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History
in a Pecan Shell
The area's original settlement dates to the 1850s. After the Civil
War a townsite was surveyed a half mile SE of present-day Collinsville.
With no local heros around and hardly any geographic features, they
looked around for a name and saw the Toadsuck Saloon. This apocryphal
story is as good as any other. The name had already been in use as
a town name in Arkansas - a place where the residents might have indeed
resorted to such amusements.
It was supposed to be a reference of drinking until one swells up
toad-like. Obviously, this was good for the saloon-keeper, but an
unfortunate condition for his patrons to suffer. In 1869 William (Alfalfa
Bill) Henry David Murray, later a popular Governor of Oklahoma was
born in Toadsuck - a fact that might've cost him election if it hadn't
been kept under wraps.
When the T & P ran their rails away from Toadsuck, the town of Collinsville
sprang up from businesses drawn to the depot. Collinsville
incorporated in the 1890s and Toadsuck became hardly more than an
amusing place name. |
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| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact
us. |
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