These early settlers were not the first, however to visit what is now Walker County.  Spaniards and Frenchmen had crossed the county long before, and there were also quite a few Indian inhabitants of the area.  The town of Huntsville, present county seat and one of the first settlements in the county, was established primarily for the purpose of trading with the friendly Indian  tribes in the vicinity.

The Land and Its Early Inhabitants

Walker County is located in southeast Texas timber country, which is a western extension of the Atlantic Gulf Coast Plain.  The rolling terrain of the county is characteristic of the region.  The land is hilly in some places, but there are also stretches of prarie with the altitude varying to 200 to 250 feet above sea level.  There is an average annual rainfall of about 44 inches, with the temperature averages of 50 in January and 83 in July, and a mean annual temperature of 67.

The county is well drained by the Trinity River in the north east and the San Jacinto River in the southern portion, and by the many creeks and streams which empty into the rivers.  There are 4 main creeks emptying into the Trinity.  These are Bedias Creek which forms the northwestern boundary of the county;  Nelson Creek;  Harmon Creek; and Caroline Creek, in the southern part.  Other lesser creeks which join the San Jacinto River are Mill,  West Sandy, East Sandy, and Robinson Creek.  In addition there are many similar streams located throughout the county.

The soils found in the county vary from the sands and clays of the piney woods to the rich alluvia deposits in the lower areas.  Different types of soils are found in many small areas, and often several types may be found on just one farm.  Walker County soils are generally low in fertility, as a result of low mineral content, lack of organic matter, and thinness of top soil.  There is a deficiency of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash, as well as other elements.  Clays found in the county consist of Fuller's earth, found in the Riverside area in the northeastern portion of the county;  bentonite, found north of Huntsville and also near Dodge; ceramics, found on the banks of the Trinity River 5 miles east of Riverside;  brick clay, found 2 miles north of New Waverly in the southern portion of the county; and volcanic ash north of Huntsville.

The principal types of trees found in the  county include loblolly and short-leaf pine, several varieties of oaks, sweet gums, sycamores, elm and cedar.  The county today has approximately 318,900 acres of forest land and in earlier days had much more. The "Big Thicket" of Texas used to extend into the eastern edge of the county.  The following description of the area as it existed in 1856 gives a clear picture of this portion of the country.

In 1856 there was in Texas a rare region known as the "Big Thicket", which was composed of portions of Walker, Polk and Montgomery Counties. It was rightly named, for on every side the bushes and trees close around you almost as a solid wall.

On the hills grew immense white, red, Spanish, black and water oaks, sweet gums, black gum, hollys, hickories, and small trees such as iron wood, white and prickly ash, large and small leaf elms, sasafras and dogwoods.  Large magnolias and bay trees grew on the streams.  the underbrush consisted mostly of sweet bay, youpon, myrtle and a smaller bush which bore delicious berries which resembled huckleberries, but were much smaller and more palatable.  Everywhere over hill and dale were vines of different kinds, wild grapes, yellow jasmine, smilax and rattan.  There was a still smaller growth of ferns, partridge berry, moses and innumerable small flowers.  In the creek bottoms grew sycamore and wild peach trees and quantities of cane. (McKinney)

Animal life in early Walker was abundant, as could well be supposed from the extensive forest areas present.  There were countless varieties of birds and small animals. and many deer, bears, panthers, bob-cats, wolves, wild turkeys and other wildlife.  Walker County was a veritable paradise for hunters, and hunting was one of the major sources of recreation in the county. (L.B.Baldwin's uncle Simon and Bill Sterne, early Walker County settlers, now deceased, have often related to him tales of their hunting experiences in this area).

Deer were especially plentiful in the county.  Herds containing as many as 40 were reported seen by some of the early day settlers, in the vicinity of the site of the old town of Cincinnati on the Trinity River.  Even today that area is in abundant supply, and is a very popular spot with deer hunters each season.  A salt lick, located in Huntsville in the early days, at the present site of Greene's Sinclair Service Station [1954], was also a place often frequented by deer.  When some of the Huntsville citizens decided they would like to have deer meat for dinner, it was usually very easy to go down to the salt lick and shoot one. (McKinney)

Another interesting story is told of the wild life in the county.  Large numbers of passenger pigeons used to migrate through this area, occasionally in such great masses as to resemble dark clouds.  At night so many of them would sometimes roost in the threes that the limbs would break from their weight.  At such times they provided easy targets for hunters.

Indian Inhabitants Of Walker County

One of the early tribes inhabiting this region had the name of Cenis.  Their lands covered a fairly large area, mostly that portion laying between the Trinity River, or the Trinidad, as it was called then, and the San Jacinto River, in present day Walker, San Jacinto and Montgomery countiies.  Most of their villages were located along the Trinity, which the Indians called Arcokisa.  One of their main villages was located near the site upon which was later established the Walker County river port of Carolina (Yoakum)

A description of the homes built by this tribe is very interesting.  Their cabins are fine, 40 or 50 foot high, of the shape of bee hives.  Trees are planted in the ground, and united above the branches which are covered with grass.  the beds are arranged around the cabin, 3 or 4 feet from the ground.  The fire is in the middle, each cabin holding two families.

The Cenis Indians were distinguished for their hospitality and gentleness of disposition.  they raised a great deal of corn, by which they were enabled to sustain a large population.  the Cenis were also great traders, and obtained largely from the Comanches who in turn had gotten them from Spaniards - horses, money, silver spoons, spurs and clothing.

This tribe was first discovered in 1686 by the French.  The Cenis continued to live in the area for approximately 100 years but their nation was finally destroyed in about 1780, in a great battle on the banks of the Trinity with other tribes which had come into  the area after being pushed westward from the Mississippi by American expansion.

Another tribe to be found within the area now comprising Walker County was Bedai.  They lived in the northwestern portion of the county, near the present Bedais Creek, which is named for them.  Their principal village was located at the point where the creek empties into the Trinity River.  The Bedai Indians were a rather backward people in comparison to many of the other tribes.  They lived in thatched huts and made very little effort at cultivating the land, depending almost entirely on game and fish for their existence.  Their members were kept thin by pestilence and frequent raids by other tribes. (Strickland)    Within the past year [1954], two skeletons were uncovered on the ranch of R. E. Samuel of Huntsville.  Experts of the University of Texas who examined the skeletons believed them to be those of the Bedai Indians.  It was thought that an Indian burial ground might possibly have been in that area, but as yet, no other remains have been discovered. (R.E.Samuel)

The Comanche Indians also played a part in the history of Walker County.  they were a nomadic and essentially war-like people, and  moved from place to place looking for game and weaker tribes upon which they could prey.  They frequently raided the villages of the Bedai Indians and also the early Spanish settlement of Bucareli. (Bolton)

The Comanches were allies of the Cenis and carried on a great deal of trade with them and with other tribes in the vicinity. Huntsville served as a trading post between these western Comanche tribes and Indians of the western portion of the state.  The Bedai in the Alabama-Coushatta, the Neches, the Nacodogches, and other tribes bought their pottery, pelts, pine knots, bear grease, bear and antelope robes, mustang ponies and other goods brought by the Comanches.  The Lipans, the Tonkawas and other various tribes from the plains. (J.L.Clark, Huntsville, Texas)

Another tribe of Indians had a village located about 2 miles south of Huntsville, on the old Sterne property.  Many pieces of pottery and arrowhead can be found in the area even today.     Stories have it that this was a Cherokee village but there is no evidence to substantiate it.

Spanish and French Exploration

There are of course, differences of opinion over the exact route of many of the early explorers in Texas, but there is much evidence to support the belief that the land which came to be Walker County played a large part in both the Spanish and French exploration of Texas.

The expedition of the Spaniard Hernando de Soto, after his death, entered northeast Texas about 1542 under the leaadership of of Louis de Moscoso.  According to Dr. Rex Strickland, this expedition penetrated to east central Texas as far as what is now Walker County.  The main body of the party camped to the north of the Trinity River in the southern portion of the present county of Houston, but the expedition scouts, who had been in the advance of the main body, crossed to the other side of the river and captured 3 or 4 of the Indians living in that area.  These captives are believed to have been Bedais.

Moscoso later sent 10 men across the river on swift horses with instructions to travel as far as they could in 8 or 9 days to see if they could find provisions with which too re-supply the exposition.  This they did and came upon some poor Indidans who withdrew into wretched huts as they approached.  A few of them were taken captive, but no one could speak their language, so the Spaniards could not get desired information about the surrounding territory.  No supplies could be gathered from this village as the Indians had few posessions.  Discouraged at their findings, Moscoso and his men returned to the Mississippi from whence they had come.

Bucareli was made up of families who were first exiled from their homes at Los Adaes by the Spanish Governor Ripperda.  One purpose for it's establishment was as an outposst for th eprotection of Spanish territory from the French.

This settlement thrived during its first year or two of existance, and finally grew to a settlement of approximately 400 people. In 1777 Ybarbo reported that there were 50 houses, the total population of this community being 347;  of these 125 were men, 87 women, 128 children, and five slaves.  There were also many Bedai Indians living in the neighborhood.

The land was found to be fertile, and good crops were produced.  the Indians were very friendly and aided the settlers in their labors.  It seemed from all indications that a successful and permanent settlement had been established, but such hopes were short-lived.  Comanche Indian tribes learned of the prosperity  of the town and began to raid it, killing many of the residents and destroying much property.  The friiendly Bedai, although willing to assist the Spaniards fighting the enemy, were no match for the fierce Comanche.

Finally Ybarbo and his people felt that they could not hold out against the raiders andy longer, and in 1779 the Spaniards abandoned the settlement and moved to the Nacogaodches [sic].

Another Spaniard, Alonzo de Leon, who was sent out with a military eexpedition to look for survivors of the La Salle paarty, laid out the La Balua Road in 1689, which crossed through the Walker County area.

The French explorer Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Aalle, is believed by E. W. Cole to have pased through the Walker County region, traversing the entire length of the county from the southwestern to the tho northeastern corner.  Cole claims to have traced, on foot, the route of this expedition, and to have found every landmark mentioned in the diary of Henri Joutel, historian of the LaSalle's expedition.  Cole was aided in his efforts in tracing the route through Walker County citizens who were familiar with the terrain.

According to Cole, la Salle crossed what is now Walker County boundary from Montgomery County to a point a short distance from where the town of Shiro is now located.  He went in a northeasterly direction and crossed the San Jacinto River on a great circular bend in the upper west branch of the river.  From there he continued northeast, going through the area where Crawford's Lake is now to be found.  He crosses White Rock Creek and then came to Nelson Creek at a flat rock crossing a short distance above the mouth of Town Creek.  From there he went to Eyser's Bluff, then passed into Trinity County.  He was murdered 14 days later at a site in Cherokee County.  La Salle's Walker County route is shown.

Creation and Organization

The municipality of Washington later became the county of Washington and the boundaries were fixed by the Congress of the Republic of Texas, Dec 14, 1837.   Out of the original county of Washington there were carved several other counties, among them being that of Montgomery, created in 18327.  Finally, by an act of the legislature of the new State of Texas, approved on the 6th day of April, 1846, the County of Walker was created with it's territory being drawn from Montgomery County.  The boundary of the new county was set.

The act designated the town of Huntsville as the county seat, and directed the commissioners court, at its first teerm, to appoint 5 commissioners to procure a deed or deeds to so much land as they may deem necessary for the erection of a court house and jail, as long as the county was not compelled to pay for the lands so secured.  Pleasant Gray, founder and first settler of the town of Huntsville, and his wife, deeded for one cent consideration, 50,625 square feet of land in the town for use of public for the construction of a court house.  This public square was bounded by Cedar Street on the north, Main Street on the east, Spring on the south, and Jackson on the west.  Deed Records A 59-60.

