Nunnsville (Doddville)
Lee County, TX
Status: Located – Needs More Research
Year Established: 1880s
Council of Governments: CAPCOG
Public History: There are no current descriptions related to Nunnsville in the public record. If you are aware of any sources that we may have missed please share them with us.
Community History: “NUNNSVILLE, TEXAS. Nunnsville was a predominantly black farming community. George Washington Nunn (b.Apr. 1860; d. Dec. 25, 1896) and his three brothers, James (b. 1861; d. Jun, 6, 1937) Aaron (b. Oct. 11, 1863; d. Jun. 12, 1940), and Will (b. Feb. 9, 1864: d. Jun. 5, 1937), founded Nunnsville in the 1880s. George Nunn operated the Nunnsville post office, which opened in 1892, as well as a store and a livestock business. The Nunnsville post office served the Lee County communities of Salem, Shiloh, Colvin, Antioch, and Sweet Home. A recreation hall and a park, also owned by Nunn, stood across from the post office and store. The Giddings justice of the peace court met in Nunn’s hall every three months. In 1905 the Nunnsville post office closed. No buildings remained at the Nunnsville site in 1990.
The church is still there with an adjacent cemetery were headstones remain for: Araron Nunn Sr.; George “”Wash”” Nunn; Charlie Nunn; Eugene Nunn; Linda Nunn; William Nunn Jr.; Henrietta Nunn and John Henry Nunn.
Both of the above provided by Nolan Thompson. Bibliography included in the Lee County Historical Survey Committee, A History of Lee County (Quanah, Texas: Nortex, 1974).
The primary surnames of the Nunnsville residents include: Colvin; Helmner, Jackson, Jarmon, King, Martin, McCoy, Nunn, Scott, Shepard, Tarver, and Wellard.
Extracted from the book Freedom Colonies, Pages 39-40:
“Aaron Nunn [ Jr.’s] father a slave blacksmith … [(Aaron Sr. b1816, Alabama; d. Jul. 17, 1900)], stayed on with his former master after Emancipation and continued to run his blacksmith shop. People came from miles around to have horses shod and plows fixed, and blacksmith [Aaron] Nunn pocketed a portion of their payments. He made additional money by hauling charcoal into Brenham to sell for fifteen cents a bushel and by the manufacture and sale of shuck mattresses, treenware trays and a variety of split-cotton baskets used to pick cotton and gather corn. After years of hard work and saving, [Aaron] Nunn purchased 200 acres in Lee County and founded the community of Nunnsville. His grandson told this story, but from the perspective of people around Nunnsville Grandfather may have arrived on the scene as a mysterious outsider with a pocketful of cash.”
Nunnsville had five (5) different “”official”” United States Postmasters during the period May 1892 – June 1905. Please see attached Postmaster list for names and dates. Individual postmaster appointments are available on Ancestry
On August 23-24, 1900, Miss Mattie L. Nunn represented Nunnsville as a delegate to the first National Negro Business League Meeting held in Boston Massachusetts.”
Cemetery: Antioch Baptist Church Cemetery