PROSPER
HISTORY OF PROSPER
Daily Courier-Gazette, Centennial Edition, October 11, 1946
by Pat Gilliland
A great man once
said, "What's in a name; wouldn't a rose by any other name smell as sweet?" I am
just wondering if this little West Collin County town would mean the same with a
name other than Prosper.
To me, this name is
a very appropriate one for this little town situated in the heart of a
prosperous farming section. In the beginning its three room frame school
building, with two teachers was called Richland. Due to the fact that Texas
already had a town by that name, Mr. T. C. Slaughter, a citizen, suggested the
name of Prosper.
In 1901, the first
railroad was started and the town of Prosper had its beginning. It was not until
March 17, 1902, that the first passenger train came through causing very much
excitement. Rock Hill, its churches, residences and business houses moved to
Prosper and located on the east side of the railroad track. J. J. Maxey was the
owner of the first grocery store and jim and Joe Taylor, the first gin.
In 1902, Prosper had
its first postmaster-L. A. Anderson, who also operated a grocery store in the
same building. A short time later the store and post office were taken over by
B. J. Naugle, who served as post master until four or five years ago when this
was taken over by A. E. Robinson. A rural route was established July 1,1904,
with our present banker, Mr. U. N. Clary, as carrier. In 1929 the route was
consolidated with Celina, Frisco and McKinney.
In July, 1903, the
Continental Bank and Trust Company was established with C. A. Sanford as
cashier. In 1929, the name was changed to the Prosper State Bank. The territory
served by this bank has been extended until now it serves a large part of West
Collin County.
A four-story flour
mill was built in 1904 to accommodate an enormous wheat crop.
Our town has grown
until we now have five grocery stores, three grocer, one cafe, three churches,
two gins, mill and grain elevator and a lumber yard.
Our school have
grown from a two-teacher to a nine-teacher, consolidated school with eighteen
credits of affiliation. We have a modern two-story brock building. Our health
program is carried on by a hot lunch project and physi....
Looking Back on 50 Years, Prosper Feels Destiny Met
Dallas paper,
1953
Robert
E. Rankin in Dallas News
Prosper, Collin County, Texas. "Where lies the future of your town?" somebody
once asked Banker U. N. Clary of Prosper.
Clary,
a soft-spoken courteous man who has lived all his life in the vicinity of this
244-population community wasn't at loss for words when he replied.
"The
future of our community," he said, "will be just about like the past."
"This
community furnishes 3,000 to 4,000 bales of cotton each year for the world,
75,000 bushels of wheat, thousands of dollars worth of dairy products and, above
all, it furnishes boys and girls who go to the cities and other places and
contribute to their development.
"As
long as we continue to do this, we fill our place in the scheme of things."
Monday
night the little town of Prosper observed its fiftieth anniversary. There was a
program at the Methodist Church, sponsored by the ladies of the town's three
churches.
Citizens had an opportunity to look back on the events of the past half-century.
Although Prosper's population has remained virtually constant during that
period, it has always tried to carry out its role in the scheme of things.
The
town, at its present site, dates from 1903, when the St. Louis & San Francisco
built its line through Western Collin County.
___
that the town had been located about a mile north of the present location. In
the 1880's a common school district was started there and the place was called
Richland.
When
Richland was designated for a post office, it was found that it would have to
change its name. There already existed another Richland, Texas, in Navarro
County.
Postmaster L. A. Adamson asked for suggestions one day, and a by-stander, J. C.
Slaughter, suggested Prosper. He didn't have any particular reason for selecting
the name, but it stuck.
With
the coming of the railroad, Prosper moved, lock, stock, and barrel, to the
present site. The little town of Rock Hill, which was two miles south of
present-day Prosper, threw in its lot with Prosper. All that's left as a
reminder of Rock Hill today is a filling station, which bears the name of the
old site.
What
happened at Prosper, also happened all along the new Frisco line -- at Celina,
Frisco and other places. New towns sprung up along the right of way. Churches,
Schools, businesses and homes moved to the new towns.
Citizens of Prosper early showed their independence.
A group
of outsiders, who had inside information on the route the Frisco line would
take, bought up farms near location of stations-o-be and formed townsite
companies.
Some of
the land at Prosper was bought from Dr. A. U. Bryant of McKinney, but Dr. Bryant
kept a tract of land just east of the townsite. The tract was on high ground
that gave a commanding view of the surrounding countryside.
