There was a drug store which had an inventory of local medicines that were locally produced the people who lived in the area. The manufacturing of the fermented liquid from the locally produced grains and sorghums was an art and required a carefully prescribed recipe of the local friendly and trading Cherokees that were making this their home.

It was at about this same time that many other eastern immigrants were coming through and making their adventurous exploration and acquisition of the big chunks of land that was becoming so popular and required only a little bit of money for a land grant. They in turn, told the natives in the area to move over, the big dog has come to town and the get-rich ambition was well on its way to becoming a reality.

According to Ed F. Bates, the author of the Denton County History and Reminiscences that was published about 1918, there is a story about a squad of armed men and Rev. John B. Denton, a Methodist preacher, a lawyer, and a 13 year-old-boy came upon a lone native American in the thickets of a creek location as they were making their way around near Birdville, which is located in the northeastern part of Tarrant County as we know it now. As they approached the Indian, he was asked the location of the Indian village that was nearby. The little Indian refused to tell them were his tribesfolk were located. Since his cooperation was little or nothing, the squad decided to lock him around a large tree, and as the firing squad was making ready to fire upon the locked down Indian, he shouted, "No Man, No Man." He had decided to tell the men what they wanted and to be friends.

And as the story goes, the squad then started to look for the Indian village as they had been directed by the repenting warrior. When suddenly they were ambushed by a large group of Native Americans. The Rev. John B. Denton was killed very suddenly.

Methodist circuit riders were generally armed as they made their way around on their circuits, as they were witnessing and ministering Christianity and helping to establish churches.

The counties of Denton and Tarrant had not been established at the time this killing took place. It was about six years later, that Denton County was named in honor of the dead preaching Indian fighter, as other counties were being surveyed and established.

Onega was in its infant stages as the natives were beginning to plan for a business section which was located on an old pathway from the newly established town of Pilot Point.

The village of Onega was approximately six miles south on this pathway that led to the Trinity (Big Elm)river, where there was a shallow crossing of rocks that allowed the wagons and horses to cross without danger.

It had been decided that being a Native American Cherokee, it was easier to change their identity and live rather, than call themselves Cherokees and die before a firing squad. Black Dutch was a popular nationality as well as Pennsylvania Dutch. Both names were easy to say to the adventurous land seeking immigrants and created a more cooperative attitude.

This location where the travelers crossed was near where Clear Creek runs in the Big Elm fork of the Trinity River. There was another crossing that was used as the stage coach crossing, it was about one mile north of where the Old McKinney bridge was later built. This crossing was very near where the Ray Roberts Dam is now located on the eastern side of the Big Elm Fork of the Trinity River.

The business district of Onega consisted of several different ventures as the photo this week shows. The photo shows that the photographer was located about one hundred yards to the east of where the peanut dryer on the east side of the railroad is now. He was looking to the north and now we can see the results of the daguerreotype photography, that was a popular method for making pictures of that day.

The local tribe was well acquainted with all of the newly arriving Cherokee families. Thee was little or no problem with one Cherokee finding other Cherokees, because they seemed to recognize them as Cherokees when they saw each other.

I found this old photo of downtown Aubrey in a stack of old newspapers that my Grandmother Laura Goin had kept safely under her old rugs. She had acquired them from her Grandmother Jane (Black Eye), who was born in 1807 in McMinnville, Tennessee and died in 1910. She was buried in Nocona, Texas. She has been a very valuable source of historical information of the early days in Onega.

I can recall the many stories that my dad told all of us kids – telling stores was the order of entertainment of the day when I was growing up along with my older brothers and sisters.

Grandma Black Eye came to Onega in the 1860's with her large family. She later lived in the Indian Territory where one of her sons got involved in the banking business, ranching, and then real estate. She had a large family; they were all a part of a large wholesome family who were good neighbors and treated others as they wanted to be treated.

One of her descendants was a grandson by the name of Will McNatt. There were several of the McNatt brothers; their names were Peck, Lee, Fuzz with sisters Mandy Rodgers and Harriet Emily McNatt, and daughters of Aunt Emmer and Micagah McNatt.

Will McNatt was an early day mayor and city councilman during the 1930s. He was very instrumental in securing an upright water tower that was over one hundred feet tall with piping running water to the main part of Aubrey as it was settled during the 1938 municipal improvement under the direction of Will McNatt.

He also served as City Secretary when I was the mayor back during the 1960's.