Clouds on 75

October 23, 2021

One of our favorite “regular” drives is along TX-75 south of Madisonville, Texas. We usually take this route any time we have business in Madisonville. The drive itself is very pretty, but every now and then there is something especially interesting to see.

We had been visiting the gravesite of two of Kristi’s ancestors, Hillary Mercer and Mary L. Crabb. Hillary Mercer Crabb was born in Georgia in 1804. In 1830 he and his family moved to Texas, and in 1835 he received 4,000 acres of land near Huntsville, Texas. The community of Crabb’s Prairie is named after him. He served as the first probate judge of Walker County in 1846 when the county was formed out of part of Montgomery County. He also served as a Texas state representative, introduced the legislation that created Madison County, and opposed secession during the Civil War. He was widowed in 1856, and then married Mary Proctor Sweeney in 1858. A few years after the Civil War, they settled in Madison County, where he served as sheriff for a time. He and Mary are buried in a cemetery in Madisonville.

Sadly, none of the original 4,000 acres is owned by any of his descendants. The community of Crabb’s Prairie still exists, though. It is located at the intersection of TX-75 and FM 1696.

Storms in and around Huntsville created some spectacular sunset views in the clouds that day. We pulled over in a few spots along the highway to take pictures.

I plan on writing up a special blog for this road in the future, with historical information and pictures of a few interesting sites. In the meantime, here are a few images from previous drives along TX-75: