Peede

Peede is on Farm Road 1388 six miles southwest of Kaufman in south central Kaufman County. Throughout its history the names Peede's, Peede, and Peede's Mill appear to have been used interchangeably. The surrounding area was first settled by the Gray family before the Civil War and was commonly known as Gray's Prairie, a name that was still being used in the late 1980s. Peede developed in the vicinity of Gray's Prairie and was named for Dr. Ambrose Peede, who in 1848 moved there from London, England, with his family. By the 1870s he had built and was operating a gristmill that was used by area farmers. Enough settlers moved into the area that in 1880 the community received a post office called Peede's; Ambrose Peede became the first postmaster. By 1884 the population of Peede was thirty, and the town included a doctor, a grist and saw mill, a general store, and a grocer. Several years later it also had a justice of the peace, two blacksmiths, and three churches. In 1891 the name of the post office and community was changed to Peede. The post office remained in operation under this name until 1906, when it was replaced by postal delivery from nearby Scurry. Peede, a community center for area farmers, remained small throughout its existence. Its population was reported as fifty in 1890, seventy-two in 1900, and ten in 1936. From the end of World War II through the mid-1960s it reported twenty-five residents. After this time no further population figures were available for Peede. In the latter part of the twentieth century Peede was not shown on county highway maps.