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| History
in a Pecan Shell
Settlement of the region began in the 1890s, and a small community developed
around the rural school of Liberty, established in 1899 near Wildhorse Creek.
Early settlers included the families of R. E. Hargrove, J. L. VanZandt, P. W.
Crump, and J. D. Falkner. A post office was opened there in 1902 and was named
Herbert for Colorado
City postmaster Herbert Hazard. In
1909 the office was renamed Spade after the Spade Ranch. The post office
served the community until it was moved to Colorado
City in 1912. By 1910 Spade had the post office, a general store, a gin, a
blacksmith shop, a school, a Baptist church, and a Woodmen of the World Lodge;
at that time the community was a stop on the Colorado
City-Sterling City
stage line.
The old Liberty school was renamed Spade in 1910. In 1930,
101 students attended the school and the district encompassed 124 square miles.
The Spade school was consolidated with that of Westbrook in 1938.
The
community was locally known during the early 1900s for its Fourth of July picnics
and political rallies, one of which was attended by James V Allred. A Methodist
church was built about 1930, and by 1947 the town reported one store, two churches,
and ten residents. One church and a cemetery remained in 1972.
Spade
was still shown on county maps in the 1980s.
See Spade
Community Cemetery Historical Marker
A
Visit to Spade Today |
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Cemetery
Historical Marker TextSpade
Community CemeteryThis
cemetery began as a family graveyard on the farm of R.F. (1868-1927) and Addie
(1872-1956) Hargrove, when their infant son died in April 1898. The Hargroves
gave 2.5 acres of land surrounding their son's grave to the Spade Community for
cemetery and school purposes. The community schoolhouse, originally called Liberty
School, was used for numerous purposes, including funerals, grange meetings, church
services, and community events. According to available oral history, the school
building was located in the northeast corner of the cemetery property.
The
Ellwood-Renderbrook Spade Ranch, from which the community takes its name, adjoins
the rural settlement on its southern boundary. From 1902 until 1912 a U.S. Post
Office served the community; other businesses in the area included a cotton gin,
a store, and a blacksmith shop.
Since 1898 this graveyard has served as
the sole burial ground for the farming and ranching
community of Spade. Among the interments here are Hargrove family members; victims
of the 1918 influenza epidemic; and veterans of the Civil War and World
War II, including a member of the Women's Army Corps. |
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A
closed bridge near Spade
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2009 |
1940s
Mitchell County Map showing Spade SW of Colorado City.
Courtesy Texas General
Land Office | |
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