Gone With The Water ... The Saga of Preston Bend and Glen Eden

by Natalie Clountz Bauman

THE SAGAEveryone and every place has a story - a saga. Old Preston Bend, its people and the grand house that came to exemplify Preston – Glen Eden – were no exception. The Saga of Preston Bend and Glen Eden is a very interesting tale. It is full of grand success and failures to match. As most interesting tales are, it is a very old story - one that never really had a definite beginning and never really came to an end. Even though its physical presence, in the 1940s, was Gone With The Water of the lake, its memory, still to this day – lingers on.Let us remember together the fascinating Saga of Preston Bend and Glen Eden. The companion book to this one will be “Crime and Calamity in Preston Bend.” I invite you to relive the wild times on the old horseshoe bend of the Red River in both books. - Natalie Clountz BaumanThis book will not be exhaustive, or it would be immense. I will attempt to add to what has been presented before in other books, not just repeat it. This book will present the story of Preston Bend, its people and especially those centered around its most famous mansion – Glen Eden. My purpose is to make information available that you will not see everywhere else, and make it accessible in one place, so you won’t have to do all the hours of research yourself to find it all. This has always been my goal. I am a great lover of this area and its history, being a descendant of residents who came here as early as 1866. I have always been regaled with stories of area history, admired the old pictures and written about its people since my teen years. My education and training were not in history or writing, but in photography, accounting and computers. My love for my local history and my desire to preserve it for the future, compelled me to attempt to fill holes I saw in the current historical record, especially in the northwestern part of Grayson County. I am no expert, but I do try my best! I do all the research, I format the book myself and publish it. Please forgive any shortcomings you may recognize in my writings. I hope my work has improved with experience. Thank you for reading!!CONTENTSIntroduction Pg 5 Maps Pg 6-8The Early Days and Settlers at Preston Pg 9-30Thompson, Bryant and Meadows Families Pg 31 -43Ferries Around Preston Bend Pg 44-53Holland Coffee, Coffee’s Station and Indians Pg 54-70Preston - The Town Begins Pg 71-77Early Happenings in Preston – Expeditions, Immigration, Military, Descriptions of Preston Pg 78-105Early Preston Stores, Merchants & Maps Pg 106-113Holland Sophia Coffee’s Glen Eden Pg 114-122Holland Coffee’s Death, Sophia Marries the 3rd Time Pg 122-126Quantrill’s Raiders, Sophia Coffee Butts and the Civil War Pg 127-130Sophia Marries the 4th Time & Becomes Religious Pg 131-134Judge & Sophia Porter, Glory Days of Glen Eden Pg 134-145The Deaths of Judge and Sophia Porter Pg 146-158Glen Eden’s Life After Sophia Pg 158-180Glen Eden To Be Torn Down Pg 181-198Preston - Inundated By Lake Texoma Pg 199-210Schools and Churches at Preston Bend Pg 211-230Modern Farming, Culture, Hunting in Preston & the Red River Valley Fair Pg 231-257Preston Road Pg 258-264Preston Bend Steel Bridge Pg 265-271Uncle Rip – J.W. Fawcett of Preston Bend Pg 272-276Oil Wells at Preston Pg 276-282Preston Bend Obituaries Pg 283-303Preston – In The News Pg 304-321

323 pages, Paperback

Published August 12, 2018