Highland Community Compiled for AAHPS by Janet Smith, April, 2018.
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Corner Post of Uncle Charlie Wysong's Blacksmith Shop All that remains of the Highland community is this corner post from Uncle Charlie Wysong's blacksmith shop and Highland Cemetery. From 1851-1884, the Wysong blacksmith shop was located on the Wysong's "Old Highland Farm" a "Texas Century Farm". Tornados hit the area twice but the shop was rebuilt, Marian Gibson Wysong, the last Wysong family member to live on the farm selfom missed an opportunity to educate anyone about the significance of the post: The corner post stood as a reminder of what happened there. The blacksmith shop was the first post office north of McKinney and in operation from 1853-1872 and put an end to freighting from Jefferson. In January 2010, with development coming and the expected construction of the Outer Loop, permission was obtained from Collin County and the corner post was moved to Highland Cemetery for preservation. When the post was moved, care was taken to orient it as it was originally and to keep the depth as accurate as possible. During removal of the post, artifacts from the blacksmith shop were discovered that instigated an archaeological dig. Approval for the dig was obtained from Collin County officials and numerous additional artifacts from the blacksmith shop were excavated under the guidance of Page Thomas, Collin County blacksmith. (2013) Marker Property of te Collin County Historical Commission
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bout two miles north of Melissa there was an old stagecoach stop called Highland. The stage line ran from McKinney to Bonham. Charles H. Wysong was the first settler in the vicinity of Highland. Wysong came to Collin County in 1850 and served as a blacksmith, wagon maker, farmer, and postmaster in Highland. Wysong was the father of Dr. Walter Wysong, the noted surgeon of McKinney, (Manuscript is from the archives of Captain Roy F. Hall, McKinney, Texas.) Charles Hopkins Wysong, was born in Franklin County, Virginia, the son of Jacob and Mary Hopkins Wysong. Four children were born to this union. Charles H., the third child, was reared on his father’s farm and early learned the art of a tanner’s trade. He was also a blacksmith and a wheelwright who became famous for his Bois d’Arc wagons that were much in demand among the freighters. In 1846 he moved to Missouri and 1849 came to Texas to settle. He was first married in Missouri to Sarah M. Foster, daughter of James Foster of Virginia, and to this union were born four children, two dying in infancy. Theresa and James H. survived. Sarah died soon after coming to Texas April 29, 1850. On September 27, 1866 he married Elizabeth R. Slaughter daughter of James Slaughter, a native of Kentucky and a descendant of Captain James Slaughhter, a Revolutionary War veteran. To them were born the following children: Anna M., Charles L., Louis W., Mary L., Hampton S., Alice M. and Walter Scott. At the beginning of the Civil War, Charles H. Wysong was a member of the State Militia and was appointed by the confederacy to be chairman of a group of prosperous farmers whose purpose was to keep the troops fed and the war widows and their children fed also. His assignment was to design and make machinery that could be used in Collin County farms to replace the manpower that the war effort had taken away. When the Conscript Act was amended to take in men 45 and over, he joined the Confederate Army and was a part of Burnett’s Battalion for the duration of the war and was serving in the Houston area when the war ended. Anna Living Magazine
He came home from the war and he and his brothers-in-law, I.N. and James H. Foster, reopened the blacksmith shop and continued to supply the freighters with wagons until the coming of the railroad in 1872 put an end to the freighting from Jefferson, Texas. When Highland became the first post office north of McKinney, he was appointed postmaster. He also served Collin County as a County Commissioner, a Justice of the Peace, and as the County Tax Assessor-Collector. In politics he was an old-line Whig, and was an active supporter of such men as Horace Greeley, William Henry Harrison, and Henry Clay. He was a Baptist by faith, and was high in Masonic circles. He organized more Masonic Lodges than any other individual in the state of Texas, and held many offices. Dr. Walter Scott Wysong, the youngest son of Charles H. and Elizabeth became one of the most prominent surgeons in the Southwest. In 1930 Dr. Wysong built and equipped one of the finest clinics in the Southwest and in 1961, a sixty-five-bed hospital was added to the medical center. Dr. Walter Scott, always the chief, and his three sons, Scott, Dudley and Charles, operated the clinic and hospital alone until the patient load necessitated the addition of other physicians to the staff.
A Historical Marker was granted in 1985 for the Highland Community “The Highland community was established in the mid-1800s as a stop on the stage route between Buckner (approximate three miles west of the present site of McKinney) and Bonham. An early settler Charles H, Wysong, donated three acres of land for a community church, school and cemetery in 1858. The first marked grave, that of Robert Strother, is dated 1861. Many north central Collin County pioneers and their descendants are buried here. The graveyard is cared for by the Highland Cemetery Association, organized more than one hundred years ago. (1985)” The following is reproduced exactly as written by MRS. T.A. PARIS (Nee Laura E. Strother)
