The Silsbee Bee Hardin County Sesquicentennial Special Edition

Page 2, Section 3

THE SILSBEE BEE • www.silsbeebee.com • Sesquicentennial 2008

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

History of Hardin County

HARDIN COUNTY: Celebrating 150 Years

Three counties contribute to the creation of Hardin County The history of Hardin County is a long and colorful one. From Union Symphathizers to bear hunters and oil tycoons, the history of the area has always centered around the natural beauty of the land and the personalities who live here.

The county was established by the state legislature in 1858 out of parts of three adjoining counties: Jefferson, Liberty and Tyler. It was named Hardin after the Hardin family of Liberty County.

Some have the mistaken idea that the new county was named after the infamous gunman and son of J.G. Hardin, but John Wesley Hardin was not born until 1853 in Polk County and did not become famous until about 1871.

The county seat, named Hardin, was established in 1859 and was located about three miles west of the present city of Kountze. The town was also named after the Hardin family.

The first courthouse was built at

Country Crossroads

325 N 4th Silsbee

James & Debby Johnson, owners

Hardin in 1859 and is said to have been a two-story log building. The community is now called “Old Hardin” to separate it from the town of Hardin in Liberty County.

The site of the first courthouse in “Old Hardin” is marked by a state historical marker.

Hardin County is the home and center of the Big Thicket of Southeast Texas, a unique biological area like none other in the world. It has been called the “Biological Crossroads” of America and contains the greatest variety of plants of any comparable area in the United States. It is estimated that the original Big Thicket included at least 3.5 million acres strectching from the Neches River on the east to the Trinity River on the west and from the Pine Island Bayou on the south to Village Creek or Alabama Creek on the north.

Many of the early settlers came into Southeast Texas by steamboat from New Orleans through Lake Charles and Sabine Pass and up the Neches River and Village Creek to the Hardin County area.

Some of them crossed Village Creek about eight miles north of Kountze and settled in the Providence community about 1830.

This was probably the first settlement in what was to become Hardin County. Some of these people were James McKinney, Hugh McNeely, the Hollands, Jordans and others. Some of their descendants still live in the Providence area. James McKinney operated a ferry on Village Creek at Providence before the famous McNeely Bridge was built.

The McKinney Cemetery is named for the McKinney Family.

Old Concord was located on the north side of Pine Island Bayou near where it runs into the Neches River. Concord was settled in 1856 and is said to be the first settlement on the southern edge of the Big Thicket. It became the southern terminal for steamboat traffic on the Neches River.

Steamboats, flatboats and keel boats were used on the Neches River from 1830 up until about 1880, when the first railroad was built into Hardin County from Beaumont. Steamboat owners had a monoply on freight and passenger travel until the coming of the railroads. There is a state historical marker at the site where the Old Concord Road crosses U.S. Hwy 69 at Lumberton.

Completion of the railraod from Beaumont to Rockland sealed the doom for Old Hardin as the county seat. When the Kountze

Bear hunting was a popular sport in early Hardin County, both in Neches River bottom lands near the old stern-wheel steamboat landing of Bear Man’s Bluff and in the section of the county that comprises part of the Big Thicket. The photograph above showing hunters with the carcass of a big bear was made following a hunt that lasted from Dec. 4 to Dec. 14, 1906 in the Big Thicket. In the back row are Bud Hooks, Speck Rankin and R.R. Yoksh. Bottom row shows Ben Z. Lilley, L.L. Keene, Carter Hart, and unidentified hunter, John Saulter and Ben Hooks.

brothers, Herman and Augustus, bankers from New York and Omaha, built the first railroad from Beaumont to Rockland, they decided to bypass the town of Hardin and build it straight to Woodville. In the meantime, the courthouse in Hardin mysteriously burned and the citizens of the county decided to move the county seat to Kountze.

Hardin County had only been in existence for three years and the State of Texas had been with the United states 16 years when the Civil War started. Hardin County was not really interested in the issues that caused the Civil War. A few people in the county had slaves, but it was not a major issue in the social lives of the county.

The issue of states versus federal rights had little impact on the wilderness frontier such as existed in Hardin County. However, when the election was held in February, 1861, Hardin County voted with the rest of the state to secede from the Union.

After the Civil War, great changes began to take place in the county. The wholesale harvesting of timber, and later, the drilling for oil, took its toll on the economy of the area.

The railroads took the place of the steamboat, and non-residents began to flock to Hardin County to profit from the resources. The early railroad, built by the Kountze brothers, was sold to the Texas and New Orleans Railroad. The Santa Fe Railroad had crossed the Trinity River into Hardin County and was soon linked up with the Beaumont and Kansas City Line at Silsbee.

With the completion of the railroads in 1882, Hardin County was changed forever. Silsbee became the largest town almost overnight.

Communities such as Fletcher, Chance-Loeb, Village Mills, Honey Island, Olive, Long Station, Nona, Grayburg, Hester, Bragg, Votaw, Thicket, Dies, Fresenius, Hook’s Switch and many other sawmill towns were built up and down the railroads. John Henry Kirby established an oil, railroad and lumber empire that dominated See COUNTY on Page 4, Section 3

Oil derricks line up along a mud street near Sour Lake during the early 1900s when oil was king in Hardin County. In one instant, the town of Batson grew from 100 homes to 10,000 people almost overnight.

Jackie Bennett was named Miss Hardin County in 1958 for the county’s centennial birthday. She was a 14-year-old student at Sour Lake High School at the time. Her escort is Skipper Luce, also of Sour Lake.