The first commissioners court met on July 27, 1846 in the upper story of the Harvey Randolph house which was used as a court house until a new one was completed in 1853.  In the meeting were J. Estill, first Chief Justice (now called county Judge), he served 1846-1847;  Isaac McCary, first county Clerk.  First commissioners were:  Collard, Mitchell, Robinson and Tucker, all of whom served 1846-1848. ( Item, Mar 6, 1941)

In 1860 contracts were awarded fo rthe section of a new court hoise, with the contract for the carpenter work going to james Logan for $5, 770 and the contract for the brick work going to Monk and Hallmak for $7,500.  The Civil War interrupted construction and the original contractors died before the completion of the building.  In 1868 a contract was let for its completion, which was accomplished in 1860.  The court house burned in January 1888.  the contract for the present [1954] Walker County court house was let in 1888 to D. N. Darling, of Palestine, Texas for $20,495.  The building was completed in March, 1889.

Walker County was named in honor of Robert J. Walker, a Democratic senator from Mississippi, who in 1845, became the Secretary of the Treasury under President James K. Polk.  While serving in the Seante, Walker had introduced a resolution acknowledging the independence of Texas, which was adopted and approved by President jackson, on March 2, 1837.   Walker was also very active in promoting the annexation of Texas to the United States.

Citizens of the county later regretted the honor paid him, however, because of the stand Walker took agains the confederacy.  This led to the passage of a joint resolution  by the legislature on Dec 16, 1863 ".... whereas it is the opinion of many persons in and out of the county of Walker, in this state, that said Robert J. Walker, then a distinguished citizen of the State of Mississippi, and who had rendered himself popular with the people of Texas by his warm advocacy of the annexation of Texas to the U. S.; and whereas the said Robery J. Walker; ungrateful to the people who honored him, and nutured him in political distinction, has deserted that people, and is now leagued with Abraham Lincoln in his vain efforts to subjugate the Southern States, now struggling for their liberties and independence, thereby rendering his name justly odicious to the people of Texas, and the Confederate States of America; ... Be it resolved by the legislature of the State of Texas, that the county of Walker, in this State, be, and the same is, hereby named Walker County in honor of Capt. Samuel H. Walker, the first distinguished Texas Ranger, who fell in Mexico, while gallantly fighting for the rights and honor to the State of Texas, and that henceforth no honor shall attach to the name of Robert J. Walker, in consequence of the county in this State bearing the name Walker." Gammel, Laws Of Texas, V. 753.

There have been three changes in the original boundary of Walker County as set in 1846.   The first of these changes was upon the creation of Madison in 1853.  The act of legislature declared the Madison boundary to be:  "....Beginning at the mouth of the Bedais Creek on the Trinity River, and running up the main Bedais to a point where the line between the counties of Grimes and Walker crosses the same; thense by a direct linee to the northwest corner of a contract of land in the name of B. Hadley, on the Navasota River; thence up said stream to where the San Jacinto road crosses the same; thence running with the south boundary of Leon County to the southwest corner of Alce Garrett's survey; thence on a line to the northeast corner of Hiram Walker's survey on the west bank of the Trinity, and thence down the river to the beginning..."

The effect of this act on Walker, then, was to withdraw from it's area that portion laying between Old San Antonio Road and Bedais Creek, with the creek becoming the northwestern boundary.

A portion of Trinity County "...beginning at the mouth of a small creek known...by the name of Chalk Creek, thence running due north to the Hiuston County line; thence with said line to it's corner of Trinity near Calhoun's Ferry, then down said River to the beginning corner..." was attached and added to Walker County in March, 1858.

The Trinity River had been to the northern boundary of the county but this act extended the county line to include an area above the river.

Finally, in 1870, the legislature passed an act creating San Jacinto County, a portion of which was taken from Walker, thus cutting off the northeastern portion.  As provided by the act, San Jacinto County was to take the following shape:  "...beginning in the channel of the Trinity at a point opposite the mouyth of Carolina Creek, in Walker County, running in a due line from thence to the head of the east branch of Peach Creek, in Montgomery County, thence down the channel of the said Peach Creek to a point parallel with the 30th parallel and 20 miles north latitude, in said Montgomery County; thence on a due line through one corner of Liberty County to the channel of Trinity, at the same point where the present line of Polk County crosses the channel of said Trinity, up the channel with its meanderings to the place of beginning...".  Present day boundary remains.

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The history of transportation in Walker dates back to the period of Spanish activity in Texas.  Henderson Yoakum states,  "In old times there were well known crossings on the Trinity; first in the upper crossing; at the present town of Magnolia -- the oldest road in Texas; second, the middle crossing at Robbin's Ferry, established 1689, by De Leon; third, crossing at Liberty, established in 18056."  As it was originally set up, the Walker County boundary reached to Robbin's Ferry and the trail which Yoakum mentions was the La Balua Road.  After crossing the Trinity its northern part of what later became Walker County, the road ran in a southwesterly direction and crossed the San Jacinto River.  Most of the distance covered by the road between the two rivers., then was within the Walker County boundary as established in 1846.  At a later date the Old San Antonio Road also crosses the Trinity at Robbin's Ferry, and the act creating the county designated this road as the northern boundary.  A third road, the Contraband Trail, crossed the Trinity at a point near the old town of Carolina, in Walker County, and continues in a westerly direction to join the Old San Antonio Road.  It was used as a route to by-pass the Spanish authorities along the official road.  In later years the section of the Contraband Trail laying between the Neches and Brazos rivers came to be known as the Cushatti Trace, named for Cushatti Indians who used this trail in their hunting expeditions to the west of their village, which was located in what is now Polk and Tyler counties. (T. C. Richardson, East Texas, Its History And Its Makers, p. 1292)

When settlers began coming into the future county site in the 1830's the roads became more numerous but travel over them was very difficult.  They were really little more than trails from which the brush had been cleared.  When stages began to travel over them the passengers often had to assist in prying the vehicles out of the mud, using fence rails.

During the days of the Republic of Texas a large portion of commerce was carried by freight wagons, usually drawn by three to eight yoke of oxen, or less often by horses or mules.  The use of oxen had several advantages;  their hoofs did not sink into the mud as readily; the purchase price of  a yoke of oxen was about 40 ot 50 dollars, as compared with  3 or 4 times as much for a pair of draft horses; the oxen could subsist almost entirely on prairie grass.  For these reasons horses were used mostly for certain stage coaches, rather than freighting. (W. R. Hogan, Republic of Texas)

By the time Walker was organized, the following roads existed in the area:  Huntsville to Swarthout:  Huntsville to Washington;  Huntsville to Cincinnati and Montgomery.  During the period of the Republic the county courts and the commissioners were authorized by law to construct and maintain roads within their counties, and now they had the power to require all males between 18 and 50 to work on the roads in the precinct in which they lived.  This practice was continued after Texas became a state, and even into the early 1900's.  In 1856 Frederick law Olmstead, a citizen of one of the northern areas, traveled through East Texas to secure information for his book, Journey in the Seaboard Slave States.  Of the state he had this to say, " Texas has but two avenues of the Gulf and the Red River.  Travelers for Gulf counties and West enter by seas, for all other parts of Texas, by the river.  All roads leading into the state are scarcely used except by herdsmen bringing cattle to the New Orleans market.  Ferries across the rivers and bayous are so costly and ill tended, roads so wet and bad, and the distance from steam conveyance to various part of the state so very great that the current is entirely diverted from this region.

Armstead, in the same book, gives a map of Texas showing the principal roads.  those shown to pass through Walker were:  a road branching from the San Antonio Road, halfway between San Augustine and Nacogdoches, which ran in La Grange, passing through Huntsville, via Huntsville to Houston.

Mamie Wynn Cos, in an article for an historical issue of the ITEM, March 6, 1941, lists the following early roads of Walker County.
1.  Post Road - This was a stage coach road which crossed the Trinity River at Wyser's Bluff in the northern part of the county.
2.  Contraband Road.  This road is not to be confused with the Contraband Trail mentioned earlier, ran in a southwesterly direction fro Huntsville to Houston.  It is a densely forested road used for the purpose of avoiding Federal Authorities in hauling of contraband cotton at the close of the Civil War.
3.  Telegraph Wire Road.  This was a stage line passing through Huntsville the way to Houston.  the road was so named because a telegraph line was strung along its side, and some of the old insulators which held the wire may still be seen fastened to the trees along the way.  The road had a stage stopping point at Stubbefield Lake where the passengers rested and the horses were changed.
4.  East-West Road.  Most of this road followed what is now Highway 190, but at that time it also went to Raven Hill, Sam Houston's country home.
5.   Four Notch Road.  This is said to be by many the oldest road in the County.  It ran in a southeasterly direction across the county, crossing the railroad about 2 miles south of Phelps.  Some of the trees along this road still have 4 notches used in making the route from which the road got it's name.

 It was over these roads that the stage coach ran and products of the farmers of the county were hauled to markets.

Trinity River Traffic

From the beginning of the settlement of Texas until the middle of the 1870's and in some cases even later, the Trinity served as an important means of transportation and commerce.  River boats were put into use and made journeys from coastal ports into the interior of the state, carrying passengers and supplies, and returning with products to be sold, particularly cotton.  Farmers from all over the county would bring their ox and mule wagons, loaded with products to the chief river ports in the county -- Tuscaloosa, Cincinnati, Newport and Carolina.

Early navigation of the Trinity was accomplished wit old-fashioned boats, very much like those on the Mississippi, although somewhat smaller because of the narrowness and, in many  places, shallow water of the Trinity.  These boats operated up and down the river, despite the many hazards by river snags, sand bars, and other obstructions.  River traffic was irregular, however,  with the Trinity often being too low for any but the smallest of boats to attempt passage.

Although steamboats were used for most of the trips up and down the river, other types of boats, such as the bateau, were employed.  These boats were constructed of rough planks and were propelled with poles, the steering being done with long oars or sweep at the stem.  The keel-boat was similar to the bateau but was better constructed and was sometimes pointed at both ends.  It was often used to carry passengers as well as freight.  There was a cabin running the entire length of the deck, and propulsion was by poles or sweeps.  The flat-boat, propelled in the same manner, was designed only for the one way trip down the river.  It was generally used only for freight but sometimes carried passengers. ( E. H. Brown, Trinity River Canalization, 133-136)

Although the Trinity has been used in earlier days by the Indians and the Spaniards for the transporting of goods, the first extensive navigation did not begin until the 1830's, and reached it's peak in the 50's and 60's.  One of the earliest known steamboats operating on the river was the Branch T. Archer, which ascended the Trinity in 1838.  It encountered difficulty in making the trip and was forced to lay over in one of the ports to wait for higher waters.  (Telegraph and Texas Register June 9, 1938)

The Vesta, the Sciota Bell, and the Ellen Frankland also operated on the river during this earlier period, about 1843-1844.  A Galveston paper reported that the Vesta had just returned from Alabama on the river with a full cargo of cotton and that there was just enough cotton yet remaining up the river to keep both the Vesta and the Ellen Frankland employed in bringing it down for several months.

Wrecks among the boats in the river traffic were not uncommon, as there were many hazards in navigating the stream and the bay from the mouth of the river to Galveston, not to mention the defects of the boats themselves.  The Ellen Frankland was wrecked in 1844 in a storm in Galveston Bay, with the loss of its cargo of 180 bales of cotton.
The Sarah Barnes was also wrecked about the same time, with the loss of it's cargo.  In the spring of 1853 the Fanner and another boat were racing from the wharf at Galveston when the boiler of the Fanner exploded from overheating.  Several passengers were killed, among them Geo Hunter, a prominent citizen of Cincinnati, Walker County. (History of the Hunter Family, possession of Willene Story of Tyler, Texas)

The Sciota Bell was an important Trinity River packet which took over much of the activity of the Ellen Frankland.  The following advertisement appeared in the Civilian and Galveston Gazette, May 11, 1844:  " Regular Trinity Packet - for Liberty, Swartwout , Cincinnati and Alabama.  The substantial steamer Sciota Bell, E. Jones, Master, for freight of passengers having good accommodations.  Apply on board.""  Another advertisement on Nov 18,, 1843 announced the fine, light, draught and very substantial steamer Lady Byron, S. W. Tichenor, Master, would depart for Alabama and all immediate landings shortly, and that all persons desirous for shipping goods would apply aboard.

The Mary Clifton operated the year 1854.  It was a large steamboat built to carry a load of 2,550 bales of cotton, but, because of its size was often forced to wait in various ports for the river to rise before being able to continue.  There were several smaller boats, however, which had little difficulty keeping up a fairly steady operation on the Trinity.  Among those were the Guadalupe, the Kate, the Early Bird, the Vesta, and the Belle of Texas.

