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Population 161

The following is quoted The Handbook of Texas Online:
"Marietta, at the junction of Farm Roads 1399 and 250, fifteen miles northwest of Linden in northwestern Cass County, was originally called Oak Ridge. A post office opened there in April 1880, and the name was changed to honor the wife of Newt Wommack, an early settler. By 1884, the town had saw and grist mills, two churches, at least two gins, and a population of 100. By 1890, the population had reached 200. In 1917, the Jefferson and Norwestern Railroad completed a line through Marietta from Jefferson to Naples, but the line was abandoned in 1933. Early population estimates vary from 600 in 1892 to 124 in 1925. The population rose from 250 in 1939 to 600 in 1943 but declined after that. Marietta was incorporated in the 1970s and had a population of 169 in 1980. There were two rated businesses in 1986. In 1990 the population was 161."

The first postmaster of Marietta was Robert M Wommack who was appointed on Apr 5, 1880.

The above two photos appeared in a May 1958 issue of the Naples Monitor along with the following story:

"A windstorm mauled Marietta more than 44 years ago and it hasn't been the same since. Sam Elliott, a man who was there when the storm struck, said this week, "We've been scared ever since." A fresh reminder of the catastrophe came last week when W C Frye, operator of the Naples Trading Post, dug out two pictures of the damage. Frye was working with the Jefferson and Northwestern Railroad at the time. It was late afternoon of March 31, 1914, when the storm struck. Today it would have been called a tornado. Then it was a cyclone. But cyclone or tornado, it played havoc with Marietta. The town then was located about a half mile east of its present site. It consisted of two stores, a post office and a gin. All of the buildings in the town were of frame construction. When the fury of the storm had died down, nothing was undamaged except one building, a small box house occupied by C W Loffer. A young girl, Ouida Mae Shaddix, was killed, and at least one man, Lee Martin, was injured in the storm. Ouida Mae, the daughter of Mr and Mrs Jeff Shaddix, was on the ground floor of a two-story house. The house was splintered and a heavy wardrobe was blown over on Ouida Mae, crushing her to death. Elliott was one of the men who helped remove her body from the debris. One of the stores was owned by Bell Smith and the other by Porter Brothers. The Porter Brothers store building was a two-story structure with the Woodmen Lodge above the business. The wind collapsed all four walls outward. The rain fell in torrents and people sought cover anywhere they could find it. Two men who hid in a ditch probably voiced the opinions of everyone who was caught in the storm. Lee Porter and Jack Wommack were crowded among others who hovered there with their hands before their faces to keep the water away. "You reckon it will ever quit?" Porter asked Wommack. "It sure don't look like it," Wommack answered. It did quit and Marietta was rebuilt but it has never been the same. One thing that is different is the number of storm cellars in the area. There were none before the storm. They're plentiful now."

Two photos of the C.D. Betts & Son cotton gin that was located in Marietta. It was built in 1928 and closed in 1956. There were as much as 3200 bales of cotton baled in a season and there were 256 bales baled the last season. The photos were taken June 1975.

The above is a photograph of the old cotton gin in color.

Dr. Walter E Hancock, author of "Kid Campo of Texas" and "Day Dreams of Marcus Seer" is a native of Marietta. Dr Hancock was born in 1884 and went on to become a missionary. He also served seven years as president of the Seventh Day Adventist Conference. He died in 1973 and is buried at the New Hope cemetery.

The Marietta High School Class of 1932. Photo courtesy Sandra J Brown. Pictured in no particular order are: Teachers Kermit Womack, Dave Womack, and Winford Womack; Students Waylon Womack, Elmer Pitts, Paul Hanes, Evelyn Briley, Nellie Crocker, Addie Lee Cromer, Effie Crocker, Nadine Womack, Geraldine Shaddix, Hazel Foster, Susan Burkhalter, Jewel Anthony, Opal Wesson, Faye Boddie, Punch Womack, Judy Womack, Carol Robinson, Minnie Merle Thompson, Floy Yeatman, and Vera Nell Martin.

The above is a photograph of the current Marietta City Office, but this building used to be the Edgar H Shaddix store. Mr Shaddix was also a school teacher.

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One Hundred Years Ago

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Reunions

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