Here is a reference:
Soon after the Howe family came (to Ellis County) in February 1844, Sutherland Mayfield brought his family and settled some seven miles below where the town of Waxahachie now stands. He settled on a league of land on Waxahachie creek at some fine springs. The place was later owned by Capt. John Reagor and the springs are now known as Reagor Springs.
Ellis County TXGenWeb
The Historic Springs of Ellis County
Compiled by Jean Caddel
This is from the same site elsewhere:
Also, it talks about captain John Reagor, a veteran of the war of 1812 and the battle of New Orleans, and who originally bought the land (for $3,000 in 1850 at the age of 58) on which reagor springs is located, and who willed some (or all) of it to Mary Eliza Ray, who's husband the town was renamed for.
Problem: Narritive says John only had 4 children. Maybe he only had 4 still living when he died in 1870 (at the age of 78).
A Community Like No Other
from an Article in The Waxahachie Daily Light, Sunday, February 23, 1997
by Laura Cathey
Daily Light Staff Writer
photos by Mary Hartsfield (2000)
REAGOR SPRINGS - A place untouched by time is hard to find in this day and age, but the community of Reagor Springs has that quality which made one couple move back 40 years after they left. Gene and Mary Hartsfield have known each other all their lives. They moved away from Reagor Springs in 1952 and came back in 1990 after his retirement.
"When our girls graduated from college and Gene was ready for retirement, we decided to look for a place in the country," said Mary Hartsfield. "We looked all around, but we found nothing that we liked as much as Reagor Springs."
The couple now live at Gene's childhood home. It is part of the original land bought by Captain John Reagor in 1850. Reagor is Gene's great-great-grandfather and the man the "Springs" is named for. John Reagor bought 4,000 acres for $3,000 in 1850.
"They didn't have a courthouse in Ellis County back then so the records for the deed had to be filed down in Groesbeck," said Gene. "I guess that was the nearest county."
Reagor was a participant in the War of 1812 and in the Battle of New Orleans. He and his wife moved to Texas and bought the land from the George Carpenter survey. When Reagor died, he had four children and he divided the land four ways, according to Gene.
"The part that is actually Reagor Springs was given to Mary Eliza Reagor, one of his daughters," said Gene. "It was for her husband, Fountain Ray, that the town was once called Ray. He was a postmaster."
When Mary and Gene were growing up, the community had three churches, three grocery stores, a cotton gin and a doctor. Gene's father, Brack Hartsfield ran the cotton gin for 43 years.
"My father believed a working day was from sunup to sundown," said Gene. "He would pay overtime, but only after the lights were turned on at the gin. He didn't believe in an eight-hour day."
"Before Reagor Springs children were taken to Waxahachie schools, the community had it's own school system, from which both Gene and Mary graduated. The school closed in the early 1950s.
"When we were growing up, there were probably 40-50 students at the school," said Mary. "The school we attended was not the original school, but a rebuilt school to replace the one which had burned," said Gene...
"I like the lifestyle out here...we have a lot of nice neighbors."
In the early days, Reagor Springs was a typical farming community, but many were employed by the cotton gin. Today it is still full of farms, but many of it's inhabitants are commuters who want to live out of the city. Some just like the atmosphere, but for others it's their lives.
Mr. & Mrs. Gene Hartsfield