The Journal-Record - Bicentennial Edition Thursday, July 1, 1976 Section A, Page 6 BOSTON HISTORY FROM FIRST OF HOUSTON'S The HOUSTON family were the first known settlers of the little community from which grew the town of Boston, according to Mr. and Mrs. Curt BOSTICK, the grandson and grand-daughter-in-law of Jimmie L. BOSTICK who was born in Lee County, Georgia in 1847 and came to the Rock City area at an early age and a little later to Boston. Andrew HOUSTON and his wife Serena came from Georgia after several of their children were born. It is not known exactly what year they came to this area but the year has been estimated to be around 1850-1860. The HOUSTONS settled near what is known as the BOSTICK Spring. the family also buried its first dead in the cemetery on the sloping hillside just below the BOSTICK home place, known as the HOUSTON Cemetery, and where most the descendants in the HOUSTON, BOSTICK, and BEAUCHAMP families have been interred. Andrew J. HOUSTON and Serena had six children, one son, Green HOUSTON, who left and was never heard from; and five daughters, Elizabeth, who was married to Leroy Daniel (Lee) BEAUCHAMP, Frances, who was married to Steve GREEN, Dora, who married Dittle TERRELL, Sleetie, who married Jimmie L. BOSTICK, and Owe, who was unmarried. The HOUSTONS and their children and their families were the earliest settlers. Sometime near the last part of the 1800's, Alfred WATES came to Boston, and opened a store in the building where Jim WIDEMAN resided. In fact the residence was the same structure as the store but had been remodeled and additional rooms added. Before that time, Mr. WATES had served as postmaster at Mont Brook on Jasper Hill, according to Mrs. Willie WILSON. After the Civil War, the community began to increase in population, and as Lee BEAUCHAMP and Mr. WATES talked one morning, Mr. BEAUCHAMP remarked that the community was surely growing, and asked Mr. WATES what he was going to call the town. Mr. WATES replied, "What would you call it?" and Mr. BEAUCHAMP said, "Well, you could call it Boston for the BOSTICK family at the foot of the hill," as he remembered the Boston in Massachusetts and thought the name would tie in with one of the early families. Mrs. Ellie BEAUCHAMP said that Mr. Lee BEAUCHAMP went home to lunch and when he came back to the store in the afternoon, Mr. WATES had put up a shingle, outside his store, and had written the words, "Boston, Alabama, on the shingle. Mr. WATES' general store was the only store until Jim DICKINSON opened his general store in 1905. Before that time, he and his brother, Wiley, had operated a store up toward the Brilliant Elementary School. Wilson KELLY opened the third store in 1907, near the residence of Dee SELF. Mrs. Annie Belle WATES was one of the clerks in the KELLY Store, according to the history given by Jim DICKINSON. GIBBS Brothers, J. T. and J. J. GIBBS, opened the fourth store. Besides the BOSTICKS, HOUSTONS, BEAUCHAMPS, GREENS, WATES, DICKINSONS and GIBBSES, Grant COOK and his family, Love MAYS, who lived near where Boston Heights stands today, and just a little later, the William MORTON family, the John GRANADE family, the Wash BURLESON family, and many of the many ancestors of the Boston families of today began to migrate to the town of Boston. At the same time that Mr. WATES had the first store, Lee BEAUCHAMP place, now known as the Young GREEN as the Lum and Young GREEN bought the property and put in a steam gin after "Uncle Lee" BEAUCHAMP retired from the ginning business and moved beyond the Goldmine Community where he operated a waterpowered grist mill until the time of his retirement from work. Kay SELF also operated a stone(sic) and mill near Goldmine. Most of the residents of Boston, took their corn to his later mill in Boston, after Mr. BEAUCHAMP left, until Lee PALMER put in one where the original GIBBS Brothers Store was, and ran the mill in connection with a grocery store. Mr. DICKINSON also bought cotton besides running his store. The next store after GIBBS Brothers was the general merchandise store of Tal COCHRAN, who first operated in the old building now used as a Union Hall, and later he built the first brick building in Boston (formerly the COLBURN Store) where the last traffic light going out of Boston was toward Goldmine. Mr. DICKINSON's store was the store that remains today and has been remodeled and still stands today. Since Mr. DICKINSON's retirement because of ill health, his son Ellis DICKINSON returned from Chicago and he now owns and operates the same store that his father started. The GIBBS brothers went into the Lumber business, having had the first sawmill in that section, and still operated by J. T. GIBBS, and Tal COCHRAN moved to Winfield, where he operated the first pool hall. The first doctor of Boston was Dr. Will COCHRAN, according to Mrs. Dr. COCHRAN. Many citizens agree that Dr. COCHRAN had the first automobile and also operated the first Drug Store in Boston. Dr. M. C. HOLLIS of in Winfield, remembered selling Dr. COCHRAN his first car and he said that as far as he knew, it was the first in Boston. Jimmie BOSTICK had one somewhere around the same time, a 1915 Model, and later Wash BURLESON bought one and many others bought cars around that same time. Dr. COCHRAN was followed by his sons, Dr. James E. COCHRAN who practiced for a while in Boston, and then Dr. Bill COCHRAN, who practiced in Boston until ill health forced him to retire a few years before his death. Will GILBERT had the first planer mill near the residence of Albert BOSTICK, and dressed the lumber that built Mr. Jim DICKINSON's store in 1905. The GILBERT Mill was later purchased by GIBBS Brothers Lumber Co. DRIVER later operated another mill and planer, a really big lumber concern, near Pull Tight. Alfred WATES served as Justice for ten or twelve years maybe longer, before the town of Boston, was ever incorporated. Many people refer to Mr. WATES as the first Mayor as he served in the same capacity as the mayor does today. Mr. DICKINSON did not remember the list of the first board of Aldermen that served with