County Sign & Awning Design • Manufacturing Installation • Maintenance 2805 FM 418 • Kountze

Happy 150th Birthday Hardin County

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THE SILSBEE BEE • www.silsbeebee.com • SESQUICENTENNIAL 2008

Section 3, Page 3

History of Silsbee

HARDIN COUNTY: Celebrating 150 Years

Key Silsbee families made City’s namesake supported early homes in Woodrow Kirby in timber endeavors

By JERRY McLAUGHLIN Special to The Bee Although Hardin County celebrates 150 years of history this year, the setting for this story is the community of Woodrow, beginning about 100 years ago.

The small hamlet was located about three miles southwest of Silsbee.

One of the first pioneers in Woodrow was Babe Chance, who settled on his 160 acres in the late 1800s. Shortly thereafter, William (Will) Benton Harris (the author’s great-grandfather) settled on a tract of land adjacent to the Chance property. Harris was a land surveyor from Beaumont who arrived in Hardin County to start a new family with his half Choctaw wife, Jo Ella.

This was the most changing period in American history.

There was no electricity, no telephone and no indoor plumbing.

Using an outhouse and outside well water was part of daily life.

Medical care was primitive by today’s standards. There was no aspirin, no penicillin, no insulin and no polio vaccine.

Those early pioneers grew their own vegetables, milked their own cows, raised their own livestock and built smokehouses to preserve and smoke their meat.

Transportation was by walking, horseback, horse-drawn buggy or wagon on a two-rut and sometimes muddy road.

News was gleaned not from the Internet or television or radio.

News traveled by telegraph and then spread by newspapers.

For the most part though, news in Woodrow spread by word of mouth. If the W.H. Hardins heard of an event they told Hermona Rhode, and she told the

Brims, who told the Yarbroughs, and so on.

And there were big news events 100 years ago.

In 1900 the Galveston Hurricane destroyed the city and killed at least 8,000 Texans.

President McKinley was assassinated in 1901. Wilbur and Orville Wright flew the first airplane at Kitty Hawk in 1903.

And in 1906, the great earthquake destroyed most of San Francisco.

But there was good news too.

Henry Ford invented the Model T and mass produced the automobile in 1908, an event that would change the world ... and Woodrow too.

Also in 1908, the Woodrow Baptist Church was formed by 10 members, including Will Harris and four members of his family. The South Silsbee Townsite Company formed in 1906, platted and sold home and business sites. Then in 1913 the South Silsbee name was changed to Woodrow after newly-elected President Woodrow Wilson.

Woodrow became home for many Santa Fe railroad and Kirby Lumber employees. The J.W. Reads settled in Woodrow and two of their sons, Bobby and David, later became owners and publishers of The Silsbee Bee. The Stoppelmans of Woodrow owned the original theater in downtown Silsbee. The Millers built and owned Miller’s General Store and the Ruggles operated Ruggle’s Grocery Store. There was a U.S. Post Office in Woodrow for five years from 1913 to 1918. Laura and Ollie Harris (also the author’s ancestors) worked there.

A young Czech emigrant Nickolas Slavik started a bakery business out of his Woodrow home before moving to his

downtown Silsbee bakery and grocery store.

Other early 1900 Woodrow families included: Henry and Nancy Parks, The Barkers, Shuptrine family, the Busbys, the Yawn family, Mac Zeller, E.J. Wilson and Wooley families.

The Woods lived on Durdin Drive, as did the George Wright family. The Tarvers, Stroziers, Dennis, Esters, Marshall, Nowlins, Lakeys and W.O. Banks all lived in Woodrow.

Some of these early residents probably fought in the Civil War or were related to those who did.

In the 1920s, electricity and telephone service slowly came to the Silsbee area. Initially, the Read family owned the only telephone in Woodrow and neighbors used the Read’s phone for family emergencies.

But a couple of innovative men decided to speed up the slow phone service. H.L. (Bud) Harris (the author’s grandfather) and his neighbor Tom Ward cut, erected and strung their own poles and line for about a mile, connecting with the new telephone company line.

Some tried a new venture in the 1920s — satsuma farming.

Bud and Delia Harris planted 350 citrus trees to supplement his Santa Fe income. Commercial pickers harvested several good crop years. But satsuma farming was doomed for failure as the 1929 freeze wiped out all the trees. The only remnant of this era is the Silsbee High School annual, The Satsuma.

Jerry McLaughlin resides in Kerrville today, but his mother, Marie Harris McLaughlin, supplied much of the information for this story. According to Jerry, his mother still lives in the same home her father built in 1905.

By PAUL HIMMELREICH Special to The Bee Nathaniel D. Silsbee, John Henry Kirby's financial angel, visited Hardin County at least once before the city that became his namesake was established.

His visit cannot be specifically dated, but research has narrowed it to between 1890-1893.

His visit is of particular interest to me since he stayed at my great-great-great-Grandmother Winnie Robinson's boarding house over on what is now Gentry Road the week he visited the region.

Winnie Robinson came to Texas from Georgia with her husband Nathaniel in the mid 1800s, settling in Spurger. Old friends of the Kirbys, it was understandable that he would choose her place as the designated B&B for his distinguished guest. Her reputation as a great cook also enhanced the internationally traveled Yankee's visit.

In fact, upon his return to Boston, he bragged for some time about her biscuits and gravy and down-home Texas cooking.

No doubt, Grandma Winnie had some mayhaw jelly to go along with all that.

In one of the frequent letters with JHK, dated Feb. 6, 1910, he reminisced about the trip. At that time, the best lumber mill with a tram line set up in the Thicket was Alexander Young's mill at Warren. It was Young, a timber man from the northeast, who had moved to that area by 1882, who set up the Warren Land & Lumber Co., with narrow gauge tram, and established Warren, named after his home in Pennsylvania.

