AS TIME GOES BY
Wood County History
By LOU MALLORY — Chairman Wood County Historical Commission
More early settlers in the Alba area
After the Simpkins family settled in the Alba area in 1843, other families followed. The enext settlers were William and Sarah Dale who settled at a place that came to be called Dale's Creek. Mr. Dale was apparently a preacher as there is a record of him marrying R.P. and Mary Childress on May 7
th, 1868. Mr. Dale died the following year, but his wife lived for another 20 years.
In 1860, Josh Wilson came from the Arkansas Territory and settled in Alba. His descendents still live in Alba today where they own and operate the funeral home.
In 1866, a group of settlers came to Pleasant Ridge in three wagons. The name of the settlement aptly describes the area. Those settlers of the Methodist denomination made their homes at Pleasant Ridge while those of the Baptist denomination settled the Econ community near Alba. Today the Baptist Church there has built new facilities and continues to grow.
Some of the main families that settled Pleasant Ridge were the Fletchers, the Terrys, the McKenzies, and the Bells, among others.
The Loyd Family
John William Loyd was born in Tennessee. He heard stories from early settlers about Texas and the area intrigued him. At the age of 17, he walked all the way from Tennessee to Texas. He was accompanied by an unnamed young man about his age.
He related that sometimes they walked about one hundred miles without seeing a house of any kind. The area was all wooded and, depending on the weather, they walked about 20 miles a day. It took them about six weeks to make the trip. There were a lot of Indians in the territory, but apparently, they presented no problem.
As they neared Clarksville, Texas, they could see a few scattered log houses. They ran into a fellow who had some cotton ready to be picked. The boys asked for the job and got it. That night, for the first time in five weeks, they slept in a real bed. After picking the cotton, they resumed their trip and arrived in Quitman, Texas on or about December 1
st. Other settlers who came along later included the Hays, the Matthews, the Calhouns, the Popes, the Gunters, the Adams and the Butlers.
After these early settlers arrived they began clearing the land, building houses and raising crops. There were no stores in the area at that time so all supplies had to be brought it from Jefferson, Texas. The trip through a wild and heavily timbered area of East Texas from Jefferson to Alba and back took about two weeks.
The next installment in this series will take a look at the coming of the railroad and businesses to the Alba area.
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