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BARCLAY
Barclay,
on State Highway 53 nineteen miles southwest of Marlin in southwestern Falls
County, was named for William Anderson Barclay,qv a pioneer resident of Central
Texas who, in partnership with his brother-in-law, W. S. G. Wilson, established
the Barclay Ranch in the adjoining corners of Bell, Falls, and Milam counties.
From 1895 to 1898 Barclay cleared and farmed 3,500 acres. The present site of
Barclay was the location of a general mercantile store that he established in
1877 or 1878. Barclay also became postmaster of the community's post office
when it opened in 1881. The post office was discontinued in 1906, and mail was
routed through Rosebud and Lott. In 1881 pioneer Lyddleton Smith of Washington
County assigned three acres of land for a Baptist church. The congregation
became known as Beulah (later Barclay) Baptist Church. Part of the property was
set aside for a burial ground. Confederate veteran Paul Pieper, Sr., who moved
his family to Barclay in 1882, donated part of his acreage for a cemetery in
1886 and set aside plots for Pieper family members. Paul Pieper, Jr., deeded
his inherited hay land to the cemetery at his death in 1926. The graveyard has
been maintained by the Barclay Cemetery Association since 1915. On April 8,
1984, Barclay Cemetery received a Texas historical marker in a special ceremony
in Barclay. A Barclay school district was organized in 1882, when Paul and
Katherine Wendel Pieper deeded land for the school. School trustees in 1889
were A. J. Murray, J. F. Knox, and H. Ernst. The teachers were J. F. O'Shea and
A. M. Kolb; they each received fifty dollars a month for three months'
teaching. Fifty-five students were attending classes in 1889. Local population
was reported at fifty by 1890 and at 100 by 1896. The community also had a
livestock farm and a cotton gin and gristmill.
About 1910 Barclay had a general
store, a drugstore, a doctor's office, a Woodman of the World hall, a Baptist
church, a school, a public cemetery, a cotton gin, a butcher shop, a blacksmith
shop, a corn mill, a molasses mill, and a water system. By 1933 the number of
businesses had fallen to three, and the population was reported at sixty-six. A
Red Cross Society was organized in 1917 as an auxiliary to the Marlin chapter.
During its early years the Barclay community hosted the first Corn Club (later
known as the 4-H Club) in Falls County. The Texas Farmers Union posted a
chapter in Barclay before 1920.
After the Great Depressionqv the
people of Barclay voted a bond for materials for a new school with four
classrooms, a gymnasium, and a duplex for the teachers. The construction
provided jobs for thirty to forty people, and the labor cost was furnished by
the Work Projects Administration.qv After consolidation of the school with the
Rosebud-Lott Independent School District, the building became the community
center. A citizens' organization elects officers each year and conducts major
repairs. Barclay Community Center is the site of numerous reunions, meetings,
volleyball games, and domino parties. In spring of 1982, with the help of the
Falls County extension agent, Barclay initiated the Barclay Beautification
Committee to improve the area. The community received special recognition for
two years from the Beautify Texas Council during its annual Governor's
Community Achievement Awards contest. Barclay's population was seventy-five in
1945 and 100 in 1949, when it also reported five businesses. The population
rose to 151 by 1964. It was 125 by 1970 and seventy-two by 1972. In 1990 the
population was still reported at seventy-two, but by 2000 it had dropped to
fifty-eight. Please see all of this information and more at The
Handbook of Texas Online.
Copyright
© Texas State Historical Association with written permission granted to use
above information.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Roy Eddins, ed., and
Old Settlers and Veterans Association of Falls County, comp., History of Falls
County, Texas (Marlin, Texas?, 1947). Lillian S. St. Romain, Western Falls
County, Texas (Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 1951).
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CONTRIBUTED BY |
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James H. Weaver |
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Robin A. Melvin |
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Salem Lutheran
Church |
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Robin A. Melvin |
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