JHK even had Young allow the old Sea Captain to “boss” the

train through the forest to the mill. Young actually had the most economically viable arrangement for a mill in the Thicket. No doubt, it had much sway with the Commodore.

Born to an aristocratic merchant family, Harvard educated Nathaniel D. Silsbee (18301912) was easily adaptable to the still pioneer ways of the Thicket.

His grandfather Nathaniel Silsbee (1778-1850) was a sea captain by age 19 and made his fortunes in the Asian spice trade by age 30. He settled into entrepreneurship and politics to become a popular conservative U.S. senator from Massachusetts.

His father Nathaniel Silsbee Jr. (1804-1881) was not the seafaring type. Educated at Harvard, he became the chief financial officer for the family merchant business. At various times Nathaniel Jr. also served as mayor of Salem, state representative and even treasurer of Harvard (1862-1876). The Commodore Nathaniel D. Silsbee was mentored by both.

He set out to sea shortly after graduating from Harvard in 1852. An entrepreneur at heart, he established a number of business ventures throughout his life and throughout the world.

Upon the death of his father in 1881, he became executor of the Silsbee Trust and its various ventures. It was the ranch and stave-operation in Tyler County that he established in 1885-1886 as a non-resident that initially connected him with Kirby.

Commodore Silsbee was always known as a high-energy type adventurer who readily attracted others.

However, he was not flamboyant like Kirby. Rather he

Nathaniel Silsbee

preferred to be in the background.

Very popular at Harvard, he would as soon cut class and be with friends than sit confined within the walls of a classroom.

Always intellectually inquisitive, he found people and places always interesting worldwide.

Sailing during the Clipper Ship era after the Civil War, he didn't have to battle pirates like his grandfather but he did encounter the changing world of the Gilded Age. You can see his Harvard graduate photo at the Silsbee Ice House Museum. It is also on line at the Harvard Archives photo site: V.I.A. Class of 1852.

That was the first year photos were taken by daguerreotype.

What that involved was the subject sitting still for up to 20 minutes as the plate exposed the image on silver coated plates.

For a fellow that was constantly involved with his surroundings, sitting still for that long had to have been a difficult task for the young Silsbee.

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Page 4, Section 3

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Wednesday, November 12, 2008

HARDIN COUNTY: Celebrating 150 Years Our Family Serving Your Family Hardin County’s Florist of Distinction Since 1969

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Where We’ve Lived

Many towns have come and gone over time BATSON Batson is an unincorporated community located on State Highway 105 in southwestern Hardin County.

The West Hardin County Consolidated Independent School District serves area students.

This community was originally settled by the Batson family sometime before 1840. In October 1903, an oilfield was discovered to the north of the town, and soon after the population would boom to about 10,000 residents. The oil production would decrease by the mid 1920s, resulting in the population decline to about 600. In March 1935, another oil discovery would boost the population slightly, but over the next several decades, would decline again.

BRAGG Bragg is a ghost town in Hardin County in the Big Thicket forest area of the southeastern part of the state. Sometimes referred to as “Bragg Station,” this small community that flourished in the early 1900s lies 10 miles west of Kountze.

Named after the Confederate general Braxton Bragg, this town was built around an important railroad junction installed by the Santa Fe Railroad system in 1902.

The railroad line transported lumber and other supplies servicing the oil industry near Beaumont.

Several years later, the local industry would begin to shift its shipping lanes and abandon the railroad.

The local post office that had served the railroad and oilfield workers was closed in 1914. In addition to the relocation of oilfield workers into other communities, the rail line extending from Bragg Station south to the small community of Saratoga was dismantled in 1934.

Today, all that remains of Bragg Station is a small agricultural community and more remarkably, a locally famous dirt road. The Ghost Road leading south to Saratoga is the center of a local legend of a ghost light. The Light of Saratoga has been witnessed by multitudes of people along the dirt path which has now been designated a scenic drive county park.

HONEY ISLAND Honey Island is an unincorporated community in Hardin

This tent city sprung up after oil was discovered in Sour Lake in 1901, just after the discovery of oil at Spindletop. Most of these tents were used for businesses that included restaurants or supply houses.

County. The Kountze Independent School District serves area students.

During the time of the American Civil War, this site was known to attract Jayhawkers due to the area’s numerous beehives. In addition to using the honey as food source, they would often stash honey in hidden pots that local sympathizers would exchange for supplies. This activity would eventually lead to the Kaiser Burnout by the confederates in the nearby cane fields.

In 1901 the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway reached the site, and by 1907 a post office was established. The local sawmill was sold several times until it fell into ownership of the Kirby Lumber Company owned by John Henry Kirby. The mill closed during the Great Depression, but would open to run again until its final closure in 1955.

KOUNTZE Kountze is the county seat of Hardin County. Kountze was originally established as a railroad town in 1881. The seat of Hardin County, Kountze boasts an area of more than 89 percent forested lush green terrain. Local area produces over 3.5 million board feet (8,300 m) of lumber annually.

Kountze describes itself as: “The Big Light in The Big

Thicket.” A Thicket is that vast area of tangled, often impenetrable woods, streams and marshes.

Now portions of this thicket are nationally protected as the Big Thicket National Preserve.

The cradle of this country’s oil industry is found in the Big Thicket of east Texas. The thicket is a 50 mile circle of swampland about 30 miles north of Beaumont.

The Kirby-Hill Historical Home was built in 1902 by James L. Kirby, brother of the legendary timber baron and philanthropist John Henry Kirby. James’ daughter, Lucy Kirby Hill, purchased the house from her father in 1907.