Other boats not previously mentioned which navigated the Trinity various times were the Ruthven, Mustang, Grapeshot, Orleans, Justice, Brownsville, Pioneer, Friend, Correo, Trinity, Wyoming, Victoria,  Brazos, Star State, Nick Hill, hays, Washington, Buffalo, Texas, Wren, Black Cloud, Mary Conley, Mollie Hamilton, and the Id Reuse.

Occasionally steamboats were able to  get all the way up the river to Dallas, but ordinarily the most distant point was Alabama, or by a port the name of Magnolia, which was located near the present city of Palestine.  Even below these points travel on the river could hardly be described as regular, because of the dependence on rains and subsequent rising and falling of the water, but, even so steamboat travel was an important method of transportation in early Texas.  Walker County is on the lower section of the river, which was more easily navigated.  The county had thriving, prosperous towns which owe their existence to the river trade as well as illustrated by their complete demise following the coming of the railroad to the area and the resulting cession of the river traffic.

Coming of the Railroad

The Houston and Great Northern Railroad Company was chartered by Texas Lewis in the year 1866.  However, it was not until the year 1870 that actual construction was begun, with the line reaching Phelps, Walker County, on the way to Palestine, on March 1, 1872.  S. G. Reed, A History Of The Texas Railroads, 315.

In those days it was the custom in railroad building for towns to pay a bonus to the railway company for the privilege of having the line run through the town.  When the main line to Houston and Great Northern was being built through Walker, the company requested $25,000 bonus from Huntsville before agreeing to lay the track through the city.  Many of Huntsville citizens favored paying the money, but the majority of the townsfolk did not, fearing that a railroad might bring in undesirable elements into the town and also take money out of the community.  As a result, the Houston and Great Northern Company by-passed Huntsville. (McFarland, A History Of Huntsville, ITEM, March 6, 1941.

After finally realizing the necessity of having a railroad, the citizens of Huntsville organized the Huntsville Branch Railway Company, for the purpose of building a tap road to the main line at Phelps.  This cost the city $125,000 and the resulting tap line provided only limited service.  The Houston and Great Northern Company built the branch line, which was completed in 1872, and merged with Houston and Great  Northern the following year in May 1873,

Upon the completion of the tap line, Huntsville held on March 26, 1872,  a gala  celebration in conjunction with the arrival of the first train.  A ceremony was held during the day, featuring an address by William Walter Phelps, a member of the U S. Congress from New Jersey.  That night there was a banquet and a ball at the court house to round out the day's activities.  Houston Chronicle, Mar 26, 1922.

New Waverly, Phelps, Dodge and Riverside, all of which are towns within Walker County, owe their existence to the railroad, and were established with its arrival.  Four other towns in the county, as mentioned earlier, eventually vanished as a result of the steamboats and river transportation in Texas, by providing a regular service which the boats could not promise and lower rates which the riverboat owners could not match.  The river ports gradually dwindled away after having there chief means of livelihood cut off.

Industry in the County

Agriculture has long been the leading industry in Walker County and by far the major portion of the county income came from that source prior or the 20th century.  Cattle raising, however, was also popular with the many settlers, and the excellent grazing areas throughout the county enabled them to increase the size of the herds that many of them brought to Texas.  A count of 1850 revealed that the county had approximately 24,000 head of cattle, but the wealthy slave owners from Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Mississippi began coming in larger numbers, the number of cattle began to decrease.  the Federal census of 1850 showed Walker County to have a population of 3.964 persons, of whom 1,301 were slaves.  the slave population more than doubled within the next 5 years, reaching 2,765, with most of the larger plantations having 30 or more slaves each.  As is usually the case when the plantation type of development began to greatly increase, cattle raising decreased in the county over the same period, and there were only 12,000 cattle in 1855 (Richardson)

Most of the slave owners coming to this region were of scholarly, religious and aristocratic ancestry, and their first efforts were lent to the establishment of schools, churches and plantations.  they brought with them many capable servants and slaves trained in the farming of such crops as cotton and corn.  Finding that one half to one bale of cotton could be produced per acre in the rich soils of the area, cotton became their money crop, with other crops raised for home consumption.  (H. Smith)

In addition to farming and cattle raising, the timber industry was of prime importance in the county.  Many sawmills began to appear in the area to supply lumber for the frame houses which replaced the original ones built of logs.  Beginning with a sawmill established by William Viser, in which the lumber was sawed by hand, the industry steadily as a result of the coming of more up to date machinery and a greater capacity for turning out larger quantities and better grades of lumber. (P. H. Singletary, Huntsville, Texas)

there were besides the three mentioned,, other types of industry within the county, though they were of a lesser importance.  Some three or four tan yards [?] were established in the county and numerous cotton gins appeared in the area, with many larger plantations having their own gins.  Two cigar factories were located in Huntsville; one operated by J. B. Jones, was located on what is now Avenue L, near the present [1954] location of the Life theater; the other, owner Peter Gilbert, was located on the property now owned [1954] by Mrs. T. S. Williford on Avenue I.  Both of these men had their own plantations and raised their own tobacco.

Huntsville also had two brick yards, one of them located at the pen, and the other on the present Avenue J near it's junction with Highway 75.  The Smith Brothers owned the later, and made bricks used in the building of "Old Main", the administration building of S. H. N. I.

Huntsville the county seat and the largest town in Walker County, is older by about 11 years that the county itself, as it was established in 1835 by Pleasant Gray, who came here from Alabama while the area was still in the Washington County boundary.

Gray first arrived at the future town site in 1830 or 1831, and camped near a spring which was located just north of the present site [1954] of the post office.  Finding the neighboring Bedai Indians to be a friendly and desirous of trading, and because of the areas similarity of his native Alabama countryside, Gray decided to eventually settle here and make this his permanent home.  With such a plan in his mind he returned to Alabama to get his family and make preparations for the move to Texas. (Huntsville, Our Historic Little City, Huntsville Item, 1926)

Gray returned 2 or 3 years later, accompanied by his family and his brother Ephriam.  On the northwest corner of what is now the court house square near the spot presently [1954] occupied by Walker County Hardware Company, Gray built his home. While living there, Pleasant Grays' wife Hannah, had a fourth child, David, who was the first baby to be born in  Huntsville.  Across the street from his house, near where the courthouse now stands, Gray built another log cabin which served as a trading post.  Dabney, White, "Watch Walker County Grow", Houston Chronicle, April 16, 1927.

On November 20, 1834, Gray wrote the Mexican government of Coahuila and Texas and presented the following petition:
" The Honorable Special Commission of the Enterprise of the Citizen Jose Vehlein:  I, Pleasant Gray, a native of the U. S. of the North, present myself before you, with due respect, and say: That attracted by the generous provisions of the colonization laws of this state, I have come with my family, consisting of my wife and three children to settle myself therein, if, in view of the attached certificate, you should see fit to admit me in the class of colonist, conceding to me one league of land in the vacant tracts of said enterprise.  Therefore, I supplicate to you to be pleased to grant me the favor which I implore, for which favor I shall live forever grateful." Deed Records of Walker County... Pleasant Gray

A decree ordering the land surveyed was issued a few days later, on November 24,  but it was the following year on July 10, 1835, before Gray was granted possession of seven square miles of land.

Gray's trade with the Indians was very successful, and his profitable business soon attracted other settlers to the new town, which he named after his native city of Huntsville, Alabama.  the settlement was laid off into blocks covering an area of one square mile.  The streets were; from north to south, Milam, Fannin, Cedar, Spring, Lamar and Tyler; and from east to west: Travis, Burton, Main, Jackson, Bell and Farris. Huntsville Item, McFarland, March 6, 1941

An extensive campaign was carried on to attract settlers from the U. S. with advertisements for the new town being carried in Alabama and New Orleans newspapers and tacked upon the offices of Mississippi River steamboats.  One traveler told Judge J. M. Smither, a former District Judge of the 12th Judicial District of Texas, of having seen in 1837, a handsomely gotten up platt of the "City of Huntsville, Texas", on the Steamboat River Byrne No. 2 on the Mississippi.

Huntsville was incorporated by act of Congress of the Republic of Texas on January 30, 1835, which reads in part as follows: Gammel, Laws of Texas, II       The act also provides for the election of a mayor, 6 aldermen, collector or constable, and a treasurer and a secretary.  Another act was passed January 1852, to re-incorporate the city.

Pleasant Gray sold his trading post in 1846, as he was no longer able to take care of it.  Two years later he left Huntsville headed for California on a prospecting tour, but died before reaching Santa Fe..  Although newspaper accounts attributed his death to cholera, another version was circulated among Huntsville citizens.  It seems that Gray admired a horse owned by an  Indian Chief in this area, and offered to buy the animal, but the Indian refused to sell. A short time later the Chief was found murdered and the horse appeared in the possession of Gray, but no proof could be found that he actually had anything to do with the crime.  The Indians had no doubt about the matter, however, and were reported to have followed him after he left for California and killed him in revenge.  (L. B. Baldwin as told to Baldwin by J. Robert King, Sr)

Huntsville's first frame house was constructed in 1841.  This was the Globe Tavern, which was located just north of the present [1954] office of the Item and across the street from the Methodist Church on Avenue L, or Jackson Street as it was in 1841.  The lumber for the building was sawed with a rip saw by Viser, who also sawed the lumber for the first frame house in Memphis, Tennessee. (Harriet Smith)

The Globe had an outstanding reputation in hostelry and was a favorite stopping place for many travelers passing through Huntsville especially in the early 1850's when the city was headquarters for the East Texas Stage Coach Lines, with some 10 or 12 coaches arriving daily.  The inn provided some type of entertainment every day of the week for the enjoyment of its customers and citizens of the town.  It also provided an ideal gathering place for politicians, who often stopped there seeking an opportunity to influence the crowd that frequented the place. (Item)

The first store building in Huntsville, other than the trading post was built by Gray close to the spring where he camped the first visit in the area in 1830, between the present jail and Aaronson Brothers Dry Goods store.  The building was constructed of logs, and was rented to Thomas Gibbs and Gardner Coffin for $2.50 per month, for the operation of a mercantile company.

The Keenan House was built in 1848 on the corner of Spring and Jackson, where Goolsby Drug is now [1954] located.  The main building with its stables to the rear occupied one quarter of the entire area with a reputation for ids delightful Southern cooking and excellent service, usually rendered by well trained Negro slaves.  The food and service, along with the wide, cool verandas and spacious rooms, made the Keenan House extremely popular with the traveling public.  the hotel burned in 1859 and was never rebuilt. (Cox, S.H.N.I.)

Another hotel, the Eutaw House, was constructed in 1850 on the corner of Jackson and Spring, at the present location [1954] of Wood Tire and Supply Company.  It was owned and operated by B. S. Wilson, who named it for his former home town in Alabama.  For 50 years this building provided Huntsville with another well kept and popular hotel and house of entertainment. (Smither, Reminisces, S.H.N.I., 59)

Huntsville's first brick store was built 1846-1847, and belonged to A. McDonald.  the next brick store was built in 1850 by Robert Smither and Brothers on Jackson Street.  this building burned in 1854, but was rebuilt the following year.  Robinson, Singletary and Company erected the next store on Cedar Street, followed by stores belonging to J. M. and L. C. Roundtree, on the corner of Cedar and Jackson.    T. and S. Gibbs, on Cedar, Randolph and Son: and J. C. and S. R. Smith and Company. Other brick stores were built after the Civil War, replacing many of the wooden structures which burned from time to time.

The first record of a scheduled mail service for Huntsville was that of a Star Route operated out of Houston via Huntsville to Cincinnati on the Trinity in 1839.  This route was served by stage coach, except in inclement weather, when several weeks sometimes elapsed before the coach could get through.

