In 1837, when Daniel Rowlett petitioned the Texas Congress to divide Red River County west of the Bois d’Arc, he suggested the name Independence. Congress passed the measure, but changed the name of the new county to honor James Walker Fannin, the commander of the ill-fated Alamo relief force that was surrounded at Goliad and then executed by order of Santa Anna.
When the county seat relocated from Warren to the more central community of Bois d’Arc, near Bailey Inglish’s fort, in 1843, that town chose a new name—Bloomington. Again, the congress in Austin stepped in and decided the name Bonham would be more appropriate. James Butler Bonham was the “Messenger of the Alamo,” who died in the battle for the mission fort with fellow South Carolinian William B. Travis.
Honey Grove didn’t incorporated until 1873, although there had been a post office in the community since 1846. Near the site was a stand of trees that were home to swarms of honeybees, hence, Honey Grove. Legend has it that Davy Crockett camped near the grove when he first came into Texas.
Ravenna, in the northwest part of the county, got a post office in the mid 1880s and drew its name from a deep ravine that ran through the town site. To the east was Hawkins’ Prairie, named after Strother Hawkins, a pioneer who settled the land in 1845. When the post office rejected the town’s name in 1885, Joe Dupree tagged it Ivanhoe after the hero of the novel by Sir Walter Scott.
Pete Hindman had a general store in a community in north Fannin. He also had the only telephone for miles around. He wanted a post office, but the Washington turned down the names he chose, so he told them to call the P.O. Telephone. That rang true, so Telephone it was. Just down the road, the community of Lamasco got its name from combining the names of three early pioneers, Law, Mason and Scott. When the community hard on the Red River called Blue Prairie got a post office in 1878, it took the name of the man who gave the land for the settlement, James Monks, and Blue Prairie became Monkstown.
Yes, Virginia, there really is a Bug Tussle. It’s between Honey Grove and Ladonia and was first called Truss after John Truss. There are at least three versions of how Truss became Bug Tussle.
The first tells of an invasion of insects that spoiled an ice cream social at a local church. The second, similar story holds that the out of the way spot, a popular place for Sunday School picnics was so boring that after polishing off the last of the deviled eggs, there was nothing to do but watch the bugs tussle.
Version three has two old loafers arguing about a new name for their town. When one of the gents noticed two tumblebugs having at it in the dirt, he said, “Look at those bugs tussle.” You can figure out the rest.
