Some early Frankford residents speculated that the name Frankford was chosen because it was descriptive of local conditions. A “ford” is a portion of a stream where the water is shallow enough and the banks low enough to made wading possible for man or animals. “Frank” can mean free with respect to conditions or absence […]
The name Frankford Read More »
In the 1840s and 1850s travelers moved in covered wagons south along the Shawnee Trail also known as the Texas Road and Preston Road. Travelers camped where there was a source of pure water, firewood and native grasses for their animals. The site we now know as Frankford had all of these elements. The springs
Indian Springs at Frankford Read More »
Nancy Cartledge Dudley is buried in an unmarked grave at Frankford. She died in 1879 in a log cabin at Willow Springs where she was visiting a married son. Knowing that death was near, Nancy asked that her family wrap her body in a winding-sheet made of handkerchief linen for her burial. After she died
Nancy Cartledge Dudley Read More »
Louise Cook Simmons grew up near her grandparents, Henry and Opha Jane Needham Cook, northwest of Frankford. In 1846, Louise Simmons’ great-grandfather, Henry Cook, led a caravan from Illinois to Texas at age seventy-five, a task seldom undertaken by any but a younger man. Henry patented land as a Peters Colonist selecting property in two
Louise Cook Simmons 1925-2015 (from oral history interview) Read More »
In 1859 Catherine (Cattie) Bunting Coit, moved from South Carolina to a farm in Renner, near Frankford, with her husband John and small child. Cattie Coit was a remarkable woman. Born on an Alabama plantation, she was orphaned by the age of eight and moved to South Carolina to live with relatives from her mother’s
Catherine (Cattie) Bunting Coit 1837-1883 Read More »
In 1896 the Frankford community decided to rebuild Frankford Church using some of the wood from the first church, destroyed by a tornado in the 1880s. WC (Captain) McKamy and others hired Phillip Bethea Hamer, a noted builder from the nearby town of Renner, to supervise the project. Hamer was married to Henrietta Coit,
Phillip Bethea Hamer 1851-1933 Read More »
Dear Frankford friends, 2023 was a a remarkable year! We celebrated a momentous achievement, the completion of the Frankford Legacy House— an exciting addition that enhances our community space. The Legacy House will help us support our mission to teach North Texas history through tours and cultural and educational events. In 2024 we will commemorate
President’s Letter Read More »
On a blisteringly hot day in August 2009, landscape architect Rosa Finsley came to the Frankford site to talk about creating a native landscape around the Historic Frankford Church. During her initial visit Rosa observed some rare native plants in the recently mowed fields between the church and cemetery. Intrigued, she continued to study the
Discovery of Frankford Prairie Read More »
Master naturalist Rich Jaynes has documented many of the native plants and grasses found at what he calls the “miracle prairie” at Frankford. Carolyn Oldham and Jerri Kerr, members of Prairie and Timbers Audubon Society of Collin County, have documented many of the bird species observed at Frankford. These documents are updated periodically and are
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