Ables Springs
Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This small settlement, which lies in a region of natural springs, was named for an early Kaufman County family. James W. and Eliza (Godfrey) Ables moved to this area in 1853 and settled on land granted to his father, Ezekial Ables, in 1848. The Ables were active Methodists who, in 1878, deeded nearly nine acres of their land to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. A church building, a tabernacle, and a public school were built on the land. Part of the site was set aside for this cemetery. The oldest marked grave here is dated 1880. Never the scene of much commercial activity, Ables Springs has remained a quiet, rural settlement throughout its history. Besides the Methodist congregation, Church of Christ and Baptist fellowships also have been organized here. Prior to World War I, the community had an active Woodman of the World Lodge. The tabernacle on the Methodist church property has been the site of many religious camp meetings, and the school played a vital role in the community until its consolidation with other school districts. A reminder of the early settlement in northeast Kaufman County, Ables Springs is an important part of the area's pioneer heritage. (1985) supplemental plaque: Marker should read James Ables (1829-1891), not James W. Ables (1860-1944). James's father, Ezekiel, received Nacogdoches land grant number 25 in 1838, not 1848.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Settled in 1853 by James and Eliza Ables on a Republic-era land grant, this cluster of natural springs in northeast Kaufman County grew into a quiet Methodist farming community. In 1878 the Ables family deeded nearly nine acres for a church, a camp-meeting tabernacle, a public school, and this cemetery, whose oldest marked grave dates to 1880. Church of Christ and Baptist fellowships and a Woodmen of the World lodge followed, but Ables Springs never became a commercial hub—it endured as a rural settlement whose school served the area until consolidation.
Why it matters
Ables Springs is a small, well-documented window into how faith, schooling, and a single pioneer family knit together the ordinary rural communities that filled out post-annexation Texas.
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Related people
- · James Ables
- · Eliza Godfrey Ables
- · Ezekiel Ables
Themes & tags
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