With limited resources and many challenges, the Boggy Community was established in 1865 by Robert (Bob) Bowers, a former slave, and Celia North Bowers of the Keechi tribe. Until around 1835, the Keechi Indians maintained an agricultural village on the banks of Middle Creek north of Centerville, and Celia brought to Boggy her agricultural heritage and knowledge, which contributed to the community's success. The area produced cotton, Irish potatoes, corn, peas, tomatoes, and watermelon, and a typical day included long hours in the fields planting, removing bare grass, and harvesting crops. Education was an important facet of life and a desire many parents had for their children, and the first school was established in 1865 in a log building under a hill. Later buildings were shared by Bethana Baptist Church, Masons, and the Order of the Eastern Star. Bethana Baptist Church was established in 1883 under a brush arbor near Boggy Cemetery, and the current church building was built around 1892. The Bowers were one of the first families to settle in Boggy and had seven children, although two died in infancy. Their son, Newton Amos Bowers, relocated to the Mackay Community near the Pierce Ranch just outside of Wharton, where he established a community very similar to Boggy with a church, school, and cemetery. Boggy's founders, Bob and Celia Bowers, and many of its original citizens, veterans, church members, and family members are buried in Boggy Cemetery.