Photograph of the tower on top of the Johnson County Courthouse.

Photograph of the Johnson County Courthouse in Cleburne, Texas. There is a clock tower on the roof, and cars are parked in front of the building.

Old farmhouse near Cleburne

Front of the Democratic Party Headquarters at the Civic Center in Venus

Old fire engine No. 2 parked outside of the Venus Fire Station

Photograph of the front door of Venus city hall. Entrance also serves the City of Venus Housing Authority. The town was called Venus after the modestly named daughter of a local Doctor. The town founder, a Mr. J. C. Smyth chose the name shortly after laying out the town site on what had been a cornfield. They got their post office in 1888 and according to the Handbook of Texas, the population had shot up to 10 people just in time for the 1890 census. Two railroads met at Venus and that turned the town into a beehive of activity. Thirteen businesses were reported in the mid 1890s. The railroads, or at least one of them, continue to be a presence in Venus. The town incorporated in 1903 and the population swelled to 800 during the prosperous years following World War I. During the Great Depression, Dallas and Fort Worth drew off many Venetians and by the early 40s, there was only one business left in Venus and that was about to close. In a touching show of support, the townspeople chipped in to save the business (a drugstore) from closing and turning Venus into a ghost. Today, the Venus …

Johnson County Precinct 2 Road Sign

Interior of Russell's Beauty Shop and Drug Store in Venus

Photograph of the storefront for Carney's Dress Shop and Cutting Factory inside of the Venus Department Store.

Roscoe Wilson's Barber Shop in Venus. Mr. Wilson died about 1970.

Copy negative of 4 children - Maurice Cummings, Matilda Cummings, Jay Frank Cummings, and Alpha Theta Cummings - standing in front of a brick house in Alvarado, Texas.

Copy negative of Imogene, Theta, Matilda and Polly Cummings standing in a yard. Each woman is lined up shoulder to shoulder and all except one is wearing a print dress.

Copy negative of Susan Sanson, Ron and Don McLeroy and John Percifield seated on steps and smiling. Susan is wearing a bow tie and skirt, the two McLeroy boys are wearing matching blazers and caps and John is wearing a vest.

Copy negative of three women standing on a porch. The woman in the doorway is Arra D. Cummings, on the left is Lela Hefner Cummings, and on the right is Mary Virginia Robinson. There are plants on the left and a lamp post and air conditioning unit on the right.

Copy negative of a Cummings family standing on stairs in front of a building at a reunion in 1970. Pictured are Jana Petty, David Petty, James Petty, Susan Sanson Petty, Imogene Cummings Sanson, Lin Sanson, William J. Cummings, Jr., Marsha Cummings, Arra D. Cummings, Linda Cummings, Ruby Cummings, Maurice Hefner Cummings, Anna Beth Cummings, Lela Hefner Cummings, Gerald L. Kline, Jr., Randy Jones, Rhonda Jones, Otto Cox, Don McLeroy, Scott Baker, and Matilda Cummings Baker.

Copy negative of young Imogene, Maurice Hefner, and Alpha Theta Cummings standing together on a porch in front of a door. The children are all wearing light colored clothing. Imogene is wearing a large bow and the youngest is wearing a hat.

Copy negative of young Imogene Cummings wearing a dress, sitting on a tricycle in a yard with plants and a fence.

Copy negative of young Imogene and Maurice Hefner Cummings standing in a dirt yard with a fence. Imogene is holding on to her hat, and the town of Alvarado can be seen behind them.

Copy negative of two pictures of people sitting in a covered wagon pulled by a horse wearing a hat in an area with trees, bushes, and a swing. The people in the wagon are, from left to right, Ms. Stamper, Susan Sanson, Gail Clark, and Matilda Cummings.

Copy negative of two pictures of three family members standing together in a yard with plants and trees in the background. The top picture is of, from left to right, Poly, Alpha Theta, and Matilda Cummings. The second picture is of, from left to right, Polly, Maurice Hefner, and Matilda Cummings. The two girls in each picture are wearing light colored matching dresses. Maurice in the second picture is kneeling, wearing a suit.

Copy negative of two identical pictures of children standing at the base of a windmill with a cow. They are from left to right Martha Campbell with little J. Frank Cummings in front, Mary Ruth Campbell with little Alpha Theta Cummings in front, and Imogene Cummings with little Massey Cummings in front.

Copy negative of family members with cows. On the left is young Maurice Hefner Cummings, in front is young Imogene Cummings, and at the back right is William J. Cummings, each holding a cow by a rope.

Copy negative of two pictures of Cummings family reunions. The picture on the left is from 1970 and includes Polly Cummings Kline, Lela Hefner Cummings sitting in front, Matilda Cummings Baker, Alpha Theta Cummings McLeroy, Imogene Cummings Sanson, Maurice Hefner Cummings, and William J. Cummings, Jr. standing together. The picture on the right is from 1965 and includes Mary Virgina Hefner Robinson, Marsha Cummings, Anna Beth Cummings, Linda Cummings, Rhonda Jones, Randy Jones, Scott Baker, Alpha Theta Cummings McLeroy, Ruby Cummings, William J. Cummings, Jr., Lela Hefner Cummings, Matilda Cummings Baker, Arra D. Cummings, Imogene Cummings Sanson, Lin Sanson, Maurice Hefner Cummings, and John Otto McLeroy, Jr. sitting on stairs in front of a building.

Copy negative of two pictures. The picture on the left is of five young women in dresses sitting on the lawn in front of trees and a street. The picture on the right is of Alpha Theta Cummings and Robert Martin dressed up, standing in a yard in front of a house and landscaping in 1931 in Alvarado.