Name: Perryville, Texas
Address: Perryville, TX

Perryville, TX RoadyGoat

Perryville, Texas, isn't known for skyscrapers or bustling city life. What defines us is the land, and what comes from it. Ranching and farming have been the heartbeat of this town since its very beginning. Situated at a slightly higher elevation than the surrounding farmland, Perryville has always been a natural gathering place for ranchers bringing cattle to market. The soil, a rich, sandy loam, is particularly good for growing peanuts and watermelons. While cotton once reigned supreme, peanuts became the crop that sustained Perryville after the boll weevil devastated the cotton fields in the early 20th century. They're drought-resistant, and the sandy soil gives them a unique flavor. You'll still find families here who have been farming the same land for generations, passing down the knowledge of the soil, the weather patterns, and the secrets to coaxing the best yield. And come harvest time, the whole town seems to smell of roasted peanuts, a warm, familiar scent that speaks of home and tradition.

City Park RoadyGoat

City Park in Winnsboro began as a Caddo campground shaded by century-old oaks and fed by a spring. Acquired by Uncle Charlie Moore in eighteen eighty-eight and later A. H. Schluter, it became known as the showplace of Winnsboro, with a grand house and a horse track. After R. G. Andrews bought it in nineteen thirteen, a lightning strike destroyed the home, and the property passed to the city in nineteen twenty-five. Renamed Reid City Park, it gained a concrete natatorium and a wooden auditorium that hosted everything from political speeches to the Old Fiddlers Contest and the Singing Convention. Today it still hosts the rodeo, Autumn Trails, and the farmers market as the town's community hub.

10.1 mi away

Holly Lake Ranch, TX RoadyGoat

In the early 1900s, Holly Lake Ranch's story began with D.B. Contes, a cotton buyer from central Texas, who moved into the area along Holly Creek. During World War I and the Great Depression, Contes leased and sold hunting and fishing rights to city residents in 2,700-acre holdings around what would become Holly Lake. Holly Creek was later dammed to create the lake, and cabins were built at the lake and along Big Sandy Creek. This transformation from a creek to a lake and the addition of cabins marked a pivotal moment in shaping Holly Lake Ranch into the community it is today.

RoadyGoat → · 10.8 mi away

Perryville Methodist Church

1879

This rural congregation was organized in 1879 by 38 charter members as the Marvin Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church. The Reverend A. K. Hughes served as the first pastor. J. D. Hallonquist donated land to the church in 1887, and church buildings were erected here in 1887 and 1915. The church building became a focal point for the area and the site of many revival meetings, Sunday "singings" and community gatherings. Descendants of charter members continue a long history of service to the area of Perryville. (1997)

Historical Marker →

Perryville Baptist Church

1884

In June 1884 five neighbors gathered to organize the County Line Missionary Baptist Church of Wood County. One month later charter members W. F. Bailey, J. M. Richards, S. M. Lindsey, Mrs. L. T. Bailey, and Mrs. Martha Cartwright chose J. O. Carnes as their first pastor. Services were held in the local school building for several years, until a church building was erected. In June 1908 the church was called the Missionary Baptist Church of Christ at Perryville. The name became Perryville Baptist Church in 1925. Descendants of charter members remain active in the church. (1986)

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Carroll Hall Shelby

1952

Camp County native Carroll Shelby became world-renowned as a sports car driver and designer, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He was born in Leesburg to (Warren) Hall and Etoise (Lawrence) Shelby. Neighbors recalled his early racing exploits, riding in a wagon tied to the back of his father's car. When he was about seven, Carroll developed a serious heart condition which proved problematic in later life. Warren relocated the family to Dallas, where Carroll graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School he joined the Army Air Corps during WWII and served as a flight instructor and test pilot. He and his first wife, Jeanne (Fields), had three children. 
 Carroll found his true passion in 1952 in his first automobile race. By 1954, he was racing around the world and setting speed records at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats. In the 1950s he was noted as driver of the year by the Sports Car Club of America, Sports Illustrated and The New York Times. He considered the 1959 win in the 24 Hours of Le Mans his highest achievement. Carroll retired from racing in 1960 due to health concerns and founded a performance driving school in California. He then worked with Ford Motors and others to design iconic 1960s American-designed racing and sports cars, including Shelby Cobra, Daytona, and Mustang models. He later produced models with Dodge and through Shelby American. He returned to Camp County frequently to oversee two area ranches. Other business interests included a West Texas ranch at Terlingua and the start of a famous chili cookoff there. Carroll's charitable work included establishment of a foundation for pediatric transplant patients and an automotive technology program at Northeast Texas Community College. The Northeast Texas Rural Heritage Museum in Pittsburg has a permanent display of his racing memorabilia. He is buried in the family plot in Leesburg Cemetery. (2022)