Mr. WATES but the second board, who served for many, many years with Mr. WATES included John Jesse GIBBS, Young GREEN, Charlie BEAUCHAMP and Jim DICKINSON. After the town was incorporated Lester HAWKINS served as the first Mayor. Then Mr. Alfred WATES the long-time Justice of the Peace, served as Mayor, according to Morgan HAWKINS, brother to Lester HAWKINS. A. J. WOOD followed mr. WATES. Then in line were George DICKINSON, Willard COLBURN, and then Max A. WOOD, son of A. J. WOOD. Max A. WOOD, on the Council at the time Willard COLBURN was Mayor, was appointed to finish the unexpired term of Mr. COLBURN, who moved to Louisiana because of employment there, and in the next election Mr. WOOD was elected to the office of Mayor. Jesse UNDERWOOD, who lived to be eighty, served as the first Cobbler in boston, according to Mrs. Howard THOMAS. She remembers that he made the first shoes that her uncles wore. Alfred WATES had the first millinery shop in connection with his store. Mrs. J. T. GIBBS said that Mr. WATES had a lady from Birmingham, employed to do the millinery work and she made Mrs. GIBBS' first hat when she was still a girl. Many people in Boston, employed the services of Mrs. BOLIN and Mrs. WADE in Winfield, after the millinery department was discontinued in the WATES Store. According to J. T. GIBBS, Grover FOWLER built a small house near the present Elementary School, and opened the first barber shop in Boston. He remembers sitting in a cane-bottom chair for his first hair cut there at the FOWLER shop. Later, Marion WHITMAN was known as the town barber of Boston, for many, many years, up until the time of his death. He first operated in a very small place, then in the 1930's he built a modern brick barber shop on main street in Boston. BOSTON HAD OWN PHONE CO. The first Switch Board of Boston, serving Boston and the surrounding communities as far north as Piney Grove (or farther) and in corresponding directions from Boston, was started in 1910. Gela BOSTICK was married to John Vann GERTSON, who still lives near the old BOSTICK home, and Gela and her sister Gena who later married John JACKSON of Memphis, operated the first switchboard. It was known as the Boston Phone Company. it continued until the 1920's when (not definitely established) the switchboard was destroyed by fire. Since the time, the rural areas have gotten a telephone system, and all of the Boston and Brilliant residences and business houses have telephones being served by the Continental Telephone Company of Alabama. The Alabama Telephone Company expanded to a new modern system in Boston, Brilliant, and the rural areas once covered by the Boston Phone Company. The first organization in Boston was the Masons or the Brilliant-Boston Masonic Lodge in the early 1900's. J. T. GIBBS, a member back in the early years, said that the Lodge had around twenty to thirty members. Their first Lodge was built in the upstairs of the old school building, having two classrooms downstairs and a classroom and lodge upstairs. The latest Lodge, built in the 1930's was in Boston, above the Tom SELF Grocery and Service Station. Most of the residents of Boston attended church at Goldmine, Poplar Springs and other surrounding churches before the first church was built in Boston in 1910 or 11, Mr. DICKINSON said. He stated that out of the forty acres he bought when he came to Boston in 1905, he donated one acre to the citizens to build a Methodist Church that all denominations could use as well as the Methodists. The Rev. Clyde H. BOBO, who is currently serving as pastor of the Springville Methodist Church, was the first pastor of the Methodist Church. In a letter from the Rev. BOBO, he stated that he served as pastor in 1911, then returned in 1935 as pastor of the present Methodist of Brilliant, and remained in that capacity until 1938. The Church of Christ was built next, soon after the Methodist, and the first pastor of that church was Riley WILLCUTT, according to Mr. DICKINSON, a member of the church. John T. UNDERWOOD held the first Church of Christ Revival. It was sometime before the Free Will Baptist, the next, was built. This church was organized by the Rev. M. L. HOLLIS of Tupelo, and the first pastor was not learned by this writer, however, it is known that the late Marion WHITMAN served many years as Superintendent of the Sunday School. The Missionary Baptist, whose history was not given, was the last church to be organized. The first school was held in the Boston-Brilliant Methodist Church but since the schools have always been connected with the Brilliant Schools since that time, the full school history is listed under the Brilliant History. Since the two towns were so completely connected in so many ways, it is hard for this writer to draw a line between the history of the town. Lee PALMER had the first waterworks in the town of Boston, and continued to supply the town until his death. Now the town owns and operates its own system that has been enlarged from the original PALMER lines, and much work has been done in recent years to add to the progress and improvement of the system. Alabama Power installed the first electrical power system in Boston, the year is not known exactly, and has continued to serve the town to the present time. According to reports given Christine HOLCOMB, a Florence College student, by Mayor WOOD, the present town of Boston has two hundred and seventeen buildings, one hundred and eighty-eight of which are residences, and twenty-nine Commercial buildings including business houses, churches, etc. Although many of the citizens have moved to other cities and states in the interest of employment, Boston has continued to progress despite its drop in population, in certain phases. A new City Hall was completed with a modern jail and fire department added also. Boston expresses its desire of the citizens to continue to plan for a bigger and better town through the cooperation of citizens with town officials, and the cooperative spirit in which all the civic and social clubs work together in the interest of the town and for special drives.