founded by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the state. Now a ghost town, it has been called the "mother colony" of Latter-day Saint colonies in Texas.[1]
The origins of Kelsey go back to 1898. John Edgar – who had tried to settle in Mesa, Arizona but had not succeeded — settled near Hopewell in Upshur County. In 1898, Edgar purchased land in what would become Kelsey.[2]
By 1901, there were nine Latter-day Saint families in Kelsey. On August 4, 1901 a Sunday School of the church was organized at Kelsey.[2] This same year, James G. Duffin, president of the Southwest States Mission of the church, received approval from the First Presidency for the building up of this settlement.[3] In 1902, Abraham O. Woodruff and Duffin laid out the townsite for Kelsey.[3]
A post office was established at Kelsey in 1902. By 1906, Kelsey had about 400 inhabitants.[3]
In 1907, the Kelsey School District was formed. In 1911, a two-story brick schoolhouse was built. The first gymnasium in East Texas, named Bennion Hall after mission president Samuel O. Bennion, was completed at Kelsey in 1929.[2]
By 1910 the population had risen to 527. In 1923, the population peaked at 750.[2] Families gathered to Kelsey from throughout the southern United States and even on rare occasions from other parts of the United States.
Kelsey was a stop on the Marshall and East Texas Railroad. The railroad built a branch line to Kelsey to facilitate the loading of such products as strawberries, cantaloupes and corn that were grown in the community.[2]
During the 1930s, Kelsey farmers provided food to the oil workers in Kilgore and Gladewater, Texas.[2] In 1943, the school in Kelsey was closed and after that students were bussed to Gilmer, Texas.[2] In 1951, a new church was built in Kelsey.[2]
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- T. Lindsay Baker (1986). Ghost Towns of Texas (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press)
[edit] External links
- Christopher Long, "Kelsey, Texas", The Handbook of Texas Online
|
||||||||||||||||||||
