Dew, Texas, Freestone County. (original) (raw)

Old photo showing Lee Black homestead and Black family baling hay
"My family members. Standing - Earl Black and Oscar Parish.
Sitting - Lee Black, Angie Beene (Aunt Lydia's daughter), Grace Willbanks Knoff.
The house in the background still stands and is owned by Charles Royce White." - Elizabeth Erwin, July 29, 2018

History in a Pecan Shell

The area was first settled in the 1850s by Alabamans and was first known as Avant or Avant Prairie. In 1870 the Sunshine Methodist Church moved here from Harrison Chapel and the community's name was changed to Sunshine, Texas. The last name came about in 1885 when the town applied for a post office. Like many towns, there was a mix-up caused by either poor penmanship or poor eyesight and the desired name of Drew (after a local person) was officially recognized as Dew.

By the early 1890s, the town had most essential businesses and a respectable population of 150. After WWII the town still had less than 200 people. In the early 1990s, only 71 residents called Dew home.

A cemetery association that had been organized in 1912 is still operating and the town has an annual homecoming.

Historical Marker: SW corner of US 75 and FM 489, Dew

Dew Cemetery

The first families in this community migrated from Alabama in the 1850s. Originally known as Avant or Avant Prairie, the settlement became Sunshine after the Sunshine Methodist Church moved here from Harrison Chapel in 1870. In 1869 W. S. Compton, one of the early settlers, and D. A. Self, local merchant and dentist, donated land for this community cemetery. First burial was that of a young girl, Missouri A. E. Humphrey (1869-1871). Other early graves date from the yellow fever epidemic of 1873. The town was renamed in 1885 when Dew Post Office opened. The name "Drew" was requested to honor a local resident, but postal officials misread the application.

A market center for cotton farmers of the area, Dew had a cotton gin and several stores. Rural delivery replaced the Dew Post Office in 1909. A land donation by Wiley Black in 1901 enlarged the graveyard, which lies adjacent to Dew Methodist Church where funeral services are held. About 1912-13 a cemetery association was organized. Descendants and community residents gather at annual Memorial Day observances to tend the 11 and 1/3 acre site. The 1000 graves here include many from the 1918-19 influenza epidemic.
1977

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