Additional information about
Houston County, Texas
Excerpt from:
A Mini History of Houston County
Houston County, A Constitional County of the Republic of
Texas, June 12 1837
By Eliza Bishop
[This mini history is found on several web sites]
Around
1820, the area west of the original Nacogdoches
Land District, along the Neches
and over to the Trinity River, attracted settlers. People quickly began to
acquire land, either from the Mexican Government or as a bounty for service in
The War for Independence, and on
April 22, 1837, those settlers of the area petitioned the Congress of the
Republic
of
Texas, asking that a county be created. Some 110 names were signed to the petition.
At that time, the county was much larger than that of the present, as the
original boundaries included all of Anderson, Trinity, and part of
Henderson
counties.
This
county was first created on
June 12, 1837, under the newly formed Republic
of
Texas. Crockett was later selected as the county seat and incorporated by an Act of
the Republic
of
Texas
on
December 29, 1837. Elijah Gossett's son, Andrew Edwards Gossett, [see
petition] gave the townsite of Crockett,
so he and his father Elijah were given the privilege of naming the town and
county. The town, they named for Elijah's old friend, former neighbor, and
Tennessee Scout, David Crockett, who had camped near the area en route to the
Alamo
and his death in 1836. The county, they named for their former Commander at the
Battle of San Jacinto and the first President of the
Republic
of
Texas, Sam Houston.
The
Indians were much in evidence in the county from the 1830's through the 1850's.
Several massacres of families are known: Edens-Madden, John Sheridan and Daniel
McLean, and the Campbell
family. Forts and block houses were built for protection. The best known
presently is Old Block House near the community of Austonio, built for
protection of families on Mustang Prairie. It was from this stockade that Elisha
Clapp and Major John Wortham directed an independent company of Rangers
commissioned by President Sam Houston. The first courthouse on the central
square was a log fort and settlers often fled to it confines for shelter. There
was also Fort
Brown
in the northeast area of Houston
County
between Augusta and Grapeland; Fort
Houston, where Palestine
is today; and Box and Hallmark Forts for east and west county settlers.
The
Neches
and Trinity rivers contributed much to the county's development, providing
natural boundaries, a means of transportation, and opportunity for business.
Ferries were established along both of them. Hall's Bluff, Alabama Crossing,
Hyde's and Robin's Ferries and Calhoun's Landing were some of the Trinity stops.
Kennedy, Bates, and Anderson's ferries on the Neches
served the eastern area along with Bodenheimer's Landing and Shook's Bluff.
The
famous link between the rivers which joined the east and west was El Camino
Real, The King's Highway, which traverses the county. Stage stops were common
along this route, with the best known also serving as the residences of Jacob
Masters and Joseph Redmond Rice. This road was the freeway of the 1800's,
providing movement of pioneers, soldiers, supplies, mail, and the output of raw
materials.
Cotton
was the King Crop from the 1840 through the 1900's. Farmers would move their
crops to the river and flatboat it down the Trinity to Galveston
for sale and export to New Orleans. The cotton was grown with slave labor. After the Civil War, the focus was
changed and the virgin pine timberlands of eastern Houston
County
gained recognition. The Four C Mill, one of the largest sawmilling operations
for all time, was established in the Ratcliff area during the 1900's and ran for
nearly 20 years, or until the 120,000 acres of virgin pine timber were clear
cut. The economy of the county today remains basically in agriculture, timber,
and ranching.
Also see:
Handbook of Texas Online http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/HH/hch19.html
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