It is the first Hardin County home listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The Big Thicket National Preserve was established by Congress in 1974. This combination of virgin pine and cypress forest, hardwood forest, meadow and blackwater swamp is managed by the National Park Service. The Preserve was established to protect the remnant of its complex biological diversity. What is so extraordinary is not the rarity or abundance of its life forms, but how many species coexist here.

The City of Kountze is home to the world’s only known pair of married armadillos, Hoover and Star, married on June 10, 1995.

LUMBERTON Lumberton was established as a stop on the Gulf, Beaumont and Kansas City Railway that was built through the area in 1894.

COUNTY

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Serving the local sawmills and lumber camps, the post office was established at Lumberton in 1909.

In 1914, the post office was relocated to the Fletcher site nearby which was a major sawmill until the mid-1920’s. After the closure of the sawmill at Fletcher, the area would remain populated and would become part of the City of Lumberton when it was incorporated in 1973.

ROSE HILL ACRES This residential suburb of Beaumont was incorporated in 1968 by a 70 to 9 margin. The population growth was as follows: in 1970 its population was 431, in 1980 it was 460, and in the early 1990s, near 490 residents.

SARATOGA The original name for this community was New Sour Lake. The first significant landmark discovery of this area was the sulfursmelling spring by J. F. Cotton in the 1850s.

As late as 1865 he tried to establish an oil well on the site, but failed due to inadequate machinery.

In the 1880s a man named P. S. Watts wanted to profit from the spring using the unique “medicinal” properties of the water (a popular trend at the time). To draw would-be visitors to the site, Watts changed the name of the site to Saratoga to replicate the famous resort at Saratoga Springs, New York. He built a hotel and rental cottages for potential customers, but only a few came.

See TOWNS on Page 6, Section 3

From Section 3, Page 2

the economy of Southeast Texas for nearly a hundred years.

Shallow well drilling for oil in the county began as early as 1860, but the decade beginning with 1900 can be called the “Oil Age” in Hardin County. At the time prospectors were drilling at Spindletop in Jefferson County, drilling was beginning in the Sour Lake, Saratoga and Batson areas.

The crews at Spindletop won the race to drill the first Southeast Texasg usher, which changed the world. The honor could have easily gone to Sour Lake. Shortly after the 1901 discovery well at Spindletop, successful wells were drilled at Sour Lake, followed by gushers a Saratoga and at Batson.

Thus, Hardin County came to be ranked as one of the prime oil

fields in the world.

Even before the discovery of oil at Sour Lake and Saratoga, both of these communities had become famous for the mineral springs in this area. People flocked to the springs from far and near to drink the water and bathe in the mineral-laden pools. Health spas were built and many famous people, including Texas hero Sam Houston, who came to bathe his wounds from the Battle of San Jacinto, came to partake of the healing powers of the pools. Oil discoveries at both places ended the health resort business that had existed for several years. Many of the larger oil companies. including Texaco at Sour Lake, Paraffine Oil Company at Saratoga, and the J.M. Guffey Petroleum Company, had their start in Hardin County.

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INVESTING IN HARDIN COUNTY’S FUTURE

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Section 3 Page 5

Page 6, Section 3

THE SILSBEE BEE • www.silsbeebee.com • Sesquicentennial 2008

Concord is considered Hardin County’s first town Concord is considered to be the first town established in Hardin County.

The township was established in

1858 at a strategic crossing from Beaumont to points north. The town was original named Benton.

The community rapidly became

a thriving steamboat port and reached a population of about 300, but declined in the 1880s with the coming of the railroad.

Saluting Hardin County for 150 Years!

We Are Proud to Have Been Part of the County for 50 Years

Shirley Stephens

Ginger Luman

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

TOWNS

From Section 3, Page 4

Years later, with the success of the Lucas Gusher within Spindletop at Beaumont, the first profitable wells would be drilled at Saratoga. In 1904 an extension of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway would be built from Saratoga to Bragg Station.

The railroad also created the business opportunity to profit from the lumber industry. The town’s population would fluctuate from 1,000 in 1925 down to 350 in the early 1950s and back to over 1,000 in recent years. Although the Saratoga trunk line running north from the town was dismantled in 1934, new oil wells have been drilled as recently as the early 1980s.

There were oil wells drilled in Saratoga into the early 1990s also.

SILSBEE Silsbee was first referred to as Mill Town when the site was first reached by the Gulf, Beaumont, and Kansas City Railway in 1894.

The town was renamed in recognition of Nathaniel D. Silsbee, an investor from Boston, Massachusetts who helped provide funds for the railway.

The railroad was a project of John Henry Kirby who would soon establish the Kirby Lumber Company in the city. This business would be the main employer and strength of the Silsbee economy from the city’s beginning.

SOUR LAKE Sour Lake was originally named Sour Lake Springs, after the mineral-laden spring water that flowed into the nearby lake.

Sour Lake is the oldest surviving town in Hardin County, first settled around 1835, when Stephen Jackson received 4,428 acres at the site. It is called by some the “Gateway to the Big Thicket.”

Sour Lake became a short-lived boomtown with the discovery of oil in 1901, shortly after oil was found at the nearby Spindletop salt dome. It is known as the birthplace of Texaco. Formed in 1903, the Texas Company (Texaco’s corporate name) is one of the three major oil companies that can trace its origins to the oil fields around

Debbie Yancey

A postcard depicts the Hardin County Courthouse, circa 1911.

Southeast Texas.

The Sour Lake oilfield produced about 90,000,000 barrels of oil up to 1948, when it was producing about 3,500 barrels daily and new drilling was still underway. Today the Sour Lake oilfield is the oldest continuously-producing oil field in the world.

