![]() ![]() Within two years of its first permanent settler, Springfield became the commercial, social and political center of the surrounding Wolverton ran the first stage coach line carrying mail and passengers from Springfield to Washington on the Brazos. Moses Anglin lived just east of Springfield and Tilman and Agnes Wolverton settled on Plummers Creek near Phifer, and Bradley Phifer were among the first property owners in Springfield. They are both buried in the Springfield Cemetery in a family plot with four of their children and a hired hand, Burr Coulson.īy 1844 there were 13 families living in Limestone County. Logan Stroud was the largest slave owner in Limestone County, having 157 slaves just prior to emancipation. There they lived for a few years before moving to a timbered area northwest of theįort on the old Springfield-Waco Road. After a few years, the Stroud family moved to a place just north of Old Fort Parker. On May 19, 1842, Logan Stroud married JaneĮlizabeth Harlan and because of unhealthy conditions in the Brazos River bottoms, moved to Burr Oak Springs in Limestone County just across the river from what would later become the Confederate Morgan County, Georgia on Octohis family moved to Alabama and in 1837 to Robertson County, Texas where 640 acres of land was located. ![]() The settlement of the Springfield area began in earnest following the arrival of Logan A. ![]() However, continued Indian hostilities kept permanent settlers out He assigned Elisha Anglin and George Calmes, two of Limestone County’s earliest settlers, to lay out the town. On January 6, 1838, Herrin signed an instrument declaring his offer of four free town lots and a ten-acre out lot to those who settled on and improved the land for Moses Herrin’s lasting influence on the area was his charge to build the town of Springfield around the “large spring” on the east He may have been given another piece of land in compensation for the error, possibly in Panola County where his widow was living in 1852. He may have learned that his was an invalid junior survey filed subsequent to the In fact, there is no record of Herrin either visiting or occupying the tract. Although Herrin’s land adjoined that of the Parker settlers, his family was not listed among those known to be in the area during the time of theĪttack on Fort Parker. Navasota River (part of Andres Varela grant). He was admitted as a colonist contracted by David Burnett in December 1826 and claimed one league of land on the east side of the A few years later, Moses Herrin traveled with hisįamily from Kentucky to Texas to claim a league of land. Although they agreed to settle and cultivate the land in accordance to the Law of 1825, there is no evidence that they ever did. In 1833 brothers Andres and Pedro Varela petitioned the Mexican government for adjoining eleven-league grants straddling the Navasota After nearly all the whiteĬitizens had left the town, Springfield became a semi-rural but thriving African-American community during the Reconstruction period. At the end of the Civil War, several hundred slaves in the area were freed, many of whom stayed in the area. Second burning of the courthouse at Springfield. In 1873 Groesbeck became the county seat following the As a result, the population diminished rapidly in the early 1870s. White citizens abandoned the town in favor of Groesbeck or Mexia. By 1850 the town was growing rapidly and continued to grow through the start of the Civil War.īecause the town was bypassed by the railroad and because of racially-motivated violence following the Civil War, many of the town’s A post office was established that same year, and a city government was organized in 1848 by a legislative act incorporating the The county seat since it was the only town of any size. When Limestone County was formed in 1846, Springfield was made By 1844 the town was again inhabited by immigrants from Illinois and the South. By the spring of 1838, twelve families had settled in the area, but were forced to leave during the summer monthsīecause of Indian hostilities in the area. Of a town to be located at the large spring on the banks of the Navasota River. Springfield became a townsite on January 6, 1838, when Moses Herrin donated 500 acres from his league grant for the “use and benefits It is the only visible reminder of the town of Springfield, the first county seat of Limestone County. Is located about 0.5 mile from the park entrance on Park Road 28. Springfield Cemetery is located in Limestone County within Fort Parker State Park, which is located about 4.5 miles north of Groesbeck on Highway 14. ![]()
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