Neither envelope or postage stamp was used at this time;  the paper was folded and sealed with wax, while the amount of postage was written on the letter by the postmaster and collected from the addressee when the letter was delivered.  The postage rate for letters was 25 cents per sheet.  (Baldwin, former Post Master of Huntsville)

The only lighting in early day Huntsville was by lamps and candles and when citizens went out after dark many of them carried lanterns.  Street lights were not installed until sometime in the late 1870's when lamps were put on the 4 corners of the public square.  the water supply for the town came from shallow wells, cisterns, and springs found in the area.  There was no fire department in the town, and in the event of fire, a bucket brigade had to be formed to extinguish it.  A fire cart was purchased and a volunteer fire department was finally formed with the following articles appearing in the Item, February 9, 1856, to announce it's first meeting;  "FIRE ! We are requested to say the Huntsville Fire Company will hold their first meeting on Monday, the 11th instant, at two o'clock p. m. in the court house for the purpose of electing officers, and transacting other related thereto.  All who feel interested are invited to attend..."   the ringing of the church bells and the fire pistols provided the fire alarms for the community, calling out the citizens, who always turned out in force regardless of the time of night or the condition of the weather. (W. H. Woodall, "Memoirs", March 6, 1941)

Huntsville early streets ere so muddy in the winter that there were very little other than foot travel over them.  the stores had broad plank galleries in front to make it easier for the customers to get inside.  At one time after the advent of the railroad, the streets were so muddy that freight coming in on the train had to be carried to the stores in wheelbarrows.  Country people who came into town for previsions or to sell wood drove so many as 10 oxen to a wagon, in order to pull through he mud. (Woodall)

Pleasant Gray was responsible for the town's first cemetery.  In 1847 he deeded to the town, in consideration of one dollar, and his "...regard for the health, prosperity, and success of the people of Huntsville and its vicinity..." land for "... the purpose of a place of burial free to all persons and for no other purpose."  The plot fronted on Milam (now 9th) Street and reached as far as Travis (Avenue I) one one side and Houston Street (Avenue H) on the other.  Deed Records A, 209

The eastern section of the cemetery was reserved for colored people and most of the slaves brought the early settlers were laid to rest there. Additional acreage was acquired to the east of the colored section, and the cemetery was extended until it finally reached the Steamboat House where Sam Houston died.  Mrs. W. Addickes willed funds for the purchase of more land, and the Steamboat House was purchased and removed from that spot, the sire becoming the Addickes addition of the Oakwood Cemetery. (McFarland, Item, March 6, 1941)

Huntsville had many prominent men in it's early history whose graves are to be found in Oakwood.  Among them were General Sam Houston, Col. Henderson Yoakum, who wrote on e of the first histories of Texas, L. A. Abercrombie, a legislator who along with Col. W. G. Grant and others, helped locate Austin College in Huntsville, Mrs. Daniel Baker, wife of Dr. Daniel Baker, who secured money for the building of Austin College in Huntsville, and for  whom Daniel Baker College at Brownwood was named;  E. E. Thom, acting President of Austin College  1857-1858;  Dr. R. M. Ball, first President of Andrew Female College;  Capt Tom J. Goree, a member of General Longstreets staff in the Civil War; Dr. J. A. Thompson, a prominent Huntsville physician and planter;  William Barrett, who fought in the War of 1812, the Blackhawk War, the Mexican War and who was the architect of the old Austin College building;  Rev. Weyman Adair, the first Cumberland Presbyterian minister in this section of the state; Erasmus, Robert and Williamson Wynn, early planters and slave owners;  Dr. Charles Keenan, who was appointed by the U. S. Government to remove the Indians from Alabama and Florida to the Indian Territory; Dr. Rawlings, an outstanding physician in early Texas history; Dr. Samuel McKinney, President of Austin College 1852-1853 and 1862-1871; George Fitzhugh of Virginia, a noted sociologist and eco. of the Old South; James A Baker, lawyer and Judge; Rufus Heflin, well known educator; and many other pioneer citizens of Huntsville and Walker County who played important roles in the development of this area (S.H.S.T. C.)

The cemetery also contains the graves of 7 Union soldiers, Capt Stewart and 6 unknown  who died while being prisoners of war in the State pen at Huntsville.  A few of the slaves buried in the colored section are:  Aunt Jane Ward, slave of Col . Grant;  Josh Houston, bodyguard of Gen. Sam Houston; and Hiram Jones, a slave who became a  prominent politician after the Civil War.

A great many of the monuments in the cemetery have on them the date of 1867, bearing witness to the terrible extent of the yellow fever epidemic which swept through Huntsville in the late summer and early fall of that year.  An account by George Robinson in the Item provided a vivid description of the epidemic..... " A gentleman named Mynatt came up from below about the 4th of August with well marked symptoms of the disease, and on the 9th day died at one of the taverns.  Some of our citizens who had been residing below with several who had gone down for a few days, and some new comers came up about the same time as Mr. M.  Soon after, Mr. Wanekeey, who was of the number but had not been further than Houston - where the disease was not the epidemic - took fever and in about 4 days died.  His was a clear case of "black vomit" according to the writers information.  then Mr. Francher, a young lawyer, died on the following day as a cleat a case as Waneskeey's but he had not been below.  he had been exposed to the sun however a great deal, as he told the writer, had overheated himself by a ride of ____ miles, then dressed a lot of lumber for the schoolroom. _____ That night he went to bed sick.  ____ After death his skin turned yellow like a pumpkin.  There was a rumor of him having visited Mr. Mynatt during that gentleman's illness but this the writer cannot verify nor does he know what effect it would have on the case as Drs. say the only contagion is spread by sleeping in the same atmosphere with patients.  Per contract, Col  J. C.  Rawl and Capt B. F. Wright, who both came to town early in the epidemic, but saw no cases, went to their homes and died in a few days of the disease, as I have understood, and now Fancher died the next day after Wanekeey with black vomit... " Item, February 5, 1898, Reprinted by Robinson Oct. 1867

the fever spread rapidly and few homes were left uninvaded.  as in the earlier epidemic at Cincinnati in 1853, panic spread among the people in the town, and many families resorted to flight to neighboring communities, hoping to avoid the terrible disease.  Others, however, fearlessly stood their ground and helped fight the sickness.  The doctors in Huntsville seemed to have worked tirelessly to administer to the sick and bring the disease to a halt.  Dr. Markham, _____, Oliphant and Prince of Huntsville, along with Doctors Haslea and Williams from Galveston, all had the fever themselves but recovered.  Doctors Kittrrell, Moore and Baker, however, died of the disease.  Dr. Keenan was the only physician who did not contact the fever as he had perhaps built up an immunity to it in the Cincinnati epidemic.  In addition to the doctors, credit was due to many individuals from Cincinnati and New Orleans who had the fever and survived, for their invaluable assistance in caring for the sick.  Frank Creagner owned a steam sash factory in Huntsville, but the factory was used for another purpose during the epidemic.  According to Robinson, "The bulk of the last houses of the dead have been made when ordered has added much in stopping the spread of the dread contagion".  Terrible as was the epidemic in Huntsville, there were fewer deaths in proportion to the population than in most other places struck by the disease that summer.  the greatest number of internments any one day was 10, out of a population of about 1500 persons in that city.

Times in Huntsville were difficult in the late 1860's and in the early 1870's.  the Civil War had just ended when the yellow fever epidemic struck.  Such a combination was enough to deal any town a hazard blow, but Huntsville has been a prosperous little community, and although greatly staggered, it began a slow period of recovery.  the city and the county government were, following the war in the hands of the carpet bagger rule.  Voters all over the county had come into Huntsville to cast their ballots on election day.  They stood in line at the polls which were guarded by Negro soldiers.  No one was allowed to hold office who had not signed the "Iron Clad Oath" of the carpetbagger.  In 1872, although Huntsville had a white mayor, C. E. Chambers, the entire city council was made up of Negroes, as well as the county commissioners court.  (Woodall, "Memoirs, March 6, 1941)  Church records of this period showed that Negroes had membership in various denominations along with the whites.  the Methodist Church listed over 100 colored persons as members of the congregation.

More prosperous times, however, soon began to dawn on Huntsville.  the branch railroad came to the city in 1872, and Huntsville became a rather important trade center for the surrounding area, as well as a busy cotton market.  A cotton wharf was established in 1872, and by the year 1899 Huntsville was shipping out about 20,000 bales of cotton annually.  The establishment of S. H. N. I. [Sam Houston Normal Institute] in 1879 greatly added to the importance and prosperity of the city.  By the turn of the century, Huntsville could boast of having over 40 business establishments and a population of approximately 2,500 (Cox, S.H.N.I.)

The first newspaper ever published in Huntsville was the Montgomery Patriot,  Huntsville being in Montgomery County at that time.  The first issue appeared in May, 1845, but the paper was suspended the following year.  The Huntsville Banner, begun in 1846 by General Francis L. Hatch, took its place.  The Banner was published every Saturday morning and subscription rates were $2 per year.  the office of the paper was located on Jackson Street, now Avenue L.   Isaac Tousey and T. Gibbs were the Walker County agents for the paper and James W. Moore was the traveling agent.  The  last issue of the Banner was in 1849. (McFarland)

A religious weekly, the Texas Presbyterian, an organ of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church was the next paper to make an appearance in the city.  It was first established in Houston, in 1846, by Reverend A. J. McGowan, but was moved to Huntsville after about one year of operation, and continued there for 10 years.  Rev. Weyman Adair was the editor. (Boyce Smith, Andrew F.)

The Union Advocate was published during the 1856 campaign of the "Know Nothing Party", a violent anti-Catholic group; but the paper lasted less than a year, as the "Know Nothing" movement failed after its defeat in the campaign for the presidency. (McFarland)

George Robinson founded the Huntsville Item in 1850, after having come to Texas from Liverpool, England.  The first office of the paper was located on Spring Street, over what is now [1954] Felder Dry Goods Company which in those days was occupied by J. H. Morgan, a dentist.  Several changes in location had to be made, because of fires.  Publishing of the Item has not ceased since that time. (except for a few weeks after each of several fires), which makes the paper the oldest weekly newspaper in Texas with continuous publication.  Fires in 1892 and 1902 destroyed the files kept by the Item office up to that time; thus it is difficult to find copies prior to this other than a few intermittent issues in various state libraries and in the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.

Editor Robinson was considered the ablest newspaper man in Texas and at one time the Item was voted as the outstanding newspaper in the state at a meeting of over 15,000 citizens of Texas, whose purpose was that of ascertaining what paper in Texas was the most ably conducted and printed, in order that the patronage of the citizens might be properly devoted to the building up of at least one great paper.  Item, March 12, 1853. declared to have been chosen by a large majority of those present.

It is interesting to note some of the news items and advertisements published in the Item during it's first few years of publishing.  A few of these have been selected at random and quoted.

October 4, 1851.  the Eastern Stage whilst coming on Wednesday evening last, about a mile from Huntville was run away with horses, causing it to be upset, and severely injuring Miss McCleuny, a passenger from Houston County.

Dec 6, 1851: Escape of Convicts.  On Thursday afternoon the officials of our State Pen were aroused to activity by the attempted escape of convicts.   Dr Jesse Kirby had made several attempts to escape.  A short time ago he ran off with a ball and a chain attached to him, but was soon caught.  On last Thursday evening, he cut his chain by the use of his pocket knife, and was about to leave but was discovered before he was able to run off very far.  The guards fired at him and wounded him severely.... now he lies in the pen in a very precarious condition, supposed to be insane.  On the same day, another convict names Richard Bennett, affected his escape.  he was sent from Shelby County for having perpetrated murder in the second degree.  A reward of $100 has been offered for his apprehension.

January 8, 1853.  Our latest advice's from the Trinity are that it is again falling and three boats detailed in the river, on the up trip.

January 22, 1853.  On the 13 instant, the legislature saw fit among other matters to go into the election of U. S. Senator, General Sam Houston was the only candidate in nomination, yet the vote was not unanimous,  It stood.  Houston 65;  Hemphill 4;  Smythe 1.

The Southern Mail came in on Tuesday, very bulky.  It is the first one we have had in about 18 days.  the creeks have been so high, it has been impossible to get through.  We hear, however, from Mr. Viser, who returned from the Bedias on Wednesday, that the creek is nearly forbade, and the Trinity is falling fast.  We cannot have everything to suit, or the Trinity would stay up and let the creeks down.