Historical Marker → · 9.4 mi away

Suiter, Mary Elizabeth

1943

Mary Elizabeth Suiter, attorney and state legislator, was born in Winnsboro, Wood, County, Texas, on October 6, 1911. She was the only child of Minnie Bell (Stutsman) Suiter and William David Suiter. She graduated from Winnsboro High School and earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin. In 1934 she graduated from law school and passed the Texas bar exam at the same institution. Her father, who was a lawyer and state senator from 1915 to 1923, inspired her career path in law and politics. Elizabeth Suiter was the first woman to practice law in Wood County and the first woman attorney to try a criminal case in East Texas. In 1940 she ran for the Texas House of Representatives against first-term incumbent William Jackson "Jack" Bailey in District 34 representing Wood County. In her campaign, she opposed a sales tax and supported a "reasonable luxury tax with increased levies on oil, gas, and sulfur to pay pensions." She lost the race by twenty-nine votes. In 1942, during World War II , she ran again and campaigned on the platform of "rigid economy." She advocated no new taxes during wartime and aimed to streamline the procedures for applying for Social Security benefits. She also fought for stricter regulations on insurance companies to prevent fraudulent advertising practices. Suiter was vocal about the issue of gender during her campaign. She noted that she was "aware of the prejudice of some against voting for a woman," but she stressed that of the few women who had served in the legislature, "not one of them has been found wanting." By contrast, she claimed, many male legislators "have been accused of selling out," and it was men "who have gotten the State government into [an] awful mess." She argued that women "should have some recognition," especially since they were now "expected to prepare themselves to do the same work as men" in the wartime economy. In the July Democratic primary, she defeated her opponent, Alba school principal Jack McIntosh, by 647 votes. In the Forty-eighth Texas Legislature, Suiter served on the committees for Education, Federal Relations, Judicial Districts, Judiciary, and Uniform State Laws. She sponsored or co-sponsored five bills of public significance: House Bill No. 68, House Bill No. 86, House Bill No. 166, House Bill No. 658, and House Bill No. 687. House Bill No. 68, which included virtually the entire House as co-sponsors, provided equal rights to all people of the Caucasian race in public accommodations. In keeping with the state's Good Neighbor policy (see GOOD NEIGHBOR COMMISSION ), the purpose of the bill was to prevent insults to visiting Latin American dignitaries who might face discrimination from the state's system of racial segregation. House Bill No. 86, which she co-sponsored with six other members, was designed to reform the state's juvenile justice system and replace the current criminal procedure with a system of guardianship when possible. Suiter also co-authored House Bill No. 687 with the two other female members of the House, Rae Files and Florence Fenley . This bill attempted to "ease the statutory requirements on married women with property" and acknowledge conveyance apart from their husbands. While those bills failed to pass, both House Bills No. 166 and No. 658 were successful. House Bill No. 166, of which Suiter was the sole author, required family group insurance policies to specify the names of all insured people on the policies. House Bill No. 658, co-sponsored with two other East Texas members, called for the reorganization of the Special District Court of Upshur, Wood, and Smith counties, creating a seventh judicial district of Texas. Suiter ran unopposed for a second term in 1944. In the Forty-ninth legislature, she served on the Judiciary, Uniform State Laws, Public Health, and Rules committees. She sponsored two significant bills during this term, House Bill No. 713 and House Bill No. 146. House Bill No. 713 was a statute which

Tsha Handbook → · 9.9 mi away

Winnsboro, TX

1850

Winnsboro (Winnsborough), an incorporated city, is at the junction of State highways 11 and 37, fifteen miles northeast of Quitman in northeastern Wood County and extends into Franklin County. The town, first settled in the early 1850s, was named for John E. Wynn, an Englishman who settled in the area. Originally the settlement's name was spelled Wynnsborough, but when a post office was established in 1855, it was changed to Winnsborough. By 1861 the community had, in addition to the post office, two general stores and a church. After the Civil War it grew rapidly; in 1876 the East Line and Red River Railroad built a narrow-gauge road west from Jefferson, and Winnsborough developed into an important local shipping center. By 1885, Winnsborough, now incorporated, had Baptist, Methodist, and Cumberland Presbyterian churches, schools, eight steam grist and cotton gins, an opera house, a weekly newspaper, the Sentinel , and some 700 inhabitants. In 1893 the town's name was shortened to Winnsboro, evidently at the request of city leaders. In 1904 the Texas Southern Railroad built through the town, and by 1914 the flourishing community had four banks, two potteries, a public library, a cottonseed mill, two weekly newspapers, the Wide Awake and the Wortham Messenger , and a population of 2,300. The onset of the Great Depression and plummeting cotton prices in the early 1930s combined to bring hard times for Winnsboro. The population dropped to 1,900 in 1936, and many businesses were forced to shut their doors. After World War II , however, the town began to grow again. A new hospital, a high school, and a 917-acre lake were completed. Autumn Trails, a fall nature show, featured theater productions, arts and crafts, music conventions, and other events. In 1970 the city reported 155 businesses, eight churches, a hospital, a library, and a newspaper. Since the mid-1960s the population has been steadily growing, and in 2000 Winnsboro had 3,584 residents and 354 businesses.

