Perryville, Texas, Wood County. (original) (raw)

History in a Pecan Shell

It is told that a local sawmill and landowner here named Perry is the community�s namesake. There was an earlier community named either Wallington or Wallingville, but Perry�s success with his sawmill overtook that community and it became a part of Perryville.

Perryville was near Jefferson Road � the county�s first public road, constructed in the early 1850s. In 1856 the community got its first store and four years later a post office opened � spelled Parryville. It closed the following year and reopened after the Civil War in 1867. This one only lasted until 1869.

In the mid 1890s, the town�s second post office (with the current spelling of the name) opened but that one lasted only until 1906.

Perryville at one time had as many as five cotton gins. By 1900, Perryville was only 2 people away from having 100 citizens. No reports are available for the prosperous 1920s or the depressed 30s, but after WWII, Perryville reported a population of just 40.

By 1960, Perryville had no businesses to report and many of the community�s houses were abandoned. It retained two churches and the cemetery remained open.

The population was frozen at 52 from the early 1970s through the 2000 census. In the 1980s, the local Baptist Church, received a historical marker.

Historical Marker:
FM 852/FM 2088 intersection, 10 miles SE of Winnsboro

Perryville Baptist Church

In June 1884 five neighbors gathered to organize the County Line Missionary Baptist Church of Wood County. One month later charter members W. F. Bailey, J. M. Richards, S. M. Lindsey, Mrs. L. T. Bailey, and Mrs. Martha Cartwright chose J. O. Carnes as their first pastor. Services were held in the local school building for several years, until a church building was erected. In June 1908 the church was called the Missionary Baptist Church of Christ at Perryville. The name became Perryville Baptist Church in 1925. Descendants of charter members remain active in the church.
(1986)

Historical Marker: FM 852, 10 miles SE of Winnsboro

Perryville Methodist Church

This rural congregation was organized in 1879 by 38 charter members as the Marvin Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church. The Reverend A. K. Hughes served as the first pastor. J. D. Hallonquist donated land to the church in 1887, and church buildings were erected here in 1887 and 1915. The church building became a focal point for the area and the site of many revival meetings, Sunday "singings" and community gatherings. Descendants of charter members continue a long history of service to the area of Perryville.
(1997)

Wood County 1907 postal map showing Perryville near Camp and Upshur County lines
From Texas state map #2090
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

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