List of Advertisers, issue of February 5, 1853
W. B. Clark, Teacher of Music, Dancing, and Etiquette
P. Finch - Huntsville Male Academy
Binford and Company - Merchants
J. A. Cabiness and F. Mersfielder Merchants
J. H. Morgan - Dentist
Wiley and Baker - Attorneys
Richard Rawls - Saddle and Harness Factory
Kittrell and Myers - Druggist
W. A. Leigh - Attorney
Wright - Edmondson - Land Buyers
P. J. Simons - Huntsville Exchange Grocery
H. N. Compton - Carriage and Wagon Shop
Groves and Mayo - Wagon and Carriage Makers
Rogers and Berkins and Company Hardware
Keenan House
Globe Hotel
John McCreary - Land Agency

February 5, 1853 Dancing,  waltzing, and etiquette W. B. Clark has the honor of presenting his compliments to the ladies and gentlemen of Huntsville and vicinity, and would inform them that he had engaged the room over Mr. Walker's store on the northeast corner of the square, where he will be pleased to impart the science to all interested in his care.  For terms and particulars, please call Mr. Clark at the Keenan House.

The Item remained in the possession of the Robinson family for more than 50 years, being operated after the death of George Robinson by his son, Fred.  The paper sold in 1902 to J. A. Palmer, who continues publication under the same name.

The First Baptist Church of Huntsville ws organized on September 16, 2844, at the Dean School House, by Z. N. Morrell, its first pastor and by Elder Thomas Horsely.  the school house was located at the northwest corner of  the present wall of the pen.  the first book of minutes begins thus...(omitted).  At the end of the proceedings "Elder S. N. Morrell then closed the organization by prayer and declared the same duly organized in accordance with the usage and customs of the Baptist Church.

Other points in the vicinity of the school house also served as meeting places until the first church building was dedicated in 1851, by D. ___.   Rufus C. Burleson, President of Baylor University, also dedicated the second church building, 40 years later, in 1871.  General Sam Houston and Margaret Houston were among the early members of the church, placing their membership in 1855.

The First Methodist Church

The congregation of the First Methodist Church came into being in the early 1850's, but the first church building was not erected until 1857, with the Rev. B. Davis as pastor at that time, and Thomas and Sanford Gibbs, Robert and Williamson Wynne, and Dr. J. A. Thompson serving on the Board of Stewards.  the dedication sermon was given by Rev. Robert Alexander.  A second building was erected in 1888, and a third following a fire in 1911 which damaged the old building.  This third church also burned in 1918, and the present building was constructed the next year.

The First Presbyterian Church

Church was organized by the President of Brazos, with Dr. Daniel Baker as Moderator and Dr. S. A. Moore, Elder in 1848.  Prior to the building of the church, services were held in the court house; in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church building, which was the first church ever erected in Huntsville in 1849.  A lot purchased in 1855 and the first building was erected in 1856.  In that year a new church was constructed which lasted until 1956, when a third church building was begun.

Episcopal Church

The episcopal congregation came into being prior to the Civil War, but no building was erected until after the war.  Services were held at various times in the old Cumberland Presbyterian Church, the Huntsville Oddfellows Hall, and in the court house.  Some of the more prominent early members of the congregation were:  Judge and Mrs. James Smither;  The George Robinson family;  Mrs. Thornton and family;  Mr. and Mrs. Rome;  and Professor W. A. Hooks.

The first Episcopal Church building was dedicated in 168, and was called Saint Stephen's Church.  Reverend W. R. Richardson, Rector of the Parish at that time, was instrumental in raising funds for its erection. ( Cox, S. H. N. I., 97-98)

First Christian Church

Reverend Joseph Addison Clark organized the First Christian congregation in Huntsville on January 1, 1854.  It was for a time served by several different preachers, the first regular pastor being Reverend Benton Sweeny, who was a teacher as well as a minister.  Later preachers were John T. Poe and Judge Joab H. Banton.  Prominent members of the congregation were Dr. Joseph Baldwin, President of Sam Houston Normal Institute; J. Lyle Smith; and H. C. Wright.  ( Boynton, "Data on Churches", The Huntsville Item, March 6, 1941)

Schools of Huntsville

Milton Estill, a Cumberland Presbyterian minister and later Chief Justice of Walker County, constructed the earliest known school in Huntsville, holding classes on weekdays and religious services on Sunday.  (McFarland, "A History of Huntsville", Item, March 6, 1941)
The first real educational institution in Huntsville was names the "Huntsville Academy", but was known to the citizens of the town as "Old Brick Academy".  It was built by voluntary contributions of the townsfolk in the year 1845 upon a 5 acre tract of land deeded by Pleasant Gray, for a one cent consideration, to William Viser, Thomas Gibbs, M. Barrett, F. L. Hatch, and M. C. Rogers, trustees of the school", for the purpose of education in general.  (Deed Records of Walker County II, 433.)

The academy was incorporated the next year.  the site of the Huntsville Academy is now within the walls of the Texas Penitentiary.  Some of the early members of the faculty at the academy were:  Dr. Sam McKinney;  Mrs., M. L. Branch;  Mrs. James A. Baker; and Miss Melinda Rankin.  ( H. F. Estill, "Huntsville: Historic City", Texas State Historical Association, III, 265.)

For a time the school admitted only boys, but later took in girls, changing its name to the "Huntsville Male and Female Academy."  Under this name and advertisement appeared in The Texas Banner, which declared:  "The next session of this institution commences May 31, 1847, under the charge of G. H. B. Grigsby, (late of Virginia), assisted in the female department by Miss Melinda Rankin, (of New Hampshire)."  The tuition fees, ranging from $7.50 to $20.00, were also stated.  A final charge created the "Huntsville Female Academy", and boys ere no longer admitted. (McFarland, Item, March 6, 1941)

A legislative act dated March 16, 1848, provided for the incorporation of the "Huntsville Male Institute", and names Thomas G. Birdwell, Benjamin S. Wilson, George W. Rogers, James T. Sims, and Thomas King as its trustees.  (Gammel, Laws of Texas, III, 404)

McCormack, Anson Jones, Abner Lipscomb and Joseph W. Hamptom the trustees of the college, which was "...to be established in or neat the town of Huntsville in Walker County and to be incorporated by the name of Austin College."  The first meeting of the Board of Trustees was held in Huntsville on April 5, 1850.  Daniel Baker was chosen as President pro-tem, and served until Rev. Samuel McKinney was elected President of the college, and ex-officio president of the Board.  Baker in telling of the selection of the site for the school said: "...At this meeting of the Board the site for the college building was fixed upon. Two places had been offered -- Capitol Hill, on the south, and Cotton Gin Hill on the north of the town.  I had in my own mind settled on the latter place, and supposing there might be a few votes against it, and wishing the vote to be in favor to be recorded as unanimous, I rose up and made a speech, stating how important was unanimity in this case before us, and expressing a desire that when the will of the majority was ascertained, the minority would yield with good grace...  Well, the vote was taken, and lo and behold, Capitol Hill carried the day by an overwhelming majority!...I complied with my own prescription and swallowed it down."

Classes were first held in the Huntsville Academy building, but on St. John's Day, Tuesday, June 24, 1851, in conjunction with a program by the Masonic Grand Chapter of the State, then in session at Huntsville, the cornerstone was laid for the Austin College building.  Adolphus Sterne, appointed by the Masons as Marshall of the Day for the occasion, described in his diary the activities of the day, which included a large scale public dinner and a ball at the court house that night.  Sterne formed the procession at the Public Square, and marched up to the Capitol Hill and the building site.  The day being extremely hot, with little or no shade, General Houston held an umbrella over Dr. McKinney, who made a speech of dedication.

In addition to the other academic courses offered at the Austin College was a Law Department under the supervision of Royal T. Wheeler, of the Supreme Court of Texas, and Henderson Yoakum.  Distinguished lawyers of Texas frequently gave lectures at the college; among these was Abner S. Lipscomb, a trustee of the college who had previously been a member of both the Alabama and the Texas Supreme Courts.

The War between the States took a great many of both students and faculty away from the college to serve in the Confederate Army, but the school managed to stay open, with the smaller boys attending and the older students conducting the classes.  In 1876, however, the college ended its existence in Huntsville, and wa moved to Sherman, where it still operates.  Presidents who served the college while it was located in Huntsville were:  Dr. Sam McKinney, 1850-1853 and 1862-1870;  Rev. Daniel Baker, 1853 until his death in 1857;  Rev J. W. Miller, 1857-1858; Rev R. W. Bailey, 1858-1862; and Fr. S. M. Luckett, 1870-1877.

Andrew Female  College

Andrew Female College was incorporated by act of the Texas Legislature on February 7, 1853, which names Andrew J. Wiley, Francis A. McShan, Robert Wynne, J. Carroll Smith, C. H. Keenan, Henderson Yoakum, Daniel Baker, Williamson Wynne, Anthony C. Parmer, D. J. Ransome, Andrew J. McGowan, Pleasant W. Kitterell, and Micajah C. Rogers as a Board of Trustees.

The college was named for James Osgood Andrew, Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church.  The doors of the institution were opened May 16, 1853, with Dr. James Follensbec as the first President.  Arrangements had been made by the Board of Trustees to use the Huntsville Academy building until suitable college buildings could be constructed.  A three-story building to house the college wa soon completed, having been financed through funds donated by citizens of Huntsville.  It was located on Cotton -Gin Hill, on the present site od the Huntsville Elementary School [1954].

In n1855, a new, two-story building was erected, situated in the center of a densely shaded campus and enclosed by a four foot wall.  Entrance to the school grounds was by means of stiles.

The college was organized into preparatory and collegiate departments.  The preparatory department consisted of Elementary, Juvenile, and First Class, while the Collegiate Department hd the usual Freshmen, Sophomore, Junior and Senior departments.

Classes were conducted in such subjects as English, Mathematics, the classics, natural sciences, modern languages, drawing, penmanship and religion.  The diploma, signed by the President of the college, the members of the Board of Trustees, conferred upon the graduate the "Title and Degree of Mistress of Polite Literature."

A gradual decline brought about the end of Andrew Female College, in 1879.  Public schools in Texas had been ever on the increase, and there was no longer a great need for the denominational colleges which played such an important part in early Texas education.  the year 1879 also marked the beginning of S. H. N. I., which attracted many of the students who might otherwise have attended Andrew Female College.  the property of the school acquired by the City of Huntsville, and was used for public school purposes.

Mitchell College

Taking the place of Austin College, following it removal to Sherman was Mitchell College for boys, held in the old Austin College building , which was purchased by the Methodist Church for that purpose, in 1877.  The School was named for Rev. Mitchell of the Huntsville Methodist Church, who made numerous trips to secure funds for the operation of the college.  Professor R. O. Rounsaval, a former member of the faculty of Andrew Female College was in charge of the institution, which only lasted for a very short period.

Bishop Ward Normal and Collegiate Institute

Presiding Elder C. Porter of the Methodist Church established the Bishop Normal and Collegiate Institute for Negroes in Huntsville, in 1883.  the Board of Trustees consisted of 30 Negroes, among them being Memphis Allen, Alex Wynne, Will Mills, Strother Green and William Kitterell.  The faculty ws composed of well-informed conscientious Southern Negroes, such as C. W. Luckie, who was later principal of the Huntsville Negro School and also a professor of English at Prairie View College.  the school was forced to close after a time because of lack of funds.

Sam Houston Normal Institute

Col. G. W. Grant, S. R. Smith, and Judge Benton Randolph were members of a committee sent to Austin by the citizens of Huntsville to tender the state the site and building of the old Austin College, which had been purchased by the town, for the erection of a state college, to be called Sam Houston.  Col L. A. Abercrombie of Huntsville was at that time a member of the Texas Senate, and with the help of Judge J. R. Burnett and the Col Charles Stewart, he was able to put out a bill through the legislature providing for the erection of the college, which was then approved by Governor O. M. Roberts, on April 21, 1879.

Dr. Barnas Sears, General Agent of the Peabody Education Fund, was instrumental in getting the new college underway.  His visit to Texas and the resulting promise of aid from the Peabody Fund for the establishment of such an institution helped to spur the legislature into action.  Sears made the  nomination of H. H. Smith of Houston and Benard Mallon of Atlanta, Georgia, the position of first principal of the college, with the State Board of Education  making the final decision, choosing Mallon.

