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.