Chatfield, Texas

Chatfield is an unincorporated community in northeastern Navarro County, Texas, United States, eleven miles northeast of Corsicana. The community lies along Farm to Market Road 1603 just northeast of Interstate 45.

Chatfield, Texas
Unincorporated community
Location of Chatfield, Texas
Coordinates: 32°14′30″N 96°24′27″W
CountryUnited States
StateTexas
CountyNavarro
Elevation
430 ft (131 m)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
GNIS feature ID1378115

History

Chatfield was established as a trading post, on the San Antonio and Shreveport Trail, in an oak grove six miles west of Porter's Bluff, in 1838, and is named for pioneer Norman Chatfield.[1] Other sources cite this pioneer's name as Champion Chatfield.[2] Mr. Chatfield did not stay. The town was built up by a Captain Robert Hodge who moved from Kentucky to Texas. Captain Hodge purchased 1280 acres of land and moved his family to Chatfield in 1853. He was a successful plantation owner who built an antebellum home named "Hodge Oaks" in 1860.[3] The "Hodge Oaks" house remained in the Hodge family until it was sold out of the family in 1993.[4]

At one time, Chatfield had a furniture manufacturing facility, a boarding school along with a number of cotton gins, a post office and stores.[5] The population peaked around 500 in the 1890s.[6] The railroad bypassed Chatfield and instead, chose to go through Corsicana, TX located about 15 miles southwest of Chatfield.[7] This likely played a role in preventing further growth in the commerce and population of Chatfield.

Larry Little, one of the most renowned gardeners and hog hunters and everything in Richardson, TX was born in Chatfield, TX on October 25, 1952; he died on January 18, 2015.[8]

Notable people
  • Sutton E. Griggs, author and Baptist minister.
  • U.S. Army General Lucian Truscott was born in Chatfield in 1895.[9][10]
  • Will Coleman, believed to be the first African-American to practice veterinary medicine in Texas.[11]

Geography

Chatfield is in northeastern Navarro County, located at 32°14′30″N 96°24′27″W (32.24100, -96.41150).

References
  1. "Hometown Heroes". HMC Historical Museum. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
  2. GANTT, TODD (2010-06-12). "CHATFIELD, TX". tshaonline.org. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
  3. "Hodge Oaks". txnavarr.genealogyvillage.com. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
  4. "Navarro CAD Property Search". esearch.navarrocad.com. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
  5. "The Unsettled Frontier". HMC Historical Museum. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
  6. Gantt, Todd. - Chatfield, Texas. - Handbook of Texas Online. - Texas State Historical Association. - Retrieved: 2008-05-31
  7. WERNER, GEORGE C. (2010-06-15). "RAILROADS". tshaonline.org. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
  8. Larry Little - Gardener, Richardson, Tx - "Making New Gardens Look Old" January, 2008 Archived November 27, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. - Neil Sperry Magazine. Retrieved: 2009-07-20
  9. Lucian King Truscott, Jr. - General, United States Army. - Arlington National Cemetery. - Retrieved: 2008-05-31
  10. "Hometown Heroes". HMC Historical Museum. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
  11. "Hometown Heroes". HMC Historical Museum. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
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