On October 10, 1879, President Mallon opened the first term of S. H. N. I. in the former Austin College building.  the faculty at that time consisted of President Mallon, O. H. Cooper, Mrs. Isabella Mallon, Mrs., A. A. Reynolds.  Mallon entered upon his new duties with enthusiasm and expressions of hope for the future, but on October 21, the first president of the institution dies.  He was succeeded by H. H. Smith, Superintendent of Public Schools in Houston, whose daughter, Mrs. Fannie Whitesides, was also elected to the faculty as assistant.

The first few terms of the new school were marked by a rapid turnover of the faculty.  Mrs. Mallon, widow of the late President, resigned at the close of the first term.  Mrs. M. I. Allen and Miss L. W. Elliot were elected to the faculty in 1880, while at the end of the second term, the resignation of President Smith, Professor Cooper, Mrs. Whitesides and Mrs. Allen were tendered.  In the fall of 1882, Dr. Joseph Baldwin was chosen to fill the vacant President's position, and Professors C. P. Estill, I. R. Dean, H. C. Pritchett, and Miss Olivia Baldwin were chosen as assistants.  Also in that year, Judge Benton Randolph was made treasurer of the local Board of Directors of the college, which consisted of L. A. Abercrombie, Dr. T. W. Markham, and Col. G. W. Grant, H. F. Estill was chosen, in 1882. to fill the vacancy created by the death of his father, C. P. Estill, as teacher of English, Literature, and Latin.  Many other changes took place in the next few years, bringing to the faculty such outstanding teachers as Miss Bertha Kirkly, beginning in 1891,,  Miss Augusta Lawrence, 1894, and others who put in many long years of faithful service to the school.

The growth of the school was rapid, causing a demand for greater facilities.  the 21st Texas Legislature appropriated, largely as a result of the efforts of Col. AL. A. Abercrombie, $40,000 for the erection of an additional building, the cornerstone of which was laid on September 23, 1888.  the new building, now known as "Old Main", was completed and dedicated at the opening of the 12th session o the school, on September 23, 1890/

By 1899 the number of graduates of S. H. N. I.  was 117, as compared with 77 in 1884, and 37 for the first graduating class.  Total enrollment for 1899 was 479 students.  the faculty at this time included: H. G. Prichett, President; H. F. Estill, teacher of Language and destined to be 5th President of S. H.; Miss L. W. Elliot, Literature;  Miss Lulu McCoy, Reading, Drawing and Methods; J. L. Prichett, Math; Robert B. Bailey, Physics and Chemistry.

This Huntsville Male Academy, as it came to be called, occupied a frame building east of the avenue of Cedars on the O. B. Gallaspie property near Oakwood Cemetery, and was presided over by Rev. Milton Estill, Dr. Samuel McKinney, J. M. Follansbec, and others.

Austin College

A t a called meeting of the Presbytery of the Brazos, at Washington, in June 1849m Rev. Daniel Baker, Rev. J. W.  Miller, and W. C. Blair were appointed as a committee to examine the territory between the Brazos and Trinity Rivers for the purpose of deciding on the location of a Presbyterian college.  The report on this committee recommended Huntsville as the most desirable site for the school.  Daniel Baker wa appointed financial agent, to arrange the raising of funds to build the college.

While in Huntsville for the holding of a religious meeting, Baker broached the subject of the proposed college to some of the prominent citizens of the town, inquiring if they desired the establishment of a school there.  A town meeting was called, and great enthusiasm was expressed for the idea.  General Houston was even reported to have voiced the opinion that it would be a great advantage to Huntsville to have a Presbyterian college located there than to have the city made the seat of government for the state, for which it had been previously considered.  Subscription papers "...for the erection and support of a college by the Presbyterian Church, at or within a mile of Huntsville, Texas, to be called Baker College", were circulated in the city and soon $8,000 worth had been subscribed.  Baker respectfully declined the honor of having the college named for himself; instead it came to be called  Austin College, in honor of Stephen F. Austin. (Daniel Baker, Life and Labours of Daniel Baker, 388-390)

Walter M. Coleman, Physics and Natural History; Miss Annie Estill, Gym; Miss Bertha Kirkley, Assistant in Latin and History; Miss Sue Smither, Math;  Miss Rosa Buchanan, Grammar,; Miss Ida Lawrence, History and Geography;   Miss Mary Abercrombie Finch, Music;  Miss Anna G. Loring, Miss Augusta Lawrence, Miss Ellas Smither, Assistant in Texas History and Librarian.

The towns to be considered in this chapter are Waverly, New Waverly, Phelps, Dodge, and Riverside.  There are a great many other communities in the county of lesser size, with many of them having histories dating back to the very early years of the county, but it is not the purpose of this investigation to make the extensive survey which would be required were they to be included.  Rather than ignore them completely, however, there are here mentioned by name, with the possibility that some have been overlooked.
 

Waverly is located in the southeastern corner of Walker County.  Today it is little more than a "ghost" town, with only a few houses still there, but it was once a prosperous community.  the town was named by Maxey Lewis, and early settler, for Sir Walter Scott's Waverly Novels, which he was so fond of reading. (Mrs. G. B. Oliphant, Huntsville)

The first man to come to the Waverly vicinity was James W. Winters, who arrived from Alabama in 1835.  He cleared land and built a house with the assistance of some friendly Indians in the neighborhoods.  Next came Col. John C. Abercrombie, who made a preliminary visit to the Waverly area searching for a suitable location to settle and secure land.

Abercrombie was also from Alabama, having made the trip to Texas on horseback in 1850.  The year 1851 saw the departure from Alabama of Hamlin Lewis, Maxey Lewis, Robert Lindsey Scott, John Elliot Scott, Dr. Townsend, and William Lovett, in addition to many other planters and a great number of slaves, on their way to settle in the Waverly region.  The party traveled by the land route, riding in carriages, buggies, wagons, and on horseback.   While passing through New Orleans many of the group were stricken with cholera and died, among them Hamlin, Lewis, Townshend and the two Scotts.  The remaining members of the party reached Waverly safely.

In 1851, William P. Fletcher, his sons Horatio and Lorenzo, Dr, J. A. Thompson, and several friends came to Texas with a view to buying land, and purchased several hundred acres in the Waverly area of Walker County.  two or three years later they moved their families to Texas, having sent the overseer and slaves prior to that time for the purpose of hewing and dressing logs and constructing houses.  In 1856, Dr. John Fletcher Fisher, son of William Fisher, moved to Waverly to settle, after having made trips to visit his father.  (Mrs. J. A. Hill, History of Fisher Families, in possession of Mrs. G. B. Oliphant, Huntsville)

The main industry of the Waverly area was cotton farming, as might be expected from the type of men who settled that region.  The climate was mild and humid, and the long growing season with the hot summer days, yet plenty of rainfall, was ideal for that particular crop.  The settlers brought many slaves with them, and soon had large and prosperous plantations in operation, with many of them having a great number of slaves.  In addition to cotton, each plantation produced other crops and products needed to make them as nearly self-sufficient as possible.  there was an abundance of meat, vegetables, meal for making bread, fruit, eggs, butter and milk.  The surrounding woods abounded with game and wild fruits, berries and nuts.

A necessary part of each plantation was the cotton gin.  the gin-houses were constructed of large square logs hewn from timber cut in the surrounding woods.  the gin was operated by wooden-geared machinery' with each gin also having a cotton press made of wood.  Power for the operation of the gin was supplied by mules or oxen, and a good days ginning usually produced about 3 bales.  Some of the cotton was retained on the plantation to take care of the needs of it's inhabitants, but most of the crop was sold.

Waverly was surveyed in 1858 by John R. Johnson, surveyor of Polk County, and the town was marked off in blocks.  The streets of the town were North, Main, Concert and Amity streets, running form north to south;  and College, Commerce, and Forrest streets, from east to west.  the town was incorporated and the papers recorded on July 10, 1858.

In the earlier period the town of Waverly was very prosperous.  Several stores and businesses were to be found there, and the town was proud of its Waverly Institute, a school incorporated by an act of the Texas legislature on August 29, 1856.  It was so successful that Waverly soon became a noted education center, with many students attending from the surrounding counties and some even farther away.  Col. John Hill of Waverly was instrumental in bringing teachers to the community to operate the school.. The first teachers were: Miss Shackleford from LA;  Mr. Davis; Professor C. Gustav Fitze, teacher of music. (Minnie Fisher Cunningham)

Waverly Institute was actually composed of  two school buildings.  One was the Female Academy, located on the southwest corner of College and Amity streets, while the Male Academy was on the northwest corner of College and Concert streets.  Both were constructed of logs.  During the Cicvil War the two academies were combined, with the Old Male Academy building, thereafter serving as a church.

Friday afternoons were set aside at the Institutes to give the students opportunity to demonstrate to their parents the skills acquired during the week in declamation composition, and music.

The main church groups in Waverly consisted of Methodist, Presbyterian, and some Episcopalians.  Dr. James E. Scott, a Methodist preacher, built a church for his congregation at the corner of Main and College Streets.  The Presbyterians organized their church under the Presbytery of Brazos and held their first regular services in 1860, with R. H. Byers as the first pastor.  The Episcopalians did not have regular services, but conducted them occasionally in the Methodist Church building. (Lewis, Retrogression of a Rural Community, 13-14)

Following the Civil War, Waverly began a period of decline.  When the slaves were freed there was insufficient labor to work the plantations so the farmers tried to organize a company for the importation of Polish immigrants, who would work the plantation in return for advancement of transportation costs in coming to this country.  The scheme was somewhat like the old indentured servant system of colonial times, except that the Polish immigrants were to be paid salaries, and were to replay the funds advanced for transportation.  the plan did not succeed and only six immigrant families were ever brought over.  In addition to the labor problems, the land had been worn out by careless use.

The final blow to prosperity of the community came about by failure to permit the Houston and Great Northern Railroad to build a line through the town.  the citizens feared that if would be against the best interests of the community, and, as a result, the track was laid 10 miles west of Waverly.  Most of the families then moved from the dying town.

New Waverly

The town of New Waverly had its beginning with the sounding of the death knell of "Old" Waverly.  the Houston and Great Northern Railroad Company, unable to obtain the land in the vicinity of Waverly through which it had originally intended to build the new line, was forced to lay it instead approximately 10 miles west of Waverly, at the point they erected a station.  The building was known as "Waverly Station", even though it was several miles from the community of that name.  When the area around the station began to be settled, a post office was established and was called "New" Waverly, to distinguish it from the post office in the older community.  Finally, to avoid the confusion of having a Waverly Station at New Waverly, the station took the name applied it to the post office.

Many of the first residents of the new railroad town came from the older community to the east, which could no longer provide a living for all of its citizens.  Among these were the A. T. Hill family, the Traylors, the R. A. Thompson family, the J. A. Hill family, and some of the Fishers.  Other settlers living in the New Waverly area, some of whom had been there long before the towns came into existence, were the Powells, the Scotts, the Harts, the Clarks, and the Bass, Spiller and Derry families.  Most of these people owned farms in the vicinity of the new town.  (Felix Hardy, New Waverly)

The first store to be established in the new settlement was operated buy John McGar, and carried general merchandise.  Other stores were run by J. C. McKibbin, J. R. Hill, who had a grocery business;  S. Brown , general merchandise; a store run by Mrs. Gatz; and a dry goods store by a Jewish man named Strange.  A hotel for the accommodation of any train passengers who stopped over was operated by Mr. McKeen. (A. C. Kmiecik, New Waverly).

The first cotton gin in New Waverly, other than those on individual farms, was established by J. R. Traylor, and was hand operated.  A more modern gin was later built and operated by Mike Skropenski.

The protestant church groups existing in the community were primarily Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptists.  the establishment of church building was not accomplished for some time, but most of the denominations used the one-room school for their services.

A map of New Waverly filed in the Deed Records of Walker County. on February 2, 1881, showed the town to be divided into about 10 blocks, ,all east of the railroad tracks.  The street were called Front, Elmore, Fisher, Walker, Gibbs, and Sleight.  ne of the oldest roads in the state, from Swartwout to Longstreet, passed through New Waverly, over Fisher Street.  Another road went to Huntsville, and a third to Willis.  these were the only roads of importance in the early community, although there were others leading to the nearby farms.

