Concord

Concord is a small rural community located on Farm Road 3091 about five miles northeast of Madisonville in north central Madison County. The settlement began in the late 1800s under the name Gum Springs after the nearby springs and gum tree groves in the area. Early families included the Greens, Dormans, Stewarts, Morgans, and Hallidays. In 1898 a county school opened, and at this time the name of the community was changed to Concord, because another community named Gum Springs already existed in nearby Leon County. For several decades the school served as the center of social activity for the community of Concord. Both Presbyterian and Baptist congregations held services there, and community clubs hosted meetings, dances, box suppers, and other gatherings at the schoolhouse. In the early 1900s Concord also had a store and a blacksmith shop. Farmers in the region grew the principal crops of cotton and corn up until World War II. In 1939 the school closed, and students went to Madisonville. After World War II farming declined, and much of the farmland was converted to pasture for livestock. An oil well drilled in 1964 began the operation of Halliday Field, which resulted in modest oil royalties for area landowners and the completion of a paved road through the area in 1969. By 1990 Concord was a dispersed rural community with several country subdivisions and a population of fifty. That figured remained the same in 2000.