Tsha Handbook → · 9.9 mi away

Shelby, Carroll Hall

1923

Born on January 11, 1923, in Leesburg, Camp County, Texas, Carroll Hall Shelby was a famous automobile driver and designer and, prior to his death, one of the world's longest-living heart transplant recipients. He was the only son of Warren Hall Shelby and Francis Etoise (Lawrence) Shelby and older brother to Lou Ann "Anne" (Shelby) Ellison. His father was a U. S. postal worker and car buff who did his rounds by automobile. As a child Shelby sometimes accompanied him on these post rounds as well as to local auto races. He spent his first seven years in Leesburg and then moved with his family to Dallas. At a very young age Shelby was diagnosed with a heart murmur and was required to take daily bed rest for most of his childhood. Upon graduating from Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas in 1940, Shelby enrolled at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he entered the aeronautical engineering program, but never completed his degree. He enlisted in the U. S. Army Air Corps on April 11, 1941. Shelby completed his basic training at Randolph Air Force Base and was posted to Kelly Field (later named Kelly Air Force Base ), Cuero Field , Perrin Army Air Field , Ellington Field , and Childress Army Air Field . He served as a flight instructor and test pilot for the Beechcraft AT-11 Kansan and Curtiss AT-9 Jeep. In 1942 Shelby graduated as a staff sergeant at Ellington Field. Later that year he was commissioned as a second lieutenant. He left the service in August 1945. Two years prior, on December 18, 1943, Shelby married his first wife, Vivian Jeanne Fields, who mothered his three children, Sharon Anne (born in 1944), Michael Hall (born in 1946), and Patrick Bert (born in 1947). Shelby and his wife divorced sixteen years later in February 1960. By the time of his death, Shelby had married at least six other women: Janet R. "Jan" Harrison (in 1962), Sue Stafford (in 1963), Sandra Brandstetter, Cynthia Psaros (in 1989), Helena Dahl (1990-97), and Cleo Patra Roberts (1997-2012). In 1949 Shelby went into business raising chickens. His first batch of chickens gave him a $5,000 profit, but a subsequent batch was devastated by disease and bankrupted him. In January 1952 Shelby entered his first race, a quarter-mile drag meet in which he drove a flathead Ford V8-powered hot rod built by Ed Wilkins, a friend from high school. Later that year Wilkins drove up to his home in an MG TC and invited him to drive the car in a drag meet in Norman, Oklahoma, where Shelby won two races. On November 23 Shelby won the Texas Region of the Sports Car Club of America race at Caddo Mills. In August 1953, during a race at Eagle Mountain National Guard Base near Fort Worth, he drove in a pair of striped bib overalls, which became his signature outfit. In January 1954 he drove the Mil Kilometros de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, sponsored by the Automobile Club of Argentina, where he caught the eye of John Wyer, the team manager of Aston Martin. Later that year Shelby drove DBR3s for Aston Martin in several races, including the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans in France. In November 1954 he was badly injured during the Carrera Panamericana in Mexico. He continued to drive in early 1955 with his arm in a cast and his hand taped to the steering wheel. From 1955 to 1957 Shelby won more than half of the eighty-one races he entered, set multiple records, and traveled the world. In 1956 he was sponsored by John Edgar, for whom he drove Ferraris and Maseratis. In both 1956 and 1957 Shelby was featured as Sports Illustrated magazine's Driver of the Year. In early 1957 he partnered with Dick Hall, a former sponsor, to open Carroll Shelby Sports Cars of Dallas. That September, while driving Edgar's 4.5-liter Maserati 450S during practice for the Riverside International Raceway in California, Shelby spun it into a dirt embankment. After the accident he had to have plastic surgery on his face and three vertebrae fused in his neck. In November he memorably won the 100-mile rac

Tsha Handbook → · 12.8 mi away

Perryville, Texas

Music in Perryville

Songs About Perryville

Artists From Perryville

Rivers & Roads in Song near Perryville

History of Perryville