VILLAGE MILLS This town was known on some maps as Village, and also Village Station, with the name coming from nearby Village Creek.

In late 1881, the Sabine and East Texas Railroad reached the area for the lumber trade to ship its products. The Long Manufacturing Company out of Beaumont purchased 40,000 acres of timberland and built a sawmill at the site.

A short while later, the Texas Tram and Lumber Company of Beaumont purchased this mill in 1883, the majority stockholder being William A. Fletcher. The post office was established this same year. By 1889, this sawmill was churning out 75,000 feet of lumber daily.

At this time, this mill consisted of two sections of town, one of which was the mill operations (called Long Station), the other being Village Mills one mile away which contained the housing.

As an interesting note, one day in 1895 this mill broke a world record by sawing over 250,000 feet in 11 hours time.

In 1902, the lumber baron and businessman John Henry Kirby

Kathy Moss

purchased the mill which was dubbed “Mill L,” an asset of the Kirby Lumber Company. As of 1907, the annual production of lumber was almost 17 million feet. The mill closed in the early 1930s which caused Village Mills’ population to drop from 300 down to 80 within the next decade. In 1945, the discovery of natural gas and oil deposits boosted the local economy. Over the next quarter-century, over 31 wells would be drilled, with 17 of these still operating into the 1980s.

OLD OLIVE Old Olive is just a name today and many folks don’t even know that it existed much less know where it was located.

Some confuse the town site with the Olive Cemetery. And even Olive Cemetery is so covered with trees and vines that a person would need to know where it is located to find it. At one time the town of Olive was the largest town in Hardin County. Of course, like most sawmill towns of times gone by, Olive only existed about 30 years - between 1881 and 1912. There was a thriving sawmill town there during this time, located about three miles north of Kountze on the Old Sabine and East Texas Railroad built by the Kountze Brothers.

PLANK Plank was another early sawmill town, located about 6 or 7 miles See TOWNS on Page 7, Section 3

Sherred Thomas

Shirley Cook

Mary Smith

Shirley Stephens Tax Assessor/ Collector Hardin County

Lisa Finn

Audrea Gilbert

Laura McKinnis

Patricia Brown

Lessie Hughes

Shirley Wilson

Shannon Alston

Tami Eddins

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

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Section 3, Page 7

The Big Thicket

HARDIN COUNTY: Celebrating 150 Years

Walking among the trees only way to really experience the Big Thicket The early Indian tribes who visited the Big Thicket probably called it the “Big Woods.” The Big Thicket was likely named the “Big Thicket” by the white settlers because it was “big” and the term “thicket” was correct because it was a “thicket.” In fact, it is still so thick in places you better have a compass if you venture very far off the beaten path.

Dr. Frances Abernethy, Professor of English at Stephen F. Austin University at Nacogdoches, wrote “few books are able to catch the spirit as well as the sound of a place, especially when that place has as strong an identity and personality as the Big Thicket has.”

And so it is with the “Big

Thicket” of Hardin County, Texas. No one can do justice to it just by writing a book or reading a book. You have to see it, tramp through it (where you can), smell it and talk to its inhabitants, to get the “feel” of it.

The Big Thicket National Preserve was established by Congress in 1974. It is managed by the National Park Service. The Preserve was established to protect the remnant of its complex biological diversity. What is extraordinary is not the rarity or abundance of its life forms, but how many species coexist here.

Once vast, this combination of virgin pine and cypress forest, hardwood forest, meadow and blackwater swamp is but a rem-

Father of Thicket set out to save the land he loved Conservationist Richard E. Jackson was born Aug. 12, 1880, in Leary, Ga. In 1886, he came with his parents to Jasper where they opened a general mercantile store.

As a teenager, he worked for the family store and carried mail from Jasper to Woodville.

In 1896, he was the first ticket agent for the GB & CK Railroad at Silsbee Junction. Working as a conductor for the Santa Fe by 1904, he carried freight to sawmills and oilfields. In 1907, he married Velma Ophelia (Byrum), of Gainesville, and settled in Silsbee.

Because of his admiration for the Big Thicket, Jackson began leasing land in the region, which was threatened by development, timber activity and oil explorations.

His leases exceeded 18,000 acres, and he formed the Hardin County Cooperative Pasture and Game Preserve Group.

Envisioning a park and hunting club, in 1929, he began an effort for the area’s preservation and attracted wide support.

In 1936, Jackson called a meeting in the offices of the Beaumont Chamber of Commerce and organized the East Texas Big Thicket Association with 52 members.

He hosted field studies for scientists, offered tours for public leaders, used his leases to show

TOWNS north of Kountze on the Old Sabine and East Texas Railroad. It was once a thriving community built in about 1882. When the timber in that area was cut out about 1890, the town was abandoned and the mill was moved. There was a voting box there for several years. Today all that is left of Plank are a few scattered homes.

TYRON Tyron was another sawmill site up on the Sabine and East Texas Railroad between 1888 and 1893.

There was a U.S. Post Office located there during that time. The community was named for Joseph M. Tyron, a Houston lumberman, who built the mill. Later, the mill was moved by another company to Plank.

BESSMAY Bessmay was located on the Santa Fe Railroad just east of the Neches River in Jasper County. It was built by Kirby Lumber Company and named for Bessmay Kirby, the only child of John Henry Kirby. It was a large mill, with a commissary, post office, and several small businesses. The town was

R.E. Jackson

off the Big Thicket and delivered speeches publicizing it throughout the state and the region.

Among other factors, the Great Depression and World War II contributed to the collapse of this early organization, but Jackson continued his conservation efforts until his death in 1957.

