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RICE,
TEXAS
The Home Town
You Never Had
Navarro County, North Central Texas
I-45
10 miles N of Corsicana
43 miles S of Dallas
Population 798 (2000) 564 (1990)
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In the shadow
of the Metroplex (if the sun rose in Oklahoma) lies the little town
of Rice.
The town's namesake
is the same William
Marsh Rice that the university in Houston was named after. He
was later murdered in New York City (the Valet did it). Rice came
to Houston in 1837 nearly penniless and by 1860 was the second richest
man in Texas. One of his major interests was railroading and when
the Houston and Texas Central ran a line to Dallas,
he gave the land for the town's church and cemetery.
Being this close
to Dallas
doesn't help Rice's economy at all. People en route to Houston
don't need to stop this soon, and travelers from Houston figure
they can wait. If they can't, then they'll more than likely stop
at Corsicana
or Ennis.
We stopped because
that's what we do. We saw the water tower and the silver dome that
suggested a pocket-courthouse. We weren't hungry, but we were curious.
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The
street where you eat
TE photo |
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"Downtown"
Rice lost nearly half of its buildings in a devastating fire
in 1901. What remains is a picturesque row of brick buildings with
a few scattered around the immediate area. From the raised brick
sidewalk on the north side, you can look over a lush Spring landscape
where the other half of the main street once was.
Midway in the block is a small and charming business open only since
December 1999. The darkened storefronts on either side might make
it resemble a bar, but it's actually an ice-cream emporium/grill.
This is The Rice City Grill. The sign mounted in the back of a truck
will make sure you don't miss it.
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The front door
was propped open with a twelve-pound pipe wrench and the door's
hardware had the unnecessary elegance of the early 1900s. The proprietress
was a gamin-like young woman named Raina Clawson. Husband Rodney
was busy in the back. At the time of our visit we thought he might've
been "the hired man." People often mistake busy husbands
for hired help. Even wives. Maybe he was busy looking for his wrench.
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As we entered,
a brother-sister team was spooning vanilla ice cream into their
mouths as fast as they could without getting "an ice-cream
headache." As young as they were, they knew that if it's a
beautiful Spring day, then Summer will be here tomorrow. We had
assumed they were Clawson children, and they're certainly polite
enough that anyone would want to claim them, but a later phone call
to Rodney identified them as "regular customers."
If you're lamenting
the passing of places like this, then stop lamenting and pay them
a visit. You can show your kids what small towns were like while
you remember what it was like with brick sidewalks, screen doors,
and ice cream that needed to be eaten before summer.
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Visited
March, 2000
© John Troesser
Anyone with stories, photos or incidents of Rice's history is invited
to share them with our readers. Please contact
us.
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Rice, Texas
Forum
Subject:
Another Lost Limb in Rice, Texas
I found [the story] quite interesting about the man who got his
arm cut off in the cotton gin at Rice, Texas. My grandmother, Rosa
Mae Fisher, also had her left arm cut off above her elbow at the
same cotton gin. She was 5 years old at the time and since she was
born in 1907, that would be right about 1912. She and her parents
and siblings lived in Palmer at the time. - Lillian Williams
(No town name provided), November 22, 2006
Subject:
Information about Rice Texas
I ran across your website that had some information on Rice TX and
I read the article from Robert Erisman IV about a man who got his
arm cut off in the cotton gin. Yes that did happen, it was my grandfather
,his name was Jack Leach, he ran the cotton gin for brothers J.B
& James Fortson for over 40 years. He lived in the house on the
same property. When I was a child we would play in the cotton seed
barn until we would get in trouble, then back again as soon as we
could. It was so much fun growing up there. You could ride your
bikes or horses anytime or anywhere and didn’t have to worry about
anything.
The stories about Bonnie & Clyde I am not sure about robbing the
bank but I do know they stayed at the hotel that used to be downtown,
there was pictures at one time in the Pioneer Village in Corsicana
of them there.
My mother
is 72 and lived in Rice her entire life and I still have family
there. I was in the last class to graduate from the old school 8th
grade before they tore it down back in the 70’s. It had a fire slide
that would go up to the 3rd floor we used to climb out on the ledge
walk around it & slide down it was a blast, yes we would get in
trouble from teachers & parents but it was worth it. Thanks. - Sharon
K. Vaclavik, August 14, 2006
I am a resident
of Rice, Tx. I read your article about your visit to Rice,Tx. in
2000. I really enjoyed reading it. I am sad to inform that the Rice
City Grill is no longer in business, but I was wanting to write
and let you know about my mothers business that she has recently
opened here. Rice finally has a flower and gift shop and she really
is doing well. My mothers name is Irene Lopez and it has always
been her dream to have a flower shop in Rice, as this is where I
grew up. The shops name is LeFleur Floral & Gifts. This is a nice
addition to such a small town.
The building where she is located was once the Rice Bank many, many
years ago. It is also rumored that the Bank was once robbed by Bonnie
and Clyde, (would like to know the truth to that one).
Rice also now has a newsletter, which is also located in the historic
Bank building. Just thought i would write with an update on our
wonderful little town. :) Monica Slade, July 23, 2004
My name is
Robert Erisman IV and I live in Chatfield next to Rice and I have
a little information about Rice History. A woman who goes to my
church, who is very old, told me [about] that the old Cotton Gin
that mean kids mess around in and destroy things in. Well, [she
said] that some man who she knew who was the owner back in 1915
or something like that was working in there and the machine stopped
and so he tried to fix it and it started back up and killed him
or cut his arm off. I'll try and find out more information about
that accident.
Also in Chatfield
there is a very old house that the generals would sometimes stay
in during the Civil War and the pasture next to it is where
a battle was fought that had to do with the civil war. Some of the
Civil War took place there you could say. And next to my house there
is another house but not quite as old as the other one and there
is a reenactment of the Civil War every year... Thank you for your
time. - Robert Erisman IV
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