Sand Lake Tragedy

SAND LAKE

Sand Lake was a town named after a clear beautiful lake formed by the Trinity River. It's located east of Ennis off highway 34 near the Trinity River. It's not sure when the community started but there were records of a flood here in 1844. The old roadbed of the rail spur installed by the T. & N. P. Railroad was still visible there in 1976. The first time I heard about Sand Lake was from a retired Ellis County Detective who had grown up there. It appears on goolge earth there is still buildings left from the old town. In the 70's a post office building, black smith building, and a school building were noted to still be there. Now, it appears a sand company has bought the area and is selling the sand. Somebody had told me a story that prisoners had once tried to swim across the lake and drowned but I think the story below is the real story and it changed over the years maybe mixing events. What a horrible accident! These poor souls were just trying to enjoy the cold weather. What a horrible day for that family who lost so many. Anybody who grew up in cold winters in Texas and remembers seeing ice on a creek and was tempted to step on it. Skating, I would never imagine in Texas. Usually, in colder regions I believe people had a way of testing ice on lakes with poles and they also would have many days of below freezing weather that would make the ice solid.

Seven Drowned in Sand Lake by the Fort Worth Gazette, Jan. 20, 1888. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Four of the women and one man were sisters and brother - the other couple also sister and brother. Ennis, Texas. Jan. 18. Reports were received here this evening that seven persons were drowned in Sand Lake, some ten mles east of here. Two young ladies, daughters of William Williams and a young man named Babbitt were skating on the lake when the ice gave way and they sank in six and a half feet of water. Miss Babbitt and two little girls, ages 9 and 13, daughters of William Williams, were also drowned attempting to rescue them. Another small child of Williams fell through the ice and was only saved by one of the drowning young ladies throwing it out on the ice. Mr. Williams, brother of the young ladies, who was a quarter mile distance, ran to their assistance but was overpowered by their struggles and also drowned. His mother, in an effort to save them, was pulled down and would have drowned were it not for the help of her two little daughters, eight and eleven, who threw her a rope and managed to pull her to shore. All the bodies were found together. Another account Garrett, Tex. Jan. 18. Conducto Easton, running between Ennis and Roberts on the Central, brings the sad news of the drowning of Mrs Babbitt's four daughter and one son and an elderly lady, name unknown, in Sand Lake near the Trinity River on what is known as the Faulkner farm, while skating today. It appears young Babbitt fell through the ice and the ladies while trying to rescue him went through also. All bodies were recovered. Ft worth Gazette Ellis County TxGenWeb