William Wyatt Poe came to Texas from his native Alabama in late 1870, married Jerusha Evaline Cline in 1885, and had ten children. In 1904 he moved his family to Runnels County, where he gave land for school and church buildings and served as a school trustee. Three of his sons later served on the school board, and the family was active in farming, civic affairs, and church affairs. In 1930 his son Howard introduced 4-row tractor farming to the area. Upon W.W. Poe’s death in 1945, each child inherited a farm, and the land is still farmed mainly by his grandsons.