Little Town on the Trail: Avery, Red River County, Texas

Avery's downtown is a bit worn.

Avery in Red River County, Texas is a bike trail town that still has an intact business district in its downtown, but some (most) of the buildings are no longer in use.

It's not an old town by east Texas standards, as it was founded as "Douglass" when the railroad came through in the 1870s and then changed its name to Isaca (why not?) at the turn of the 20th century and then, because of a popular station agent, was renamed once again to Avery. This name stuck. Thanks, Ed Avery!

Avery prospered as the third largest town in Red River County until the Great Depression of the 1930s siphoned much of the population. Most of the people surrounding Avery were truck farmers, and every year in July, the City of Avery hosts a tomato festival to honor the farmers and their fruit.

Avery now sits along the Northeast Texas Trail, which follows the former Texas & Pacific Railway ROW between New Boston (Bowie County) and Paris (Lamar County). Most of the trail is completed except for portions in Fannin and Delta counties. Once the trail is back open, it'll be the longest hike/bike trail in Texas.

It's ironically lovely that the early "Good Roads" movement started with cyclists, and then the first interstate roads were built for auto-tourism. It's like transportation history has come full circle in Avery.

Avery's old hardware store

Downtown Avery

Bits and pieces of railroad debris line the former Texas & Pacific Railway line in Avery.

Some Memories of Avery:

Jimmy Randall: My dad, Jimmie Lee Randall Sr (was the first) African American School Teacher in the Avery School System.

Donna Warren: Jimmy Randall we loved Mr Randall. When I was in the 6th grade I had an emergency appendectomy. He was so wonderful when I returned to school to help me make up on my work. He checked on me and had a gift delivered to me.

Mary Shipp: Jimmy Randall I simply adored your dad. He was one great teacher and friend

Charles Neyman: I worked on the railroad through there and there was a Lady named “Mama Swan” that lived in a house facing the tracks. No matter what time of day or night we went through, she was either out on the front porch waving or waving a flashlight through her front window. I dropped off a note with my address and we exchanged letters several times. A story goes that an engineer would throw her off a Texarkana newspaper every morning on his run from Texarkana to Paris. Good memories….

Brenda Moore Hays: Charles Neyman Mama Swan was a treasure. Everyone in Avery knew and loved her.

Mark Nix: My grandfather, Archie Nix, was in the first graduating class at Avery High School.

LeAnn Hogeland: Our family is all burried at a cemetery in Avery called Henrietta cemetery. My great aunt's lived there all my life I'm pretty sure most of theirs as my dad said he visited them there when he was kid too

Darla Davidson: I loved going to Avery as a child to visit my grandparents and other family. I remember frontier days where people were dressed as gunslingers and I believe saloon girls. I remember gun fights on the streets and a parade

Nancy Storey Massengale: Darla Davidson I too always enjoyed the Frontier Days & the tomato market days as well as visiting Grannie & Grandpa Davidson & all the other relatives!! Great memories for sure!

Nythalia Stinson Evans: Darla Davidson I was one of those saloon girls 2 summers at Avery Frontier days. It was so much fun & I was born & raised there. Avery was a great place to grow up. It was a very close knit town!!

Kathy D. Duncan: Avery hosts a tomato festival because it was once considered the tomato "capital" of the region well into the 1960s. The city erected a sign to that effect on highway 82. There were tomato sheds along the railroad tracks where a long line of trucks and wagons formed for farmers to sell their daily harvest. I am the granddaughter of two of those farmers. This is a wonderful picture of the old bank building.

Tracy Roden Allen: My dad was born and raised in Avery. We had cows there on the home place when I was growing up. Lived going to town to Medfords. My Uncle R.P. was the butcher.

Laquitta Ladner: My Holt family was in Red River County and Bowie County in the 1870s. My father was born at New Boston. The family settled in Love County Oklahoma in 1911.

Judie Garner Brunson: I remember Avery. Good memories. We had family that had a farm just outside of Avery. The Cole’s. I loved going to visit them as they had many farm animals and my Aunt Drucy was a wonderful cook!

Jeff Smith: One of the biggest hamburgers I ever had was in Avery. It was the size of my plate.

I asked for a double cheeseburger and the waitress said “are you sure “. Should of had the single.

Wayne Buse: Hey Don Brown, didn’t we make stops here in Walsh-Lumpkin days? Can’t remember if it was a formal drug store or not.

Don Brown: Wayne Buse I think we did stop in Avery it might have been on the Paris delivery route.

Bruce Belt: Wayne Buse the drugstore was initially around the corner by the post office when I was a kid. Kim Giddens bought it and moved it to the corner just to the left of the bank building in the picture. It eventually became a part of Medford’s store.

Robert McPeak: Wayne Buse original drug store was around the corner to the nw and had a soda fountain. Was then converted to the then new post office about 54 years ago and the drug store moved to the corner south of the building in the photo.

Emily Capps: Brian Armer My grandmother worked there when I was a kid it still has the bank vault. though when she worked there she dealt in insurance. My sister and I used to go to work with her. the ceilings were high and it wasn't very well lit but was still really cool to be inside.

Marde Conlin-Jones: The Avery VFD has been a big help to the Northeast Texas Trail. They have a really nice hostel set up. They also host a gravel grinder and fish fry twice a year to bring attention to the trail and raise funds for the fire department! https://m.facebook.com/averyvfdbikehostel/