Chatfield is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...

in northeastern

Navarro County Navarro County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 52,624. Its county seat is Corsicana. The county is named for José Antonio Navarro, a Tejano leader in the Texas Revolution who signed the ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, United States, eleven miles northeast of

Corsicana Corsicana is a city in Navarro County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 45, 56 miles northeast of Waco, Texas. The population was 23,770 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Navarro County, and an important Agri-busin ...

. The community lies along

Farm to Market Road 1603 A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

just northeast of

Interstate 45 Interstate 45 (I-45) is a major Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Texas. While most Interstate routes which have numbers ending in "5" are cross-country north–south routes, I-45 is comparatively short, with th ...

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. Other sources cite this pioneer's name as Champion Chatfield. 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. The "Hodge Oaks" house remained in the Hodge family until it was sold out of the family in 1993. At one time, Chatfield had a furniture manufacturing facility, a boarding school along with a number of cotton gins, a post office and stores. The population peaked around 500 in the 1890s. The railroad bypassed Chatfield and instead, chose to go through Corsicana, TX located about 15 miles southwest of Chatfield. This likely played a role in preventing further growth in the commerce and population of Chatfield.

Notable people

Sutton E. Griggs Sutton Elbert Griggs (June 19, 1872 – January 2, 1933) was an author, Baptist minister of religion, minister, and social activist. He is best known for his novel ''Imperium in Imperio,'' a utopian work that envisions a separate African-American ...

, author and

Baptist minister Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

. *U.S. Army General

Lucian Truscott General Lucian King Truscott Jr. (January 9, 1895 – September 12, 1965) was a highly decorated senior United States Army officer, who saw distinguished active service during World War II. Between 1943–1945, he successively commanded the 3rd ...

was born in Chatfield in 1895. *Will Coleman, believed to be the first African-American to practice veterinary medicine in Texas.

Geography

Chatfield is in northeastern Navarro County, located at (32.24100, -96.41150).

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Navarro County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas 1838 establishments in the Republic of Texas