Chatfield, Texas, Navarro County. (original) (raw)

Chatfield Tupelo Community Center
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, August 2013

History in a Pecan Shell

Champion Chatfield, the community�s namesake operated a trading post at the site in 1839. The convenient location was on the trail between San Antonio and Shreveport and drew a modest population from travelers.

Chatfield in the 1850s had a plantation economy and its citizens supported secession prior to the Civil War. It could boast both cotton and wool mills as well as a machine shop and flour mill.

A post office was granted in 1867 and by the mid 1880s it had a population of 250. Chatfield peaked with a population of 500 in the 1890s, when it has daily stage service to Rice, Texas. Population declined to 300 by the end of the Great Depression and after WWII, post war opportunities lured residents to larger cities.

By the mid 1950 it had reached 100 and a rock bottom of just 40 residents, the same number being used for the 2000 census.

Chatfield appears on detailed county maps with 3 cemeteries. The name Chatfield appears as well as Old Chatfield and New Chatfield.

Photographer's Note:
"Actually Chatfield had four cemeteries." -

Barclay Gibson

Chatfield Texas Landmarks

Historical Marker:

Chatfield Baptist Church

Reportedly the owner of one hundred slaves and 1280 acres of land, Robert Hodge settled in this area in 1849. Hodge allowed his slaves to organize two churches -- a Baptist church and an African Methodist Episcopal Church. They shared a building known as the Colored Community Church of Chatfield with the Rev. Z. T. Pardee as pastor.

By 1858 the Baptist congregation formed by Hodge's slaves was part of the Chatfield Baptist Church. In that year the Chatfield Baptist Church joined the Richland Baptist Association. During this time, white pastors preached to both white and black congregations, one in the morning and one in the evening. After emancipation many freed slaves remained in the area. They became both sharecroppers and landowners.

One distinguished local family was that of Allen R. Griggs (1850-1922), a Baptist minister dedicated to the education of black Texans. His son, Sutton Elbert Griggs (1872-1933), was born in Chatfield. A minister who was heavily involved in Texas Baptist life, Sutton E. Griggs became a noted African American writer.

The Navarro Baptist Association was formed in 1887 and the Chatfield Baptist Church transferred its membership to the new organization. The town of Chatfield reached its peak in the 1890s with a population of 500. The Chatfield Baptist Church congregation continues to uphold the traditions of its founders through worship and service to the community.

(1999)

Chatfield Baptist Church Historical Marker
8323 NE CR 1100
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, August 2013

Chatfield Memorial Cemetery One
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, August 2013

Chatfield Memorial Cemetery Two
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, August 2013

Chatfield Memorial Cemetery Three
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, August 2013

Chatfield, Texas Forum

• Subject: Chatfield
  I have a little more information about Chatfield. That very old plantation house in Chatfield is Hodge Oaks and it was built by my Great, great great grandfather, Captain Robert Hodge. He had the title of Captain because he owned three river boats in Kentucky before he settled in Chatfield. He was also a Captain in the Civil War. The pasture next door was not to my family�s knowledge, a battleground, although, it did house an extensive spread of slave quarters, smoke houses, gardens, etc. Just down the road before you get into Chatfield, there is a historical site where I believe a calvary patrol was camped at the end of the Civil War. Captain Hodge�s picture still hangs in Pioneer Village in Corsicana and there is a re-enactment held there every year. Thank you - Kathleen Hodge, April 19, 2007
• I am a distant relative of Kathleen Hodge, who wrote the letter dated April 19, 2007. I have tried to email her, but her address has changed. It would be appreciated if you could include my email address here - in hopes that she might contact me. I'd also like to hear from anyone with a Hodge Family connection. Thank you. - Roberta Hodge (great-granddaughter of Dr. John David Hodge of Cleburne) roberta_h2003@yahoo.com , April 02, 2009
• Letter from a Chatfield Resident
  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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