I have included a copy of this map in a previous issue, but think it worthwhile to give the readers of this column a small part of this map again. It includes old roads and residences that have long disappeared on what would be only a trace of the roadbed. Only a few of the residences are in the town’s city blocks as they appeared at this time.

I am not certain when the map was produced, but it does show a cemetery designation where the old First Baptist Church was when it was located on what is now Magnolia Street. The cemetery was small and was occupied with unmarked graves of what I suspect was the resting place of part of the Indian tribe that was calling this their home.

The Baptist church was organized at the Belew cemetery just to the north of town during the approximate year of 1875. And as the congregation grew, it was apparent that they desired to relocate to the town of Onega, where the new church was built at the Magnolia street location. The church was relocated to the 200 block of North Main Street during the year of 1907.

This building still stands and is constructed of massive timber. It is still in very good condition for its age and is a historical location even though it does not possess a historical marker as other buildings that have survived the hardship of time.

The Key Settlement cemetery was located just to the southwest of the laid out and platted streets of the map as it shows a small cross. Upon close examination, a small cross is on the map where the Baptist church and small cemetery was located on the now Magnolia Street. The Key Settlement Cemetery was the location of the organization of the Methodist church. The Methodist church congregation is still small, but is still in operation and has been since it was organized during the year of 1858.

Many of the small dots on the map show where a residence which was either a log house or perhaps a small frame or boxed house, as so many of the houses were made during that period. I only know of perhaps a half dozen of the log houses or parts thereof that still exist at this time, and they have obviously been in the same location for these many years.

I was reading one of the old Aubrey Argus newspapers that was printed a few years after this map was made of the area. The federal government had appropriated about 75 million dollars for improvement of roads and highways. There was a local interest in this grant money and a group of locals were applying for a portion of this money for roads in the northeast section of Denton County.

I am hoping that our editor can print as much of this map as they can, as I would like to comment on this map for several issues of this paper. I would ask that you study very closely, especially if you are some of the natives of the area and would like to re-enforce some of my comments to the newcomers to our area. Let’s document the information so that we can gather history before it is gone forever.

This map is a part of the collections that have been passed down to me from my grandmother’s grandmother, Jane "Black Eye" Turner Harmon. My cousin Billie in Galveston has helped me very much with her collections also, and I can safely estimate that there are about three hundred survivors of this grandmother that still live within a fifteen minute drive of the old printed map.

Study this old map out and bring in your comments along with any old photos that will contribute to the forwarding of the historical stories that need to be preserved for future generations of Onegans.