POETRY, Texas — Citizens in neighboring Kaufman County communities took different stances on incorporation votes during the November 3rd election.
POETRY, Texas — Citizens in neighboring Kaufman County communities took different stances on incorporation votes during the November 3rd election.
The small rural community of Poetry, originally founded in 1845 as Turner's Point, is located approximately six miles northeast of Terrell in Kaufman and Hunt Counties. 175 years since its founding, the citizens of Poetry overwhelming voted for incorporation during the November 3, 2020, election — with 164 in favor of and 49 against incorporation, or approximately 75%.
“Our many thanks to all that worked tirelessly to incorporate Poetry," Tara Senkevech stated, in a press release from Citizens for Poetry. "We are all blessed to live in the finest country in the world. We live in a country that allows like minded community members to pull together and establish a beautiful small agriculture town like Poetry. It is now up to the fine citizens of Poetry to carve our own destiny.”
Just east of Poetry, citizens of Ables Springs, which was founded in 1848, took a different stance on their incorporation vote — with 113 voting against incorporation, or approximately 80%, as compared to 36 in favor.
This isn't the first time either community has sought a vote on incorporation.
In 1984, Poetry sought incorporation but, according to the Citizens for Poetry, a vote in favor of incorporation at the time was invalidated and thrown out by the Kaufman County Commissioners' Court due to technicalities.
More recently, in 2007, Ables Springs sought incorporation but failed at the ballot box with 40 in favor and 62 against incorporation.
Both communities cited encroaching municipalities and Kaufman County's continual growth in seeking incorporation.
"Expanding growth in surrounding cities and the threat of Poetry lands potentially being poached through annexations caused residents to act; this was more than likely their last opportunity to finish Elijah Turner’s work and fully establish his small agricultural community as a town," continued the statement from the Citizens of Poetry.