Many of his followers later joined to establish the Big Thicket Association. Due to Jackson’s early initiative and vision in preserving the unique landscape he loved, a national preserve was finally created in 1974.

Because of his unselfish dedication, R.E. Jackson is widely recognized as the “Father of the Big Thicket.”

From Section 3, Page 5 abandoned when the mill burned in 1949.

FRESENIUS Fresenius, a sawmill community, was located on Village Creek between Kountze and Silsbee. It was established on the Santa Fe Railroad about 1900 and was named for a railroad engineer, according to Bob Bowman, formerly with the Southland Paper Mill of Lufkin.

LILLARD Lillard was another sawmill community on the Santa Fe Railroad about halfway between Silsbee and the Neches River. It was built by The Yellow Pine Tie and Timber Company in 1898. The mill was sold several times before it burned in 1902. There was a U.S. Post Office located there between 1899 and 1904.

THICKET Thicket was first known at Williams’ Station, since Dave Williams had built a sawmill there on the Santa Fe Railroad. The U.S. Post Office got their mail mixed up with another Williams, Texas, so the community’s name was changed to Thicket.

At This Special Time May We Honor Our Predecessors and Preserve Their Values Which Have Made Hardin County Strong.

Hardin County Judge

nant. With such varied habitats, “Big Thicket” is a misnomer, but it seems appropriate. An exhausted settler wrote in 1835: “This day passed through the thickest woods I ever saw. It surpasses any country for brush.”

Major North American biological influences bump up against each other here: southeastern swamps, Appalachians, eastern forests, central plains, and southwest deserts. Bogs sit near arid sandhills. Eastern bluebirds nest near roadrunners. There are 85 tree species, more than 60 shrubs, and nearly 1,000 other flowering plants, including 26 ferns and allies, 20 orchids and four of North America’s five type of insect-eating plants. Nearly 300 kinds of birds live here or migrate through.

Fifty reptile species include a small, rarely seen population of alligators. Amphibious frogs and toads abound.

Designation of Big Thicket as a National Preserve created a new management concept for the National Park Service. Preserve status prevents further timber harvesting, but allows oil and gas exploration, hunting and trapping to continue. The Preserve is composed of 12 units comprising 86,000 acres. It was designated an international Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations in 1981.

The protected area will provide a standard for measuring human impact on the environment.

You can find plants and/or animals characteristic of many regions living together in the Big Thicket. Much of this “biological crossroads” phenomenon can be attributed to the Ice Age. Continental glaciers far to the north pushed many species southward.

Conditions were sufficiently varied that when the glaciers reSee THICKET on Page 8, Section 3

This photograph, taken in December 1948, pictures three men who were integral in the creation of the Big Thicket National Preserve. From left, Dr. Buell L. Potts of Tracy, Calif., Pete F. Lawson, former secretary of the Beaumont Chamber of Commerce; and Dr. H.B. Parks, a compiler of the "Biological Survey of the East Texas Big Thicket Area" and a member of the Texas Academy of Science.

Wishing Hardin County the Best For 150 Years When Cravens Insurance Agency first opened its doors for business in 1912, it was to provide needed service to the people of this thriving Southeast Texas community.

We’ve worked hard for the past 90 years to give the kind of service demanded by the steadily growing population of the Silsbee area, and we’ve grown too.

Cars have replaced the then common horse and buggy, dirt and shell streets have given way to modern thoroughfares, an efficient school system prepares Silsbee’s young people for the world today, and the bustling city is progressing in the space age.

Cravens Insurance was always ready in those past years to give the service needed in the expanding community. We’re ready now, in 2008, to provide the service needed, and we’ll be ready in the future with the service demanded by the next generation.

It takes work and planning to stay one step ahead of a growing city like Silsbee - the personnel at Cravens Insurance Agency are trained to do just that. We pride ourselves on giving the best service for the city with a future.

Cravens Insurance Agency 510 North 5th Street • Silsbee, Texas • 385-2854 Carey Georgas Rob Georgas 385-5889 385-7678

Page 8, Section 3

THE SILSBEE BEE • www.silsbeebee.com • Sesquicentennial 2008

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

HARDIN COUNTY: Celebrating 150 Years

Koch established one of earliest towns before county was formed Before there was Silsbee, before the Santa Fe Railroad, and even before John Henry Kirby, a portion of this area did have a name — Cook’s Bluff.

The prelude of Cook’s Bluff really began on June 13, 1850 when the ship Burke Neptune entered the port of Galveston from Bremen, Germany. Aboard this ship was Okonom Friedrich Koch, who was born in Lassan, Prussia, in 1801. Also on board the ship was Okonom’s wife Augusta, their children, Johan Knupple and his wife Louisa and their children.

Once arriving to the United States, the Koch and Knupple families went directly to the homes of their relatives who had preceded them to the United

States. These relatives were residing in Tyler and Jasper counties.

The descendants of Frederick Koch and Augusta Maas were always told of how distressed these families were when they failed to find a “land of milk and honey” upon arrival in Texas as they had been led to believe by Augusta’s brothers, William and Charles Maas, who preceded them with her mother and father. But after the initial shock, they decided to stay.

It did not take Frederick Koch long to realize that he was going to have to change the spelling of his name. It was difficult to pronounce and he was forever having to correct somebody. So early on,

In 51 years

grew from a 7-foot wide shop to occupy a full city block.

The faces are always familar when you come : Gene and Gloria into Cormier, owners and Lisa Pierce.

120. E Ave H

Silsbee

he made the decision to spell his last name as Cook instead of Koch.

