---> Kelsey is an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Upshur County,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, United States that was the longest-lasting settlement founded by members of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

in the state. Now a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

, it has been called the "mother colony" of

Latter-day Saint The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded b ...

colonies in Texas.ghosttowns.com: Kelsey

History

The naming of Kelsey, Texas came from a true love story. In 1843, Captain William H. Hart moved to Upshur County as a land surveyor and as the first settler in Upshur County. Captain Hart named the creek and community of Kelsey in honor of the Kelsey family, who also were among the first settlers of Upshur County. The Kelsey family included Captain Hart’s sweetheart and future wife, Miss Evaline Kelsey. In fact, Captain Hart had left eastern Tennessee to follow Miss Evaline Kelsey and her family to Marshall, Texas in 1836. Dr. W. H. Kelsey, who was Miss Kelsey’s father, was a physician, merchant, and Methodist preacher. In addition to being a land surveyor, Captain Hart also was the first county clerk of Upshur County, Postmaster of Gilmer, and later represented his district in the state legislature, was a magistrate, Justice of the Peace, Mason, and was a Methodist. His home also was used as the first courthouse for Upshur County. Citations: A Brief History of Upshur County by G. H. Baird https://genealogytrails.com/tex/pineywoods/upshur/bios.html Past History and Present Stage of Development of Texas, published by Forrister History Company, Chicago (1912). Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries) A History of Upshur County, Texas, by Doyal T. Loyd, 1966. In 1898, John Edgar—who had tried to settle in

Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. The population was 504,258 at the 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Arizona, third-most populous city in Arizona, after Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, T ...

, but had not succeeded—settled near Hopewell in Upshur County. In 1898, Edgar purchased land in what would become Kelsey.A Brief History of Kelsey, Texas
By 1901, there were nine Latter-day Saint families in Kelsey. On August 4, 1901, a

Sunday School ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

of the church was organized at Kelsey. This same year, James G. Duffin, Mission president, president of the Southwest States

Mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

of the church, received approval from the

First Presidency Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (also known as the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency ...

for the building up of this settlement.Jenson, Andrew. ''Encyclopedic History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints'' (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1941) p. 396 In 1902,

Abraham O. Woodruff Abraham Owen Woodruff (November 23, 1872 – June 20, 1904) was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church), Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was also the son of LDS ...

and Duffin laid out the townsite for Kelsey. A

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

was established at Kelsey in 1902. By 1906, Kelsey had about 400 inhabitants. In 1907, the Kelsey School District was formed. In 1911, a two-story brick schoolhouse was built. The first gymnasium in East Texas, named Bennion Hall after mission president Samuel O. Bennion, was completed at Kelsey in 1929. By 1910 the population had risen to 527. In 1923, the population peaked at 750. Families gathered to Kelsey from throughout the southern United States and even on rare occasions from other parts of the United States. Kelsey was a stop on the Marshall and East Texas Railway. Kelsey was Milepost 24.8 on the M&ET. The railroad built a

branch line A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located ...

to Kelsey to facilitate the loading of such products as

strawberries The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus ''Fragaria'', the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosaceae. The fruit is appreciated f ...

cantaloupe The cantaloupe ( ) is a type of true melon (''Cucumis melo'') with sweet, aromatic, and usually orange flesh. Originally, ''cantaloupe'' refers to the true cantaloupe or European cantaloupe with non- to slightly netted and often ribbed rind. ...

s and

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

that were grown in the community. During the 1930s, Kelsey farmers provided food to the oil workers in

Kilgore Kilgore may refer to: Places * Kilgore, Texas, the largest US city named Kilgore * Kilgore, Idaho * Kilgore, Nebraska * Kilgore, Ohio * Kilgore College Fictional characters * Kilgore Trout, a recurring character in the novels of Kurt Vonnegut ...

and

Gladewater, Texas Gladewater is a city in Gregg County, Texas, Gregg and Upshur County, Texas, Upshur counties in the U.S. state of Texas with a 2020 census population of 6,134. In the early 20th century, Gladewater was an oil boom town. In 1995, the Texas Legisla ...

. In 1943, the school in Kelsey was closed and after that students were bussed to

Gilmer, Texas Gilmer is a city in, and the county seat of, Upshur County, Texas, United States. It is best known for being the home of the East Texas Yamboree and the birthplace of popular music singers Don Henley of the Eagles band and Johnny Mathis, as wel ...

. In 1951, a new church was built in Kelsey.

Notes

References

* T. Lindsay Baker (1986). ''Ghost Towns of Texas'' (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press) *A Brief History of Upshur County by G. H. Baird *https://genealogytrails.com/tex/pineywoods/upshur/bios.html *Past History and Present Stage of Development of Texas, published by Forrister History Company, Chicago (1912). *Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries) *A History of Upshur County, Texas, by Doyal T. Loyd, 1966.

External links

* Christopher Long
"Kelsey, Texas"
''The Handbook of Texas Online''
Kelsey Texas collection, MSS 1681
at the L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library,

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

* {{Coord, 32, 43, 54, N, 95, 02, 59, W, type:city_region:US-TX_source:GNIS-enwiki, display=title Defunct organizational subdivisions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Ghost towns in East Texas Latter Day Saint movement in Texas Populated places in Upshur County, Texas

History

See also

Notes

References

External links