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Dr. George H. FahringBy Kevin Ladd
One of the most influential figures in Chambers County during the mid-Twentieth Century was Dr. George Harley Fahring (1881-1969). He not only served in the medical profession in Anahuac, but he was also one of the town's leading businessmen. He was born on May 10, 1881 in Gypsum City, Kansas, a growing town located in the thriving section known as Saline County. He was a son of George R. and Mallie D. (Matthews) Fahring.
The elder Fahring grew up in Kentucky but moved to Saline County in 1868, settling in Gypsum City, where he engaged himself in the milling and cattle businesses. He would occasionally venture into Texas to buy cattle and drive them home to market. The elder Fahring did not settle in Anahuac until 1895, at which time he entered into several successful business ventures with Colonel F. M. Hamilton. Their real estate firm, the Anahuac Townsite Company, became well known along the Upper Texas Coast. They advertised "Rice Lands, Orange Lands, and Truck Farms," along with sites for "Elegant Bay Shore Homes." Fahring figured prominently in other ventures such as the Chambers County State Bank, the Chambers County Progressive League, and the ownership of the Anahuac Progress newspaper.
Dr. G.H. Fahring, the son, earned his public school education, both in Gypsum and Anahuac, and later did his under-graduate work at what was then Texas A&M College. He attended medical school at the University of Kansas and afterward returned in 1904 to his hometown to begin his medical practice. He became a real fixture for the next six decades.
One writer put it this way: "He came back to Anahuac in 1904 and entered the practice of medicine and surgery, and with the passing of the years developed a practice that is extended to the surrounding district, and where-in he has won the highest esteem of his confreres, who frequently call him in consultation, as well as his many patients. He has for many years given special attention to medical work, operating in the hospitals of Houston, Beaumont or Galveston, where major surgery is involved, or in Anahuac, where the matter is one of minor surgery."
He was married at Anahuac on Sept. 18, 1907 to Miss Octavia Scherer, a daughter of Samuel S.S. and Permelia Jane (Barrow) Scherer. They had three children: Dr. Thomas Lloyd Fahring, George Harley Fahring and Octavia, who married Jack Stanley.
Dr. G. H. Fahring served for many years as president of the Security State Bank and also owned a number of fine rice farms. He was a Mason, a deacon at the First Baptist Church in Anahuac, and a member of the Chambers County Medical Society.
His wife, Octavia, died on Feb. 24, 1968 at Anahuac. Dr. Fahring died on January 7, 1969 in Beaumont. He was 87 years old at the time of his death. They are both buried in a family plot at Anahuac Cemetery.
