our history : PLACES IN PARKER COUNTY PAST ( Part 10 )
Places of Parker County Past
From Cream Level to Mary ’ s Creek
BY MEL W RHODES
FEBRUARY 2018 PARKER COUNTY TODAY
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CREAM LEVEL / VEAL ’ S STATION
Back when “ wild ” Indians and black bear roamed the prairies and Cross Timbers section of North Central Texas , one of the earliest Anglo settlements in Parker County , Cream Level , sprouted about 13 miles north of the site that would become Weatherford .
Black bear , you say ? Yes , though now long gone , bears were once common in the area . This stretch of Texas where oak forests and prairie grasslands meet , provided a diverse habit for the wild things .
“ In the complex mosaic of forest and prairie animal life abounds ,” writes Richard V . Francaviglia in his thorough treatise on the area , The Cast Iron Forest .
“ In the widely read Report on the Exploration of the Headwaters of the Red River , natural historians and observers in 1852 recorded a litany of mammals inhabiting the region . These included black bear , raccoon , Texan skunk , otter , civet cat , wild cat , panther , fox squirrel , flying squirrel , beaver , rabbits , jackass rabbit , small prairie rabbit , prairie dog , opossum , deer , elk , antelope , and buffalo . This list perfectly captures the variety found at the margins of forest and grassland , with animals such as panther , opossum and bear more common in the former , while prairie dog and buffalo , or bison , were denizens of the latter .”
Pioneer William G . Veal settled at what came to be called Cream Level ( Creamland , Cream Hill ) in 1852 , and in 1857 , became the town ’ s first postmaster . Since no one seemed to recall how the Cream Level handle came about and folks were prob- ably tired of being asked to explain it , the community took Veal ’ s name and became Veal ’ s Station . Building had begun years before . Veal , himself , opened a general store .
According to historictexas . net , “ In 1854 the residents of the community decided to build a good school building large enough that all religious denominations could meet and worship . Ox teams were sent to the piney woods of East Texas for lumber . A large bell was put in the cupola that could be heard ringing three miles distant . The Masonic Lodge was organized and used the upper story of the building for their meeting place , and J . M . Matlock was installed as Worshipful Master and the Lodge was christened Eureka . To the old settlers the building was as sacred as a graveyard . Many of Texas ’ finest preachers have held revival services there .”
The aforementioned bell not only called the faithful to worship and children to their studies , but served as part of an early warning system when Indian raiders crept into the area . Settlers in and around Veal ’ s Station suffered frequent Indian attacks and subsequently the community was slow to grow , despite its location on a stage line out of Weatherford .
But , according to the Handbook of Texas Online , “ by the late 1870s the Indians had been driven out , and the town began to grow . Postal service was resumed in 1878 . By the mid-1880s Veal ’ s Station was a farming center . An