At 86, Dorothy Dunn Edwards is the oldest Black woman in Stephenville and as matriarch of the Edwards family she has contributed to a lasting legacy within the county.
“It’s diversified some and everyone has been nice,” Mrs. Edwards said. “Stephenville is a nice place to live and it will be what you want it to be.”
Born Aug. 26, 1938 in Cameron, she moved to Ranger with her mother and two brothers in the 1950s.
Going through school at a segregated district, Mrs. Edwards finished her education in 8th grade, and was married Dec. 1, 1959, to Virgil Edwards Sr. Virgil was enlisted in the U.S. Army from Jan. 27, 1955 and discharged Dec. 19, 1957.
After service in the military Virgil worked for the U.S. Post Office as a mail carrier for many years. Dorothy worked as a kitchen helper at the Stephenville Nursing Home as well as being a homemaker for her husband and children.
The couple celebrated 50 years of happy marriage until he passed away in 2009.
The couple had four children – Virgil Edwards Jr. (who has now passed away), An (Edwards) Jones, Sherman Edwards, and Mechelle Edwards, all of whom graduated from Stephenville High School.
As a way to honor the family’s history, all four children were named after their grandparents.
Through the family’s legacy, Mrs. Edwards not only gets to share time with her children, but now has 11 grandchildren, 14 great grandkids and two greatgreat grandkids.
The large family shares time each year by having a family reunion that rotates its location each year.
“Everyonereallyloveswhen it comes to Stephenville,” Thetis Edwards, Sherman Edwards’ wife said.
When the family moved into Stephenville, Dorothy recalls moving into the neighborhood across from the Cornelia Graves Elementary School. The school was named after Cornelia Graves in 1951, who was the principal and only teacher at the city’s school for Black children, Bethelda School.
She recalled the entire neighborhood being full of friendly families, who were Black. Slowly in the 1970s the neighborhood began to diversify.
Looking back through the years of memories, Dorothy has seen a lot of history but one moment that sticks is out is when her son Sherman Edwards was elected Precinct 3 County Commissioner in 2024.
She called it wonderful and one of the happiest times in her life.
“I’m very proud of my family,” she said. “They have all done well in life.”
Dorothy enjoys spending time each day at The Legacy with friends and enjoys bingo, TV and making ceramic lamps. She is also the oldest member of New Bethel CME Church, one of the oldest churches in Stephenville.
The church got its beginning 13 years prior to the Emancipation Proclamation in 1857, when a group of enslaved black people, who were associated with the Methodist Episcopal Church - South gathered under the name of Bethel Colored Methodist Church.
As they looked for a place to worship, a brushed arbor was made available through land donated by Mrs. Birdie Frey, a prominent member of the community. In 1879, these same former enslaved people joined The Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. In later years, the building was moved to Miller Street where it is located today. The church has been in operation for 181 years.
As part of February’s Black History month, the Citizen is recognizing the contributions of those in Erath County who have contributed greatly to its history.
“History must be told and not hidden, especially for families no matter what color their skins are,” Thetis said. “We are still human and we are all God’s children of all colors.”