In 1872,  a number of Catholic families immigrated from Poland and settled in the vicinity of New Waverly and Danville, which was a farming community located about 4 miles from New Waverly. Father Orzechowski built a Catholic Church in Danville, but it was closed a few years later by his successor, Father Victor Lincki, and a new church was begun in New Waverly to serve the Catholics of the area.  Father Lincki was called away before the church was completed, but his successor, Adam Laski, finished the church and also constructed a small rectory.  Laski's successors were Fathers Polyanski, Wilninowicz. Grabinger, Litwora, and Jacob Chakearz.  In 1892 the Reverend Theodore Jarron was appointed to the church and under his administration, the church was improved and a Catholic school built. (History of St. Joseph's Parish, in possession of A. C. Kmiecik, New Waverly)

Phelps

Phelps got its name form Phelps-Dodge Corporation that financed the building of the Houston and Great Northern Railroad through the area.  It was the plan of the railroad company to have towns placed about 8 miles apart along the track between Conroe and Trinity.  This plan was originally carried out and the designation of Phelps was at first midway between New Waverly and Dodge, about 8 miles distant from each.  the town was laid out and began at the point where the old Black Jack Community is now located.  When Huntsville built its branch railroad line to connect with the main line it was through the connection point that would be a better location for a town site, so Phelps was moved there in 1872-1873.  The families at Phelps still bury their dead in Black Jack cemetery, and no other has been established in Phelps itself. (P. H. Singletary, Huntsville)

From the beginning, the main source of revenue in Phelps was from the passengers for the railroad who came there from Huntsville to catch the main line train.  The "Huntsville Tap Line" did not operate at night, consequently, the persons desiring to catch mid-line trains often had to go several hours ahead of time then wait in Phelps until their train arrived.  A large hotel was built, and it carried on a prosperous business with these guests who had difficulty in making connections.  Besides the hotel there was, in the early years of Phelp's existence, a general merchandise store, run by Ed McGar, and another store operated by a Mr. Edmunds, who is also the agent at the depot.  A post office was established at an early date, and the first post master was a Mr.Winters.  A one-room frame building was erected to serve as the Phelps school house and church combined, with the various denominations al holding services in the same building. (rs. L. R. Swearington; Mrs. J. B. Wooten; Mrs. Ella Sloan, Phelps, Texas)

As time went on more families moved into the area, and farming and cattle raising came to be the principle industries of the region.  Lumbering was also undertaken, and two saw mills were established, one in Phelps and another , Sloan's Mill, about 3 miles from town.  the mills prospered, causing an even greater growth of the town.

Some of the early settlers of Phelps were the Watsons, the Fergusons, the McGars, the Taylors, the Stricklands and the Sebruns.

Charlie Sebrun, who ran the hotel, had quite a reputation, not only as a hotel man, but for his occasional escapades with firearms as well.  There were a few of the 4th of July barbecues that were not enlivened by a shooting scrape in which he was not involved.  On one such occasion, when the dancing was at its liveliest and the colored orchestra was rendering music, Sebrun opened fire and killed a man right by the bandstand.  The musicians, with instruments dangling from cords around their necks, lost no time in getting back to the passenger train that stood waiting on the track some 200 yards away.

Later in the 20th century, with the development of better roads and highways, the branch line from Huntsville ceased to do as much business as formerly, and Phelps began to lose much of its patronage.  the two old sawmills of the town eventually closed, causing further decline of the community.  Today, Phelps has lost the glamour and size of its earlier years, but it still remains as a fairly substantial farming community.  the railroad still runs through the town but Phelps is no longer the important stopping point it once was.  ( P. H. Singletary)

Dodge

Although Dodge did not become a town until Houston and Great Northern Railroad built its line between Houston and Palestine, in 1872, it is one of the oldest settlements in the community.  William H. Palmer settled in the Dodge area in 1825, with his wife, after coming here from Tennessee.  Palmer was followed in 1830 by William H. Barker from Monroe, Louisiana.  Barker was a grandfather of the late Dr. Eugene Baker, a well known Texas historian at the University of Texas.  Next came John Roark and family from Tennessee, followed in 1834 by John Carothers, who received a league of land from the Mexican government on which the town of Dodge was laid out.  By the time of the Battle of San Jacinto the community was a thriving settlement, and a few of the settlers of that area fought in that engagement.

During the years of the Republic of Texas the community continued to grow and prosper.  Among the settlers coming were James Gallaspie, Haden Watts, Green Webb, Russell Roark, and others, whose prosperity was to give the historic town of Dodge most of its families of later years. (William Watts, Huntsville)

An interesting story is told about Russell Roark, a dealer in livestock.  He fell in love with Sarah Ann Palmer, daughter of William Palmer, the community's first settler and proud and successful farmer.  When Sarah Ann's father refused to let her marry a "horse trader" she and  her beau eloped, riding all night on mule back to find a preacher to perform the service.  In due time they were forgiven by the girl's father, and remained all their lives in the Dodge community. (Morely, Dodge Community History)

Dodge was chiefly a farming community first, and in the earlier days most of the farming was done on a large plantation with slaves doing the work.  Later, cattle raising came into prominence, and eventually the lumbering industry began to figure in the development of the community.  Several saw-mills were established near by to take advantage of the timber to be found in the region.

Other than those already mentioned, some of the early heads of families of Dodge were DeWitt Carter, Justice of the Peace, and also a school teacher; Buck Webb, a farmer;  Jim Vann;  Jim Jefferies;  E. T. Josey, who operated a grist mill; Jim Burke;  Joe Wooten; Bob Weisinger; Jim Lewis;  John Morse; Dr. Randolph;  Dr. Love;  Dr. Hale, who ran the drug store; Ab Wyatt, the saloon keeper; and others.  The citizens were for the most part, a very religious group, and churches in the community were well attended.

For their social activities, the people of Dodge often had all day singings and "dinner on the ground", dancing and other activities.

Riverside

The town of Riverside is situated on the John J. Porter league on the west side of the track of Houston and Great Northern Railroad and consists of eight blocks.  The town failed to develop as expected, however, and a short time later it was redesigned, this time consisting of only one block, but other blocks were eventually created.

For many years there was no railroad bridge crossing at the Trinity River at Riverside.  The trains going from the south would discharge passengers at Riverside, back up to a turntable at Dodge, and then make the return trip to Houston;  while those coming from the north would also discharge passengers at Riverside a, back to the turntable at Trinity and then return to Palestine.  A ferry operated at Riverside carried the passengers across the river so they could continue their journey.  This break in the rail line worked to the advantage of the town.  A large hotel was built to accommodate the overnight passengers, and several stores were opened. to take care of their needs.  C. E. Heald opened a saloon and a livery stable, while his wife ran the hotel.  A Mr. Bethea put in a grist mill, and a drug store was established, as well as several mercantile businesses. (Helen Walterman, Riverside)

While the town in general prospered with the coming of the railroad, there was only  one project which had to be abandoned.  This was an oil mill being erected on the banks of the Trinity to serve the riverboat trade.  Realizing that the railroad would seriously reduce the steamboat traffic, the mill construction project was abandoned before completion.  The remains of the old brick building can still be seen on the river bank. (Mrs. Dave Dominy, Riverside)

Riverside also grew into a prosperous farming area, and at one time held the distinction of being a very important cotton market, but the town began a period of decline.  A contributing factor to this was the building of a new railroad bridge across the Trinity, so that the passengers no longer had to stop at Riverside.  At the peak of its growth, the town had a population of approximately 400, but by 1890 it had been reduced to 178. (Richardson, East Texas Its History and Its Makers)  In later years with the establishment and operation of Fuller's Earth plant in the town, a small measure of the former prosperity returned, but that industry itself ha since suffered a decline.

Riverside may boast of having had hardy pioneers of good stock, who believed in the importance of adequate schools and churches.  the first school house opened in 1875, and a Baptist and a Methodist Church have existed there since the early days ( John Weinzerl, Riverside)

Among the early settlers who now rest in Riverside Cemetery the following families are represented:  The Wilsons, the Kellys, the Vickers, the Traylors, the Kohls, the Werners, the Warrens, the Rigbys, the Domineys, the Clintocks, the Burkes, the Fitzgeralds, the Healds, and many others.  Most of the people who make up the present population of Riverside are members of those old families.

Not far away from Riverside there was once located one ot the oddest plantations in the county, established by the Thomas family.  It was situated on the banks of the Trinity and maintained its own landing for shipping cotton.  Two cemeteries remain on the old site today, with one containing members of the Thomas family itself, and the other one containing graves thought to be those of slaves.

Walker County has five ghost towns which were once flourishing and prosperous communities.  Four of these were located on the Trinity River, in the northern part of the county, and owed their existence to the steamboat traffic on the river.  they were Cincinnati, Newport, Carolina and Tuscaloosa.  The fifth, Elmina, was located in the southern part of the county, about one mile north of the present day town of New Waverly.  It was at one time  a busy lumbering community.  These are the five ghost towns to be considered in this chapter, although there are some others, but of lesser size and importance when they existed.

Cincinnati

Cincinnati was founded 1837-1838 by James C. DeWitt, and was an important port until it was ravaged by the yellow fever epidemic of 1853.   It was at that time almost wiped out, but later regained a portion of its importance, only to die once again as a result of the decline of steamboat traffic on the Trinity, which had brought it into being in the first place.  By the year 1884 the population of the area was given at 35 and even those people gradually left, until today there are no residents at all to be found at the location of the former town, which at one time numbered 500 or 600 people, and was even larger than Huntsville in the earliest days of the two settlements.  (W. R. Webb, The Handbook of Texas)

Today the visitor to the site of once busy shipping port will see very few reminders of the old town; the area is used as grazing land for a large number of cattle.  There are a few scattered bricks and stones which were once part of some of the buildings there, but most of such evidence had been removed.  There is an old well still to be seen, which was used by the people of the town to supply their water, but it is no longer in used.  A marker was erected by the State of Texas in 1936 to indicate the town site, and to the casual visitor unfamiliar with the area, this marker would be the only thing to show that there  had once been a town there.

The site of the old settlement is located on a high bluff overlooking  the Trinity, from which may be obtained a very picturesque view of the river.  Off to one side of the town site there is an old cemetery, with only a few tombstones remaining.  One lot enclosed by an iron fence, and the graves in there have been better preserved than others within the once large cemetery area.  Traces of some of the old roads leading into the town may still be seen id one looks carefully.

In 1837 H. M. Crabb deeded to James C. DeWitt on labor of land "...to be selected by him as his natural headright..."  the area DeWitt selected had been granted to Crabb by the government of Coahuila and texas from the allotment of the empresario, Joseph Vehein, and was located on the Trinity River.  Shortly after this grant was made, DeWitt began selling lots in the surveyed area known as the town of New Cincinnati.  The area was surveyed by William Charles Brookfield, who was granted 5 town lots in Cincinnati as payment for his work.  The town was well laid off and was divided into 40 blocks fronting on the Trinity River.  One block was set aside as a public square.  The streets running to the river were Water, Brookfield, DeWitt, Hall, Commerce and Grimes streets, and the cross streets  were Trinity, Jackson, Richie, Main, Fowle, Walnut, Milam and Pennsylvania.

James DeWitt died in the latter part of 1838 or 1839, shortly after getting his town underway.  DeWitt's wife, Sarah Ann, married Frederick Pomeroy, a leading citizen of Cincinnati, in 1839.  Pomeroy later appointed Isaac Tousey as attorney to settle the estate of DeWitt.

The development of Cincinnati seems to have gotten off to a rather slow start.  The town was visited in April, 1839, by Adolphus Sterne, who wrote in his diary, "Mr. Clapp has built a good home for travelers, about 8 or 10 others smaller, saw only one store."  When Sterne visited the place again in August 1843 he wrote, "Cincinnati has not much improved since I saw it last."  Miss Melinda Rankin, a resident of Cincinnati, also writes of the slow growth of the settlement during its first few years.  She seems to attribute this to a great extent to the poor moral standards of the town which she thought discouraged others from moving into the area.  However, at the time she wrote, she said things seemed to be improving and that the prospects for the town were looking better.  A building had been constructed which was to serve as both church and school, and this, she felt, would greatly improve the moral and intellectual standards of the community.

