Program and Book Signing on Early Fayette County Pioneering Family

The Fayette Heritage Museum and Archives is pleased to host Dr. Paul N. Spellman’s program on early Fayette County pioneer, Zadock Woods, and his family at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 28. This is a return visit for Dr. Spellman who is always a compelling speaker.

Dr. Spellman is a Texas historian who taught for many years at Wharton County Junior College. He is a descendant of the Woods family and has written both fiction and nonfiction inspired by the family’s story, which has taken on almost legendary proportions in Fayette County.

The Woods Family came to Texas as part of Stephen F. Austin’s Old 300, eventually settling in Fayette County in the area now known as Woods Prairie near West Point. Their home, built to be a defensive shelter against native American attacks, was known as Woods’ Fort.

There are numerous stories linked to the Woods family, but perhaps most wellknown is their participation in the Dawson Massacre at Salado Creek near San Antonio in September 1842. Zadock Woods was killed, while his son Norman was wounded, taken prisoner and died at Perote Prison in Mexico. Another of his sons, Henry Gonzalvo Woods, was able to escape. Zadock Woods is buried at Monument Hill.

Dr. Spellman’s latest nonfiction book was released in December 2025 and is an expansion of his Master’s thesis, titled “For We Cannot Tarry Here: Zadock and Minerva Cottle Woods, American Pioneers.” Zadock and Minerva Cottle Woods traveled from Massachusetts to Vermont, and from Missouri to Texas, after which three generations of the family opened new trails westward, built towns, raised children, and more.

However, Dr. Spellman has also written several books in the historical fiction genre. In 2024 he published a series of five paperback books, “The Adventures of Henry Woods,” geared to ages 10 to 15. Each book features Henry Gonzalvo Woods as a teenager witnessing important events before Texas won its independence.

Dr. Spellman is a member of the Texas State Historical Association and in 2009 was inducted into the Western Writers of America. His numerous books include Forgotten Texas Leader: Hugh McLeod and the Texan-Santa Fe Expedition, Spindletop Boom Days, and Old 300: Gone to Texas, which details every family that was part of Stephen F. Austin’s original group of settlers.

Spellman’s program will be held in the meeting room of the Fayette Public Library at 855 S. Jefferson St. in La Grange. Please use the rear meeting room entrance facing Franklin Street. After his program, Spellman will be available to sell and sign some of his books.

For more information, call the Museum & Archives at (979) 968-3765 or email archives@ cityoflg.com.