May 13, 2024 - Timpson Area Chamber of Commerce brings to our community, Frontier Days 2024, sixty second annual event to downtown Timpson, July4th through July 7th. Again, you can enjoy downtown activities, Gospel singing concert on Friday, July 5th at Timpson First Baptist church. Expect plenty children’s activities downtown Thursday, Friday evenings and all-day Saturday starting right after the parade. Including car show immediately after parade. Dancing in the streets all 3 nights. Community service Sunday evening. Currently accepting vendors for food and craft booths. Will consider any fun activity. Contact Paul Smith (9365544557) or Marilyn Corder (9362544146) Poster and complete information coming soon.
History of Timpson Frontier Days
From its humble beginning around a kitchen table, Timpson Frontier Days has become one of the most popular events of the year.
Timpson Frontier Days began with a proposal presented to the Timpson Chamber of Commerce by Ben Parnell and Ed Hooper in 1962. Their idea was for a two-week celebration of the pioneer days of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s in Timpson. The Chamber was interested, and a meeting was held in Callie Robinson’s kitchen to plan for the event. Local businessman, Buzz Protsman and Timpson Mayor, Bud Essery along with Parnell and Ed Hooper attended the meeting.
The plans were to turn Timpson into a Frontier Town for the three days of the first Frontier Days. Local merchants and store employees would dress in period costumes. The town square was decorated to resemble the early years. The committee, with the help of Mr. Bo Rainbolt, President of The Chamber, borrowed $100 from the Silver Harvest Fund to pay for advance publicity.
For the women and children, there was a Western Dress Contest with prizes for the best costume. There was also a prize for the oldest person riding into town on a wagon or buggy. During the three-day celebration, there were many contests requiring skill and talent. These included horseshoe pitching, washer pitching, a fiddling contest, horn blowing, and a sack race. Other activities included an open horse show at SoSo Park and a concert by the Timpson High School band. On Saturday, July 7, three Frontier Days queens were crowned, and the celebration ended with an Old-Fashioned Barn Dance.
Judging from the thousands of people attending the three-day event, the first Frontier Days was a great success. State and local officials attended to greet their constituents in a hometown setting. Candidates met potential voters and solicited their votes in the upcoming fall elections. According to Tracy Broadway, writer for the Nacogdoches paper, The Daily Sentinel, former Ann Richards was once stumping through the Pineywoods and stopped in Timpson during Frontier Days.
After a hiatus of several years, Frontier Days is once again a time of celebration and entertainment for the people of Timpson and the surrounding area. Many of the graduates of Timpson High School choose this time for their class reunions. Members of the Timpson Chamber of Commerce begin in May of each year to plan events for the week of the 4th of July. Saturday is the big day complete with a parade, games and rides for the children, food booths serving everything from hot dogs to corn on the cob and plenty of cold drinks for the thirsty crowds. Vendors set up their stalls and offer a diverse array of crafts and other items for sale to those attending this exciting event.
Over the years, Timpson Frontier Days declined in popularity until Marilyn Corder took the festival on as a project in 1996. “There was a small crowd that first year,” she remembered. Things begin to improve each year. Gospel singing was added and is now a big success. “The cake auction is a big deal,” stated Corder. We now have 2,000-2,500 visitors for Frontier Days. Corder says she would like to retire from her community service but finds it hard to walk away. Timpson residents would say our community is a better place because of Marilyn Corder’s efforts to revive Frontier Days. 2024 marks 62-years of this family, fun-filled event. In 2025, Timpson will be celebrating 140 years since its founding in 1885 upon the arrival of the Houston, East and West Texas Railway.
This year 2024 with a younger Chamber of Commerce organization but with Marilyn still helping, we hope that this piece of history for Timpson will continue bringing families together enjoying their hometown.
In 2023, thanks to a few of the moms on the chamber the Miss Frontier Days Queen contest was brought back and will continue this year. With Timpson growing and all our excitement with our school and sports organizations we look forward to bringing all our town together for another year and many years to come.
It’s the Timpson Area Chamber of Commerce goal to bring a fun filled 4th of July to Timpson for everyone to enjoy at a cost every family can afford. Please join us July 4th through July 7th in downtown Timpson Texas.
Credits: Timpson Area Genealogical & Heritage Society & Paul Smith
