The Winslow Place

The picture is of Clara Ada Johnson Clepper (left) and her sister-in-law Ada Leona Clepper (right). The information below from a letter written by Clara Ada Johnson Clepper when she was a student at the Decker Prairie School. Her father, John Wesley Johnson, is the last renter noted in the story. The original story is in the genealogy collection of her daughter, Susan Clepper.

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The Winslow Place

This house was built of lumber from the Arnold saw mill, the first mill to be built in Montgomery County.
It was built by Mr. Alec Whittier in 1850 on the Syrus Nixon survey of land in the Lillie Prairie Community seven miles from Decker Prairie school in 1850.
Mr. Whittier lived on the place and kept the post office for many years during the Civil War, the first and only post office for many miles distance at the time.
This place was an old stage coach inn during the stage coach time, located on the Montgomery, Houston stage line.
Mr. Whittier died in 1860 leaving his widow, one son, and two daughters. The son entered the Civil War and was killed in action.
In a few years the Widow Whittier met and married Jim Cotton and one of her daughters married his brother Tom, he lived with her until her death two years later, then he returned to marry the other daughter , which caused trouble between the brothers, after a short quarrel Tom shot Jim and killed him instantly leaving Mrs Cotton a widow the second time.
In 1867 she was married to Charlie Louge with whom she lived until he was killed while working near Montgomery in 1869.
Mrs Louge then rented the place to William Winslow and moved to Austin. Mr Winslow decided to buy the place from the owner, so he went to Austin and bought the 200 acres of land for $800 dollars in 1873. Mr Winslow lived on the place until his death in 1898.
Many different families have rented the old place since then. Mr. Allen Pate, Mannings Vaught, it being Mr. John Lillins first home when he came to Montgomery from Lampasis, Texas where he lived for many years.
Mr Tom Harvey also made it his home when he came to Montgomery County from Abeline, Texas. After living on the place there three years he moved on a small farm near Venture where he died a few years later.
Mr Fred Neidigk rented the place in 1918 where he lived while he opperated the Neidigk saw mill at wilmot until he sold the mill in 1924 to the Grogan Lunber Company and moved to Carlos where he built another saw mill, which he still operates.
In 1925 J. W. Johnson rented the place with many parties being given for the young folks during the year of 1925. The memory is sure to last many years. This family moved in 1926 to Decker Prarie.
In 1927 Mrs W. O. Ivey and children rented the place where they lived until 1928 then moved to Carlos.
In 1929 J. W. Johnson rerented the place where they lived throughout the year of 1929. During this year on June 19 his daughter Ethel was married to Howard Bruner. At the end of the year this family moved to North Houston.
The house is still in good condition to stand probably many years.

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According to The Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/), “Decker Prairie, also known as Decker's or Deckers Prairie, is a dispersed rural community located on State Highway 249 about thirty miles northwest of Houston and seventeen miles southwest of Conroe in southwestern Montgomery County. Settlement in this area just north of Spring Creek and the Montgomery/Harris county line had begun in the 1830s. The community was named for settler Isaac Decker, whose land grant was surveyed in 1839.”