It seems that Cincinnati never had a very good reputation for morality, however.  In 1868 John F. Kelly, a newcomer from Ireland an an employee of Dr. J. H. Smith, who ran a store in Cincinnati, made several entries in his diary concerning the character of many of the persons with whom he had dealings. "Oh, Texas, thy youth are truly demoralized."  In his opinion,  "Very few of them are truly faithfully honest -- very few indeed."  In describing what he considered to be the average character of the Texans, Kelly said, "They lack (very much indeed) the experienced ingenuity and skill as well as that indomitable spirit of the go aheaditiveness so prevalent in the Northern character... They have been too much accustomed to leading an easy, indolent  life, hence their lack of enterprise and haste..."  In regard to promises made by Texans Kelly had this to say; "But. 'Shaw' talk about the people of this state being punctual to what they promise.  this in undoubtedly less principal and honor attached to these people in that respect than any I have ever known.  May I never experience such a collection of beings in any part of the union." (John F. Kelly, Diary, entry of April 3, 1868)

Frederick Pomeroy and Isaac Tousey seem to have been two of the town's most prominent citizen.  They ran a store in partnership, and each owned large areas of land in the vicinity of the town.  Pomeroy also owned a ferry, a brickyard, and a tanyard.  A license to keep the ferry was necessary, for which the operator has to pay $25 a year in addition to posting bond.   The ferry was necessary for the stage line, and there were quite a few people living on the other side of the river from the town itself who crossed to trade in Cincinnati.  When the water was high there seemed to have been a difficulty in crossing the river.  Kelly mentions in his diary on April 19, 1868, that on that day they had the first customer from over the river since the overflow 3 weeks prior.

The business establishments in Cincinnati were numerous, in addition to those already mentioned as being operated by Pomeroy and Tousey.  Robert and John Matthews were ginwrights and wagon and furniture makers.  An advertisement placed by them in the Item, January 29, 1853, gives us a description of their business:   R. & J. Matthews - Ginwrights, Wagon, and Furniture Makers, Cincinnati, Texas.  WOuld again inform the planters and public generally, that they have on hand a supply of Gin Stands, which they warrant to be equal to the best and if not proved so, on trial, the money will be refunded.  Also wagons of the most approved style and finish on hand.  Wagon repairing, etc.  Furniture of their own make, bureaus, bedsteads, folding tables, workstands, etc.  Blacksmithing neatly done.  They also keep a good tavern where travelers can always find every accommodation."

Dr. J. N. Smith erected, in 1853, a new warehouse for the accommodation of shippers and receivers, and also operated a general merchandise store in the community. (Mrs. I. B. McFarland, Houston)

George Hunter, mentioned in Chapter IV in connection with the wreck of the Fanner, was a tavern owner in Cincinnati.  Adolphus Sterne spoke of having eaten there on his visit to the town in 1843.  He "took dinner at Mr. Hunters, a tolerable good tavern for Texas."

Dr. J. H. Morgan was a dentist and surgeon who seems to have divided his time among Cincinnati and other East Texas towns. The Huntsville Item February 5, 1853, carried an advertisement of his which stated that he was then in Cincinnati but would soon return to treat his Huntsville patients.

In December 1849, Rev. Robert Waters and Miss Melinda Rankin opened a school in the town, known as the Cincinnati Academy.  This school was rather short lived, however.  By the year 1851 Miss Rankin was helping Rev. Weyman Adair in his Cincinnati Classical and Collegiate Institute, which prepared older boys for college, but also accepted younger boys and girls..  Rev. Adair taught the older boys while Miss Rankin taught the girls and younger boys. (Thomas Campbell, History of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church)

Yellow fever struck Cincinnati in the fall of 1853.  By the end of the year the town was reeling from the staggering toll of lives taken.  Panic seized many of the people, most of those who were not struck down by the fever abandoned the town.  In September 1853 a traveler stopped at Hunter Tavern after having become sick while returning to his home in Palestine from Galveston.  Mrs. Hunter waited on him until he left on the next stage.  It was later learned that he died shortly after this.  No one knew just what his illness had been, but shortly after his departure, Mrs. Hunter had taken with the same disease.  the people of the town still did not suspect yellow fever, and several of the women visited her before she died.  Thus the fever was rapidly communicated throughout the town with the aid of the many mosquitos from the muddy riverbottom lands. (History of the Hunter and Stevens Family, in possession of Willene Story, Tyler, Texas)

An interesting theory held by some of the towns people as to how the fever got its start was told in the Telegraph and Texas Register of November 4, 1853; a visitor to the town inquired if the source of the fever were known, if it had been brought from Galveston or Houston.  the citizens at that time seemed to be unable to account for its appearance.  Some had believed that it started through a dead horse that had been permitted to remain close to the town, the stench of which had been diffused through the area.

The doctors of the community were kept constantly on the move, trying desperately to halt the rapid spread of the disease, but yellow fever was a relatively new disease in Texas, and very little was known about it.  The Negro slaves of the community did not seem to be susceptible to the ever as did the whites, and they performed invaluable service in caring for the sick.  Cincinnati had been dealt a terrible blow, and it seemed for a time that it was completely wiped out.

Newport

Newport was begun around the year 1849 by Joseph Werner, a German immigrant who had come to America and to Texas while still a young man.  He and his brother owned a steamboat, with which they intended to freight goods up the Trinity River to serve as many parts along its banks, but the boat was wrecked in Galveston Bay before it could ever enter into the Trinity trade.  After the loss of the boat Werner worked for a time for other riverboat owners, making many trips up and down the river before eventually deciding to settle on the site which was to become Newport.  Werner first erected a log cabin there, and eventually replaced it with a larger and better constructed cabin, which in turn gave way to a third and larger house and one and one half stories, containing 8 rooms.  All the materials and furnishings for the house except the window glass were made in the community which had by this time grown up around the house.   (The Beaumont Enterprise, September 3, 1939, R. Werner, son of Joseph)

Newport was located 4 miles down the river from the present town of Riverside.  the river-port sites were generally chosen for their geographic positions, and from the standpoint of beauty, health and safety.  The Newport area met these exciting requirements and was located on a high bluff above the banks of the river, yet it provided a good landing place for steamboats.  today the only things to be found on the old townsite are an abandoned Negro shack and a cemetery.  Among the graves to be found in the cemetery is that of the former founder of the town.  The State of Texas erected a marker in 1936 to designate the location of the former town.

At the peak of its growth Newport had a population of 200-300 persons.  the town had a post office, 2 large general stores, drug store, warehouses, blacksmith shop, woodworking shop and various other businesses.  the woodworking and blacksmith shop were particularly important, for they provided plows, furniture, nails for building, iron tires, horseshoes, and other such articles of great importance to the citizens.  the blacksmith was a respected old negro who was a slave prior to the Civil War.  there was also a school and a church in newport.

The main purpose of the town; of course, was that of a cotton port.  There were two great cotton warehouses, and the farmers of the county and other surrounding areas would bring in their cotton loaded on ox or mule wagons.  Newport had a cotton gin, and a typical scene of the old town was the carrying of the bales down to the river to be loaded on the boats by the deckhands.  In periods of dry weather, when the water wa low and the steamboats could not navigate the river, the farmers had to make the long and tedious overland trips in their ox wagons to carry their cotton to markets in Houston and Galveston.

Another important business of this town was a freighting concern - West, Werner and Company, operated by Joseph Werner and partner.  Deliveries were made by ox wagons to such surrounding settlements as Moscow, Centerline, Peachtree Village, Sumpter, Colito, and Mount Hope.  their consignments included casks of bacon, kegs of butter, barrels of ham, barrels of whiskey, kegs of spice, slabs of iron, boxes of snuff, boxes of axle-grease, and boxes of bitters. (Harold Werner, Trinity)

As a general rule the town was a peaceful and law-abiding place, but there were occasional fights, and many of the men carried cap and ball pistols on their belts.  There was no established law in Newport for several years after the founding of the town.

The founder of Newport died in 1872, and was thus spared the sight of the decay of the town which had meant so much to him.  Newport ended with the end of the riverboat traffic, and by the year 1878 the town had been generally abandoned.

Carolina

Carolina was the oldest riverboat town in Walker County, pre-dating Cincinnati by 2 or 3 years.  On January 5, 1835, John H. Cummings received a league of land from the Mexican Government.  His survey was located in the extreme northeastern part of the area which was later to become Walker County, and part of the league fronted on the Trinity River.  At the mouth of Carolina Creek, where it empties into the river, the town of Carolina was established.  The Trinity makes a decided bend there, and the high bluffs in the are offered a beautiful location for a town which was easily accessible to the water.  Carolina was laid into 10 blocks.

With steamboat travel becoming more popular and the town being the first river portion this area, Carolina enjoyed a rapid growth from the very beginning.  Another factor in its advancement was that there were a number of sulphur springs nearby along Carolina Creek.  In those days people were of the opinion that sulphur water had excellent medicinal qualities, and soon the town became quite famous resort for this area of Texas.  People came from all of the surrounding counties to cure their ailments by drinking the water. (Mrs. Helen Walterman, Riverside)

One disadvantage possessed by Carolina was its poor accessibility by road.  What few roads were there were usually remained in poor state, and were often impassable because of mud.

Thus in a few short years the prosperous little town dwindles away to nothing.  Today there is no indication that a town ever existed on this site.

Tuscaloosa

Tuscaloosa was located on the Trinity River about 2 miles up the river from Cincinnati;.  It was in the Jonathan Collard Survey of 369 acres.  Gustavas A Wyser acquired one half this property in 1853.  After the title to the land had been passed through several hands.  Wyser's acreage was located on a big bend in the Trinity, and made a good location for a townsite.  When Cincinnati was practically abandoned in 1853 because of the yellow fever epidemic many of the people moved up to Wyser's Bluff, as Tuscaloosa was called at that time.  The town was probably named for Tuscaloosa, Alabama, as settlers from that city were known to have come to Walker County.

When the town was first settled, and then known as Osceola it was thought that there were great possibilities for mining lignite.  The Trinity Mining and Development Company had visions of acquiring riches from this source.  Sam Houston, Henderson Yoakum, thinking well of such possibilities, each bought one-half acre of land in the area.  Nothing ever came of the project, since, for some reason the mining company gave up the project.  After the coming of the railroad the town gradually dwindled away.

Elmina

Elmina -- named for the El Mina Temple of Galveston - was located about 13 miles south of Huntsville and one mile north of New Waverly, on the Missouri-Pacific Railroad.  Today it is one of the ghost towns of Walker County, with only the vault of an old saw mill which once stood there still remaining to be seen.  It is hard to realize that here a few short years ago was a thriving saw mill town, second only to Huntsville in population among the towns of Walker County.

The town had its beginning in 1870 when Oliphant's mill was erected there.  The first residences were those of mill hands, but soon others began to come to establish businesses.  the Oliphant mill was small and had limited capacity, which kept the town from growing a great deal for the first few years of its existence.  the erection of the Walker County Lumber Company in later years marked the beginning of the real growth of the community.  The company operated with a personnel of some 150 employees, and these workmen with their families brought the total population of Elmina to 700 persons. All of the workmen's houses were constructed by the lumber company and rented to the workers.  there were about 180 residences and buildings combined when the town was at its peak.  Besides the houses there was a large mill commissary, a drug store, and a big two-story hotel.  (Mrs. Ewing Bush, Huntsville, Mrs. Bush's father, R. Miller was once the manager of the Walker County Lumber Company of Elmina)

The workmen at the mill were given time cards each week to show the amount of time for which they were due to be paid.  These tune cards were returned on payday to exchange for cash.  If, in the meantime, the workers had purchased merchandise or owed rent, the cards were punched to indicate the amount that should be deducted from the pay.  T. Frank Ferguson was the time keeper for the mill and did the card punching when the rent was due.

The Walker County Lumber Company discontinued its operation in 1934 because of the fact that timber in the vicinity was becoming scarce, making it necessary to haul the lumber over longer distances and causing the mill to operate at a loss.  One by one the houses were sold and moved away from the community until the once busy town ceased to exist.