Howland Memories
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| Frank Henderson kindly sent this photo and recollections of Howland, Texas: Robin, I am attaching a picture of an old store in Howland, Tx, that I took a few years back. When I was a young boy we use to visit my Grandmother's house in Howland. She lived just down the road from the store, so my Dad would walk us to the store for a float or vanilla coke. Those were the good old days, that our children will never get to experience. The store was run by members of my Grandmother's family. I was hoping to get a photo of my Granny's house, but it has already been torn down. The only thing left on the lot is the old well, where we would get our water. The old outhouse is gone also. I still remember the crawdad holes all over the place as well as cotton fields. We use take our baths in an old #2 tub. My sister's never let me forget, because I always was the first to get a bath. |
| So, you may ask, where's Howland? Howland is in my (Robin!)'s home county, Lamar, and lies about 100 miles northeast of Dallas. Howland was settled in the 1880s, and at first operated under the name of Grove, but was re-named either to honor (and gain favor, perhaps?) a local railroad owner, or was asked to get a new name because of postal confusions with nearby Honey Grove. Howland was quite a large town in its day, with stores, cotton gins, doctor's offices, and a school. Before the Great Depression wiped out many of the area farms, the downtown held over 12 businesses. By the 1960s, however, the railroad ceased coming through Howland, and the town gradually diminished in size. Howland is yet another ghost on the Texas prairie. |
| I used to drive through Howland every day on my way to East Texas State University. Way back then, I lived in a wonderful little farm house in Brookston, another Lamar County semi-ghost. I was always intrigued by the old buildings that hugged the road - thanks to Frank Henderson, I now know a lot more about them. Here's where Howland is, if you would like to discover it for yourself: |
