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In Search of Concord

The 13 Concords of Texas

Sprinkled generously throughout East Texas, there are 13 separate communities that are, or were once, called "Concord." How is this possible? Well, each of these Concords is in a different county. Often when I told a Texan Concordian about my project, they would smile and say, "I think there is another town named Concord," and I would rather smugly reply, "No.... There are 12 others!"

Why so many Concords in this area? It is hard to say except that back in the 1820's - 1860's when most of these towns were established, there was poor communication and transportation in the area, so it didn't really matter that there was another Concord 50 miles away. While some settlers had direct links to Concords in other states, the popularity of the name may also have been due to the general sense of optimism of the original settlers. Finally, I think it is also safe to say that Concord, Massachusetts was the most famous town in America at the time. I have a theory that there was a direct link to Massachusetts by way of a roving rogue minister, but I need to nail down a few more of the details.

While each of these 13 communities has seen better days, the current inhabitants all seem to love their town of Concord. I hope the following pictures and stories will give you a flavor for each. You can click on the below links or on the map of East Texas to bring you to a short description of the town and my adventures there.

1. Concord, Anderson County (The Miracle of Concord)

2. Concord, AngeLina County, (Under the Sam Rayburn Reservoir)

3. Concord, Cherokee County - (the cemetery Homecoming)

4. Concord, Houston County, ( the lost town)

5. Concord, Hunt County, (One House and a Sea of Concrete)

6. Concord, Leon County (The Post Office)

- Concord, Leon County, (Buster's Bargain Barn)

- Concord, Leon County, (Mr. Billy Pipes).

7. Concord, Liberty County (Sam Houston and the First Concord Baptist Church)

8. Concord, Madison County (The Old Concord Lane)

9. Concord, McLennan County ("Good Evening" "Might Be. Depends who's asking.")

- Concord, McLennan County (The Sudbury Twins)

10. Concord, Rusk County, (Scary Riding)

- Concord, Rusk County, (The Concord Massacre)

-Concord, Rusk County (100 years Old on a motorcycle)

Images from Concord, Rusk County Texas

- Concord, Rusk County, (The RosenWald Schools)

11. Concord, Henderson County (MS Marjie Reynolds)

12. Concord, Upshur County (The Fire)

13. Concord, Wood County (Revival?)

4. Concord, Houston County (The Lost Town)

4/27/2020

Not every visit to a Concord leads to an interview, an interesting story or an insight on life. This is especially true when I don’t have the time to make a local contact before I travel out of state. The town of Concord in Houston County is mentioned in the Texas Handbook of Texas, Online :
CONCORD, TEXAS (Houston County). Concord was off State Highway 7 eight miles east of Crockett in east central Houston County. It was established after the Civil War. A Presbyterian church was founded there in 1875, and around the same time a school began operating in the church; later a separate school building was constructed. In 1897 the school had an enrollment of forty-six. During the mid-1930s the small community had a church, a cemetery, and a number of houses. After World War II many local residents moved away, and by 1990 only a church and a few widely scattered houses remained in the area.
It was a short, and rather disappointing, trip from my base in Crockett to Houston County to see what I could find. All that was left of the community was a pretty graveyard and the barely visible bits of foundation of the old Presbyterian Church.

The only building that remains today in Concord, Houston County, Texas