Calf Creek History

Calf Creek, Texas has had three different names and been at three different locations. The first site was approximately two miles South of the present location and named Deland in honor of the original settler, Edward Elijah Deland. The Deland Post Office operated from 1906 to 1909. Mr. Deland was a farmer and also an inventor, being awarded a patent for an improved Shepherd's Crook in 1883.  His daughter Minnie was the first school teacher and taught in a one room schoolhouse which was a quarter mile north of the creek in the Deland pasture. Ira Deland, (son of Edward), was the first mail carrier (Deland Texas)..

The Willhelms came from Germany in 1878, followed by the John I. Jones's, Willis Huey, Espy's and the Wheelers. Then there were the Young's, Groves, Marbys and Millers. The Jones family contributed much to build the community. Mr. Jones organized the first church, (Presbyterian). The committee named to give the church a name was Mabel Deland, Miss Johnny Jones and Buddy Yoas. They named it the Pecan Grove Presbyterian Church. Miss Johnny Jones was the assistant school teacher along with Minnie Deland. Willis Huey gave land for a new school and the cemetery in 1902.

The Calf Creek school had one teacher and twenty-three students in 1898. Baptist and Methodist churches were organized in 1903.

In 1903 the Melton Land Company put on a land site boom, selling off the Huey ranch by cutting it up into farms. This brought the Attaways, Kolbs, Whitleys, Hains, Tuckers, Stapps, Karneses and Crouches. In 1904 the Bridges, Hodges, Hazeltons, Whiteheads, Childresses, Devours and Gainers moved to the community.

In 1903 the J. W. Attaways organized the Baptist Church and named it the Lone Star Baptist Church. About the same time, the Methodist Church was organized with J. A. Whitley as the first pastor. The first Sunday School was organized by John L. Jones. Union literature was used with all churches banded together. This arrangement was used until 1940. Each summer, usually beginning the Friday before the first Sunday in August, a camp meeting was held on Calf Creek in the Deland place.

In 1905 the Alexander's built the first cotton gin and at one time Calf Creek had two operating cotton gins and they still could not keep up. The overflow had to be sent to nearby Brady, Texas

In 1909 the center of the community shifted about a mile to the north and a new post office, named Tucker, was established in honor of local store owner Lum Tucker. The Tucker Post office operated from 1909 to 1915. Tucker had a cotton gin, a general store, and a blacksmith shop. Most of Tucker Texas was destroyed by a suspicious fire around  1915.


Photo taken at original site of Tucker Texas

In 1914 telephones came to the community and for awhile everyone had one for 75 cents a month. Mrs. W. W. Kolb operated the switchboard in her home.

In 1915 the community moved about a mile north to it's present location and the post office changed its name to Calf Creek. The name "Calf Creek" comes from a nearby stream that originates northeast of Menard and runs 10 miles to the San Saba river in northwest Mason County. The Calf Creek post office was discontinued in 1953.

Contrary to popular belief repeated in various other historys of Calf Creek, the land for the Calf Creek schoolhouse and cemetery were not donated by the Alexander family, but rather by the Huey family in 1902. (Ref: McCulloch County Texas Warranty Deed, Volume S, Page 432). The total amount of land donated by the Huey's was 6 acres. It seems that slightly over 2 acres of this land was dedicated to cemetery use sometime between 1902 and 1903 and the remainder of the land tract used for school grounds. It is very likely that a wood frame school building was used on this site between 1903 and 1921. The new school was built in 1921 from a $8000 bond project. The Calf Creek school was consolidated with Brady Texas Independent School District in 1949. The school building continued to be used as a church and for other community purposes for many years after the the Calf Creek School was discontinued. From about 1970 through 2004 the historic schoolhouse was increasingly vandalized and frequently used by vagrants and transients. During this period some people with strong ties to Calf Creek still hoped to bring new life to the schoolhouse, possibly repairing it for use as a community center, however, the schoolhouse was demolished in late 2004 and early 2005. An interesting side note is that, (according to the terms of the original land deed), the school property reverts back to the Huey family now that the schoolhouse is gone.

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Photographs



Very early picture of Calf Creek Schoolhouse believed to have been taken shortly after school was built.



Calf Creek Schoolhouse in mid 1970's



Front view of Calf Creek Schoolhouse from mid 1970's


                 
 Interior Schoolhouse pictures from mid 1970's

     
Interior photos of Calf Creek Schoolhouse taken approximately 1999.



Calf Creek Cemetery Gate
 
         
Grave of Edward E. Deland - first person interred in cemetery.

           
This is a tag from a railroad mail bag destined for the Calf Creek Texas Post Office. The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe railroad began servicing nearby Brady Texas in 1912. The Calf Creek Texas Post Office was in operation between 1915 and 1953, so we know this artifact is from that time period.

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Contributions Needed:
If you have photos, information, facts or even anecdotes related to Calf Creek Texas we would greatly appreciate it if you would share that information with us so we can preserve Calf Creek History and share it.
David Deland
Calf Creek Cemetery Association Historian
ccca-historian@calfcreek.net

A bound booklet which contains information on Calf Creek Cemetery Association and Calf Creek Cemetery including history of Calf Creek, a cemetery map, and a recently updated cemetery list has now been compiled and printed. A copy of this booklet has been presented to the F M Richards Library, (1106 S Blackburn St, Brady, TX 76825), and a copy has been placed in a mailbox near the cemetery gate..
Copies of the booklet are available for purchase for $11.00 (including postage) at the link below:
http://www.calfcreek.net/calf-creek-book.html

Credits and References:
The historical information contained here has been acquired and compiled from many reliable sources, primarily present and former residents of the Calf Creek community. This research began in the mid 1970's and continues today. Some major contributors to this project have been Earl Deland Sr., Earl Deland Jr., James Deland, William "Willie" Duncan, Dan Gandy, Kenneth Harlow, Clarence Snider, James Whitten, and various members of the Calf Creek Cemetery Association.