The Summerfields of Texas

As we explore the many different communities of Summerfield across the United States, we start with Texas. In the lone star state, there are two towns standing the test of time with the Summerfield namesake.

Summerfield, Texas:

  • Born as Boom in the twilight of the 1890s, a rebirth in 1907, renamed after the surveyor John Summerfield. A name change prompted not by choice but necessity, as another Texas town had already claimed the title Boom.
  • Nestled alongside the Pecos & Northern Texas Railway, it's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it spot near Castro Creek.
  • In 2020, its population is a whisper, barely making it to a hundred. A speck on the vast Texan canvas, 57 miles southwest of Amarillo.
  • The first post office was a makeshift affair in N. A. Laughlin's home, where Mrs. Laughlin played postmistress. Ring a bell? If you're from Summerfield, NC, it should – a nod to the historic Laughlin School.

 

March 1943. "Summerfield, Texas. Brakeman running back to his train on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad."

March 1943. "Summerfield, Texas. Brakeman running back to his train on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad."
 
 
Summerfield shown on Castro County, TX 1920s Map
Summerfield shown on Castro County, TX 1920s Map.
 

For a dive deeper, Texas State Historical Association's entry.

 

New Summerfield:

  • A town in Cherokee County, Texas, where the population has grown through the 90's, standing at 900 in the year 2020. Home to the New Summerfield High School Hornets.
  • The town born go on a hot July day in 1895, courtesy of Caley Amos Summers. He donated the land, setting the stage for what would become New Summerfield.
  • Geographically, it's at the crossroads of U.S. Highway 79 and State Highway 110.
  • Native American tribes, the Caddo and the Cherokee, once called it home, leaving whispers in the wind and burial mounds as silent storytellers.
  • Then came the oil boom, the '30s saw the birth of prosperity in East Texas, transforming New Summerfield into an oil-producing area.

 

Christmas Parade in New Summerfield, Texas

 New Summerfield's 2nd Annual Christmas Parade (2023)

 

New Summerfield Methodist Church, Texas Historical Marker.

New Summerfield Methodist Church, Texas Historical Marker.
  
 
 
First School Bus in New Summerfield], photograph, December 5, 1987
First School Bus in New Summerfield], photograph, December 5, 1987. A new school bus, which was built on a Model T Ford chassis by the men of the community of New Summerfield.
 
 
 Letter from Arthur E. Summerfield, US Postmaster General, to Thomas F. Forrest, commending him for his 42 years service as a postal worker, and presenting him with a certificate of honorary recognition.
  Letter from Arthur E. Summerfield, US Postmaster General, to Thomas F. Forrest, commending him for his 42 years service as a postal worker, and presenting him with a certificate of honorary recognition.
 
 
 
Photograph of the House (Dogtrot) (located at 1/2 mile North off intersection West North Summerfield / Henderson intersection) in Rusk County, Texas.
Photograph of the House (Dogtrot) (located at 1/2 mile North off intersection West North Summerfield / Henderson intersection) in Rusk County, Texas.
 
 
 
 

For more, Texas State Historical Association's entry.

 

Cherokee County Historical Society. [First School Bus in New Summerfield], photograph, December 5, 1987; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth354248/m1/1/: accessed January 14, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Cherokee County Historical Commission.

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