Shortly after these families came to Texas, it appears they made a decision to move from Jasper and Tyler counties. The Maas family moved to Sabine and Jefferson counties and the Kochs and Knupples moved to Hardin County.

The language barrier prevented the Cooks and the Knupples from melding in with the English

speaking community. This may have been the reason why their own settlement started. It was this settlement that was called Cook’s Bluff.

After 1860, Frederick Cook opened a ferry, Cook’s Ferry, across Village Creek and he built a home for his family on the banks of Village Creek a few miles south of Caney Head settlement.

Oxen, mules and horses were the mode of transportation of that day.

The Knupple family soon opened and began to operate a blacksmith shop. The Cooks and Knupples prospered. Gradually, other families cut their way through the dense, wooded countryside and built homes.

The need for a post office was evident and one was built for Cook’s Bluff, Texas. It was located near the bluff of Village Creek near the home of Frederick Cook.

It existed until it was replaced

by another post office for the town of Silsbee. Decades after Cook’s Bluff eventually became a part of Silsbee, the old-timers still referred to the area as Cook’s Bluff, preferring this name instead of the name of the sawmill town.

Since the time when Frederick Cook first landed on the shores of the United States, his family and the Knupple family have been an important part of the Hardin County area.

Horse-drawn carriages once delivered ice to residents One of the most popular venues for displaying work by local artists has been at the Ice House Museum.

Originally an ice house that produced ice for local homes and businesses, the Ice House Museum has since become the home of local art work and the Hardin County Genealogical Society.

The ice house operation began in a brick building that was erected in 1928 by Gulf States Utilities to produce ice for the area.

Located on Ernest Avenue, just off of Business 96 that runs through Silsbee, it is just across the street from where the old City Hotel was once located. At the time the ice house was built, Gulf States owned and operated the water well that serviced Silsbee. It was located next to the ice house.

The city of Silsbee later bought the water well and started operating it from the city hall.

Gulf States had ice shipped to area towns by railroad until trucks were utilized for transportation.

Ice was delivered to homes by

way of horse-drawn wagons and by truck later on. By 1954, the home delivery service was discontinued, as more people were working out in the public.

In 1943, the ice house was purchased from Gulf States by three men, Newton Hopkins, his father H.C. Hopkins and C.F. Young.

They continued to produce 30 tons of ice blocks a day.

Newton Hopkins operated the ice house from 1943 to 1981 when he sold the business to the Sparkle Ice Company of Houston. The ice house closed in 1983 and the building lay unused until 1990.

The Ice House Museum arose from the dreams and perserverance of local citizen Helen White, who enlisted a group of likeminded people. Together they created the Hardin County Arts and Educational Foundation and one of their aspirations was the creation of a fine arts and educational museum. After searching for a suitable building, the group was able, in 1990, to purchase the old ice house.

The Ice House Museum build-

ing has one of Silsbee’s few historical designations. So, with donations of funds and materials, volunteers gave thousands of hours of work restoring the badly deteriorated building to a workable condition. A slump in funds and volunteers has slowed the completion of the restoration, but work still continues.

The museum has an exhibition hall in which fine art is on display

Co, Inc.

Is Proud to be A Part of

Hardin County’s 150th Birthday Celebration Texas Fireworks opened for business in 1971 in a rented church building on Morman Church Road. At the time, owner Benny Gardner thought the building was too big, but it proved to not be big enough. The company operated from that location for ten years.

When he started the business Gardner did not know where to get fireworks so he purchased a $1000 worth and wrote the manufacturers on the label telling them he was a big fireworks distributor and wanted to buy fireworks.

He did not know where to send the letters so he mailed them to the towns in China where the fireworks were manufactured. After 30 or 40 letters he got his first reply. A guy at a post office in China had recognized the name and took it to the right person.

He wanted to order $800 worth of fireworks but they told him he had to order a container of $20,000.

After getting his supplies he sent out letters to retailers with his very low prices. He failed to take in consideration the cost of shipping and import taxes. The first year he sold $3900 worth of fireworks and lost $1100. He knew he had to do something different the second year. He did.... he lost more money.

Benny says, “I kept at it and eventually it started working better. I set my mind that my family would not go through what I went through growing up and my wife and kids would never have to be ashamed of me.”

The business grew, and after ten years it moved to its present location on five acres on north Highway 92. The company now has as many as 24 employees.

The business grew to the point that at one time it had a monopoly on wholesaling firecrackers and bottle rockets in this region. It is now one of the major supply houses in this industry in the US. Gardner has served as president of state, national and international fireworks associations. At his inauguration as president of the international association, Okie who manufactures smoke bombs in China, asked if he could read a letter .He then read a hand written letter from a man in Silsbee, Texas who claimed to be a big fireworks distributor. He concluded by stating that Benny was truly a big fireworks distributor.

Today the company wholesales to more than 600 customers and supplies more than 2,000 fireworks stands.

The company provided the fireworks show at the Hardin County Airport for the Fourth of July.

Texas Fireworks Co. Inc Has Operated in Hardin Co. for 37 Years Benny and Hazel Gardner

See ICE HOUSE on Page 9, Section 3

Baby Galvez resort brought visitors from all over Texas A popular attraction in the Silsbee area was Baby Galvez, a resort area where children and adults could swim and enjoy country life off of Village Creek.

Baby Galvez, which means Little Galveston, was named for the Gulf of Mexico’s favorite playground.

During its heyday many people came from Jefferson County to Silsbee during the summer to swim and picnic.

Other times people came at night to dance in the pavilion, which was set high on a hill overlooking Village Creek. This

THICKET

Texas Fireworks

year-round. Monthly exhibits feature local and area artists of all media. The museum’s permanent collection of fine art works hangs in the Permanent Collection Room and is available for viewing in between featured monthly exhibits in the main exhibit hall.

