Clemmons Gully was believed to have been named for Orion Clemmons, brother to Samuel Clemmons (Mark Twain). Oldtimers said this family came from Missouri, settled for a few years and farmed then moved to Utah where he became secretary of the Territory in 1861. This area was the Sour Lake prairie, now in pines. Herds of cattle and wild horses roamed here and were rounded up and penned for branding from time to time.
Goleman Gully was named for the infamous Big Thicket criminal Red Goleman.
The Guedry/Booth Feud ended in this area in 1861 when Urdin Guedry was found dead on his farm three miles east of Sour Lake. His murderer, John Booth, lived 300 miles west on the Nueces River and was arrested and tried but the case was dropped when his friends testified that he was home on October 20, 1861 and again on October 25th. The jury couldn't accept that a man could travel 300 miles and back in four days and five nights. But that's just what he did. The feud started on the Sabine nine miles north of Orange where the R.E. Booth and the Guedry families were friends. Guedry, overseering the building of a road, shot and killed Reuben and Robert Booth Jr. in self-defense and was never indicted. seventeen year old John Booth saw the fight and swore revenge. John moved 300 miles west and Guedry moved to Hardin County. Guedry eventually forgot the threats of vengeance but Booth didn't. He began to boast of how he'd get Guedry, which eventually reached him and caused him to worry. In the fall of 1861 John planned his route via his own pony express by having fresh horses stationed by friends every 30-40 miles. On the day he left, he had a neighbor verify in the family bible his time of departure, then took off. Two days later a stranger appeared in the Thicket asking for directions to Guedry's farm and that evening he was dead. John returned home on the 25th and the same witnesses verified his return. Years later Guedry's two sons killed Booth's one son Robert. Booth later lost his fortune and died a broken man in the home for confederate soldiers in Austin.
Excerpted from the Big Thicket Guide Book.