Frognot Community
Blue Ridge, Collin County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Situated near creeks and branches in a valley east of Blue Ridge, the Frognot community (also known as Frog Not, Frog Nod, Frogknot) has a number of theories as to the origins of its name. Most of these theories involve frogs that appear in the nearby Indian Creek following a rain. Several theories are associated with the nearby Dixon consolidated school, which served as the foundation for the establishment of the community in the early 1900s. The school was founded in 1913 on land from Stephen Arnold Douglas Box. The school had a strict schoolmaster, Mr. Homer Parkins, who would not allow kids to bring frogs they captured in the creek to school. This policy evolved into several stories as to the origin of the community name. Another theory is that soon after the community was founded, the people attempted to eradicate the overabundant frog population. Within a short time, they virtually wiped out the frog populace, giving the community the name Frognot. Some believe that the community began as Frog Nod because the frogs were extremely loud while nodding off to sleep, and eventually became Frognot. Another theory is that the residents did not want a noisy railroad switch, which is also known as a railroad frog, and thus the community was named Frog Not. In the late 1930s, John and Ollie McGuffey opened the first general store. A second store was opened in the 1950s by Otis and Hazel Dixon. The Dixon Store served as the social center of the community and was the location of the foundation of the Frognot Water Supply Corporation. The concrete storm cellar from the Dixon School is all that remains of this rural community.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The Frognot community grew up around the Dixon consolidated school, founded in 1913 on land donated by Stephen Arnold Douglas Box, and its odd name spawned a whole folklore of frog-related theories—from a strict schoolmaster who banned pupils' captured frogs to residents supposedly wiping out a noisy frog population. General stores run by the McGuffeys and later the Dixons anchored community life, the Dixon Store hosting the founding of the local water supply corporation. Today only the school's concrete storm cellar survives.
Why it matters
Frognot is a charming case study in how rural American communities took shape around a schoolhouse and a general store—and in how much of that world has vanished but for a name and a folk tale.
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Related people
- · Homer Parkins
- · Stephen Arnold Douglas Box
Themes & tags
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