Citizens shunned the lots of the townsite company and bought lots on the high
ground.
Eventually, the townsite company, highly incenses, took action. It built a
four-strand barbed-wire fence between the highlanders and the business district
of the town. The first night after the fence went up it was cut to bits.
The
townsite firm built another fence. It met the same fate.
"The
company finally just threw up its hands in surrender," recalls Banker Clary,
"and it never put up another fence. And it didn't sell its lots either."
Most of
Prosper's residences today are on the high ground, although some are on Highway
289 the approximate route of the old Preston Road that ran north from Dallas to
the Preston Bend of Red River.
The
actual route of that old wagon road is about a mile east of Prosper -- an almost
impassable dirt road today.
Although it is no bustling town with industrial development on its fringes,
Prosper is proud of the things that it has--and has had for most of its years.
There
is a 12-grade accredited high school, tow well-equipped gins, five grocery
stores, a thriving egg industry, a branch grain elevator, a city-owned water
system, a bank and a 20-man volunteer fire department. There are three churches,
Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist. The town's economy is solidly based on
agriculture.
Banker
Clary is proud of the people that have gone forth from Prosper to make their
mark in the world.
"There
are probably more former Prosper people living in Dallas than there are
residents in Prosper," he says. "I regret that they have to leave Prosper to
find their opportunities, but I don't think they'll every be sorry about having
come from Prosper.
"I
don't care whether this town ever grows or not as long as we can contribute to
the feeding and clothing of the world and our boys and girls go out and do their
part in life."
That,
as Clary points out, seems to be the function of Prosper.
A
visitor gets the impression that as long as Prosper and other towns like it
continue to exist everything is going to be all right.
Prosper History
(By Juanice Stanton for 1972 homecoming) 10-29-72
...In order to lay
the basis for Prosper's birth, we have to go clear back to 1859, when the state
of Texas appropriated ands for the education system of the state. County courts
in 1876 ordered small tracts of land be established so that it could readily be
sold. Most of the land sold for $3.50 per acre, with the tracts being
approximately 160 acres. Dr. A. T. Bryant of McKinney purchased one of these
tracts of land and it was that tract of land that formed the nucleus of our
community, Prosper.
A group of
outsiders, who had inside information on the route the Frisco line would take,
bought up farms near locations of stations-to-be and formed townsite companies.
However, Dr. Bryant kept a tract of land just east of the townsite. That tract
was on high ground and gave a commanding view of the surrounding countryside.
Citizens shunned the
lots of the townsite company and bought lots on the high ground. Eventually, the
townsite company became made and took action. They built a four-strand barbed
wire fence between the highlanders and the business district of the town, as it
was forming at that time. The first night after the fence went up it was cut to
bits. The townsite company build another fence. It met the same fate. The
company gave up and adhered to the desires of the people to settle on high
ground and keep the flats for farmland and for business houses. Most of
Prosper's residences today are on the high ground, although some are on old
highway 289. The approximate route of the old Preston Road that ran north from
Dallas to the Preston Bend of Red River is about one mile east of Prosper.
In the 1880's a
common school district was started about a mile north of the present location
and was called Richland. When Richland was designated for a post office, it was
found that it would have to change its name because another Richland, Texas,
existed in Navarro County. Postmaster L. A. Adamson asked for suggestions from a
group of citizens. J. C. Slaughter came up with the name of Prosper, because as
he noted, it appeared there was to be a prosperous crop that year.
With the coming of
the railroad, Prosper was moved, lock, stock and barrel to its present site,
which dates back to 19902. The little town of Rockhill, which was two miles
south of present day Prosper, threw in its lot with Prosper. All that remains of
Rockhill, today, is a building that formerly contained a filling station,
grocery store and living quarters. That building is to be dismantled in the near
future. Drude Talkington and wife, Mary Jane, have built a new home on the tract
of land where the Rockhill store premises stood for many, many years.
What happened at
Prosper also happened all along the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad line.
New Towns sprung up along the right of way. Churches, schools, businesses and
homes moved to the new towns. The Post Office which had been established at
Crickett Corners moved to the present business district in Prosper in 1902. B.
J. Naugle became postmaster after the post office was established in the present
Prosper.
In the fall of 1902,
a frame two story school was built on the site of the old school campus. The
student body was moved from the Richland site to the Prosper district's new site
during the 1902-03 term of school. J. B. Henderson was principal.
