|
|
FAIRY, TEXASHamilton County,
Central Texas North
FM 219 and 1602
10 miles S of Hico
26 miles W of Meridian
30 miles SE of Stephenville
Population:
23 (2000) 31 (1990)
|
|
|
A
scene in Fairy
Photo Courtesy Jim and Lou Kinsey |
History in
a Pecan shell
Fairy was originally known as Martin's Gap. James Martin
was a settler who took an oxcart through the mountain gap which (evidently)
was a feat worthy of naming the place in his honor. |
Fairy Fort
- the town's namesake
It is somehow
appropriate that there is little information available on Fairy Fort.
Born the fifth child after four brothers - she was the daughter of
Battle Fort - Mississippi native, lawyer, Confederate officer and
Mississippi Governor.
Little Fairy was one of the smallest Texans ever, although she enjoyed
a relatively normal life. Her size didn't stop her from being married
- and divorced. Twice. Her first husband was William Allen and husband
number two was identified only as T. Phelps.
Details of Fairy Fort's life are hard to locate, but her height was
given by some to be 2' 7" and she weighed something like 28 pounds.
We call on our readers to please correct these figures if possible.
Photos or Daguerreotypes of Fairy certainly existed - but our research
has yet to find any. Although Fairy's unusually small size might've
made her famous in another time and place - to the folks in Hamilton
County - Fairy's size was Fairy's business.
Fairy didn't have children - but she lived into her 70s. She is buried
in the Fairy cemetery. |
|
|
Fairy
Community Center, formerly Church of Christ
Photo Courtesy Jim and Lou Kinsey |
Fairy the
town
Fairy
had a post office established in 1884 and a cotton gin dating from
1900. It had the normal assortment of schools, churches, and businesses
typical of regional farming communities. In 1947 Fairy had a population
of 150.
The post office closed in 1957, and the Fairy school consolidated
with Hamilton schools
in 1967. In both 1980 and 1990 the census was given as thirty-one.
Stephenville
Hotels
Book Your Hotel Here & Save
|
Fairy Texas Forum
Subject:
Fairy, Texas
Dear TE, Thanks for making your information available to interested
folks. The web is too often my only connection with Mother Texas,
and I appreciate it.
The James side of my family (my mother's side) had a connection
with Fairy, Texas. Many of the younger children were born near Evant
on the family farm, and attended elementary school there. When it
came time for them to go to high school, they had a choice of Hamilton
or Fairy. My mother, Ruth (James) Clemmer, chose Hamilton,
for that's where my dad (Charley Wayne Clemmer) was born and lived.
She graduated from Hamilton High School. My uncle A. E. James Jr.
and my aunt Cleda James chose Fairy, and both graduated from Fairy
High School. Mother was born in 1922, between A. E. and Cleda, so
this must have been in the mid- to late 'thirties.
I visit Texas too infrequently, as most of the family is now deceased,
but I was in Kerrville (my birthplace) just last month. That prompted
me to gather information for the monthly newsletter of a traditional
music organization to which I belong, and it was during a little
research for an article that I found Texas Escapes. I'll work Fairy
into a piece one of these times, and perhaps I will visit next time
I come. - Ken Clemmer, Phoenix, Arizona, February 14, 2007
Subject:
Fairy, Texas
Dear TE, I stumbled upon your site quite by accident and found it
fascinating. My grandparents, Johnny and Valeria Jackson, lived
on a farm just outside of Fairy and along with a few others founded
the Church of Christ (shown in the picture as the now Community
Center). I spent many summers on the farm in Fairy and have beautiful
memories of that church house and rocky hill. The vast majority
of my relatives are buried in the cemetery there and I expect that
I will be too. My mother, Louise Jackson Vance, and her sisters,
Mary and Gwen, and brother Vernon (all still living) still visit
Fairy as often as they are able. Now 44 years old myself I think
about Fairy Texas often. Thank you for keeping history and memories
alive. - Jon Vance, Dallas, Tx, December 24, 2006
Subject:
Fairy Fort - Fairy Texas
I am Charles Allumbaugh. I currently live in Midlothian Texas. Fairy
Fort was my Great Aunt. She was my mothers aunt. Fairy lived with
my mother when she was a young girl. She still has a dress that
her Aunt Fairy used to wear. She currently lives in Grand Prairie
Texas and is 91 years old. She talks about her Aunt Fairy with great
fondeness and can tell many stories about growing up with her. I
also have a picture of Fairy in a scrapbook that I am putting together
about the Fort family. - Charles Allumbaugh, May 16, 2006
Subject:
Fairy Fort
My name is Donnie Fort and Fairy would be my Great Aunt.
My Dad and his brother are children of Hugh Fran Fort who was Fairys
brother. They still live in Sweetwater,
Texas. W.W. Fort is listed there and my Dad lives at the Holiday
Retirement Center. My Aunt Fay lives in the Dallas area. She is
the sister of my Dad. - Donnie Fort, January 24, 2004
Anyone with stories, photos, or information on Little Fairy Fort
- or the town of Fairy, please contact
us.
Book Your Hotel Here &
Save
Stephenville
Hotels
More Hotels
© John Troesser |
|
|