The Masons from Rhea
Mills community built a two story, frame lodge hall under the name of Lee Lodge
in 1902. A portion of that building still stands after a fire destroyed the
upper floor of the building about four years ago.
Prosper's first
store, on the present townsite, was built on 1902 by J. J. Maxey, the same year
the Frisco Railroad was completed through western Collin County. The first mill
under the name of farmer's cooperative mill was operated near the railroad
tracks until it burned in 1912. Beanland and Martin built a new mill in the same
general area and operated as a flour, corn meal and feed mill until 1939. C. E.
Beanland was manager of the mill until Kimbell Milling Company purchased it in
1939, at which time it ceased to operate as a mill and became a grain elevator
with Roy Skelton as operator. Fred Field was employed with the business for
about forty years, until his retirement a few years ago. The business now
operates under the name of Chickasha Cotton Oil Company and operates in
agriculture products. Charles Webb has been with the business for many years now
and is presently still with the firm.
The first gin was
built by Jim and Joe Taylor on the site of the present co-op gin. Later the drug
store at Rockhill was moved to Prosper, as well as a number of houses. Churches
formed an important part of the community's life. The Methodist church at Rock
Hill was known as Smith's Chapel and was later moved to Prosper, facing east on
the lot near the present bus garage. In 1924, the building was wrecked and the
material was used to help construct the present brick veneer building. The
Baptist church was moved from Rockhill and located on the general area of the
present pastor's home. The deed from Dr. & Mrs. Bryant was dated April 12, 1902,
and revealed a purchase price of $50 for two lots. The Presbyterian church was
not at Rockhill but was on the Bell farm, known in recent years as the Gibson
Caldwell farm. It was located near at the top of the hill on what is now state
highway 380 and for a time was called Bell Chapel. It was later known as Rock
Hill Cumberland Presbyterian Church and was located on the present church lot.
However, it was moved farther to the west on the lot in the 1930's and was
placed over a basement that had been dug out for it. The steeple was removed and
the exterior of the building was brick veneered. It is now called the
Presbyterian Church, USA....
First edition of the
Prosper paper as it was printed and distributed on Friday, October 7, 1904. The
paper was in operation for about two years.
From the beginning
of the operation of the first school in 1902, where Mrs. C. E. Beanland, the
former Anna Keen, and Mrs. Glen Sneed, the former, Leta Higginbotham and J. B.
Henderson were teachers and the school had one hundred students enrolled. .... The
original building was sold in 1910 and was moved to Ma Webb's corner, where it
became a hotel. A two story red brick building was constructed on the campus and
two more teachers were added. That building was destroyed by fire in 1923.
Another two story brick building with nine classrooms and a large auditorium was
built to replace the burned out building.
Later years saw the
consolidation or detachment of several other schools into the Prosper district.
Among these were White Elephant, Good Hope, Richland, Walnut Grove, Rheas Mill,
Pleasant Valley, Possum Trot and Rock Hill. After 40 years, a new school
building was built on a ten acre tract of land, two blocks northeast of the old
school campus.
Historical marker,
2002
PROSPER
PROSPER GREW FROM TWO EARLY SETTLEMENTS,
ROCKHILL AND RICHLAND. WHEN THE ST.
LOUIS, SAN FRANCISCO AND TEXAS RAILROAD
BYPASSED THE TWO COMMUNITIES, THE NEW
TOWN OF PROSPER, FOUNDED IN 1902, BECAME
THE CENTER OF COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY. THE
TOWN GREW STEADILY IN ITS EARLY YEARS,
PRIMARILY AS A SHIPPING CENTER FOR
SURROUNDING FARMS. TIED TO COTTON AND
GRAIN ECONOMIES, THE TOWN EBBED AND
FLOWED WITH PRICES. IN RECENT YEARS,
PROSPER HAS EXPERIENCED GROWTH DUE TO ITS
PROXIMITY TO THE DALLAS METROPLEX, BUT IT
RETAINS MUCH IT ITS HISTORIC FABRIC, FROM
HOMES AND COMMERCIAL STRUCTURES TO THREE
CHURCH CONGREGATIONS THAT MOVED TO THE
TOWN AT ITS FOUNDING.
Communities Index
- Recommended
citation:
-
"Prosper
- Collin County Communities," Collin County, Texas History and Genealogy
Webpage by Genealogy Friends of Plano Libraries, Inc., <http://www.geocities/genfriendsghl>
[Accessed Fri February 13 13:37:28 US/Central 2004 ].
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