Also on exhibit are relics and pictures from by-gone times.

treated, many species continued living here. A change in elevation of just a meter (a few feet) can produce a dramatic change in vegetation. Where habitats meet, called ecotones, life forms are most varied. The Big Thicket has such ecotones in abundance.

In the Big Thicket National Preserve four of the five kinds of carnivorous plants found in the United States grow here including the pitcher plant, bladderwort, the butterwort and the sundew.

The Big Thicket is not teeming with wildlife, but it boasts an incredible diversity of species.

Many are most active at night. A few of the creatures seen in the Preserve include the yellow-billed cuckoo, wood duck, speckled king snake, pileated woodpecker, marbled salamander, gar fish, coral snake, coyote, armadillo, roadrunner and bobcat.

A lot of things are offered in the Preserve. There are lots of trails in the various Preserve Units, as is boating and canoeing.

When the early pioneers moved west and crossed the Sabine and Neches Rivers, they found a forest so thick in places they could not get through it, so they settled around the edges, along Village Creek to the north, Pine Island Bayou to the south, and westward toward the Trinity River bottom.

The early Indian tribes used their canoes or dugouts to penetrate parts of the Thicket. It is estimated that the original Big

provided the natural setting for Baby Galvez.

There were bath houses included in the pavilion where guests could change into swimsuits, or those who did not bring a suit could rent one.

Baby Galvez was operated by a variety of entrepreneurs through the years. At one point the dance pavilion changed into a honky tonk that had a bad reputation.

Soon Baby Galvez closed and was fenced up. Today, all that is left is the cool water of Village Creek.

From Section 3, Page 7 Thicket contained up to 4 million acres of impenetrable undergrowth, great areas of hardwood trees, savannas, wet lands, bogs, baygalls, sandy lands, as well as prairies and palmetto flats.

The Thicket contained the greatest variety of plants of any comparable area in the United States. It is an island of many species that are not found within hundreds of miles in any direction. There is the Desert Cactus, giant Palmetto, Tumbleweeds, Yucca Plants and bald Cypress and Magnolia. The thicket seems to have all the necessary elements conducive to the growth of all these different types of plants. Around the outer edges of the thicket were some of the finest virgin yellow longleaf pine forests found in the world.

The Big Thicket contains so many varieties of plant life, species of birds, varieties of flowering and wild shrubs, species of trees, different kinds of wild orchids and species of ferns that the biologists will probably never be able to identify all of them.

What is left of the original Big Thicket, the “Tight Eye” Thicket, or the “Bear Hunter’s” Thicket is still thick and the “inside” of the Thicket is still as mysterious as it was when the first white settlers came to live and plant their crops and still their moonshine.

Silsbee Chamber of Commerce is proud to be a part of

Hardin County’s Sesquicentennial Celebration 835 Hwy 96 S Silsbee www.silsbeechamber.com

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

THE SILSBEE BEE • www.silsbeebee.com • Sesquicentennial 2008

Section 3, Page 9

History of Caney Head

HARDIN COUNTY: Celebrating 150 Years

Early settlers found life difficult in the thickets of Hardin County

By BRUCE McGALLION Special to The Bee Most of the early Caney Head settlers came from other southern states. Every once in a while a Yankee or two was thrown into the mix, and some of them stayed and became good Texans.

Others left the Lone Star State and went back up north to what they probably considered a more hospitable land for human habitation. In fact, one of them compared Texas to hell, and if memory serves me right, it was General Sherman of Union Army fame.

After a stint in Texas during the Mexican-American War of the 1840s, Sherman was said to have remarked, “If I owned both hell and Texas, I’d live in hell and rent Texas out.”

Apparently the good general was well qualified to make such a comparison.

Of course, those early southerners found harsh conditions too when they came into the area that would later be called Caney Head.

But they may have been a little better pre-conditioned to the Southeast Texas climate and wildlife than their northern neighbors. I would imagine that in Georgia, the Carolinas or the other Gulf Coast states, an alligator or timber rattler had the same “touch me and you die” disposition as they do herem and that bears and panthers raided the hog pens and preyed on the cattle and an occasional human with about as much enthusiasm as the ones in Texas.

And the humidity? Well, we know what that’s like, don’t we? Some days it seems like we breathe in about as much water as we do air.

Given their previous experience and exposure to natural conditions and elements of an East Texas-like environment may have given the southerners a bit of an edge in establishing Texas frontier communities like Caney Head.

As a community in northeastern Hardin County, Caney Head has been so known and named since at least 1860. It was noted on census returns for that year and entered as having a post office. The 1860 date makes the community just two years later than Hardin County as a named place. And since we don’t know when the name was first applied, it is possible that Caney Head as a named community is older than the county. The county was formed in 1858 from parts of Jefferson and Liberty Counties.

According to legend, Caney Head got its name from a species of bamboo locally called switch cane, which grows along the western edge of what is now named the Jack Gore Baygall to the rim of the low country and into high ground. The cane break “headed up” at the wagon road or trace that is now Farm Road 2937. Hence the name Caney Head.

ICE HOUSE

In the 1970s, the U.S. Geological Survey through its Board on Geographic Names noted Caney Head’s place in Texas history by entering the name and location of it in the nation’s repository of U.S. place names. The USGS placed its location along Farm Road 2937 near the Caney Head Assembly of God Church, which is consistent with local belief. The church has long been considered the core of the community. The agency is charged by law with the responsibility of accurately naming and locating the nations’ place names.

From the start, the environment and abundance of natural resources dictated the economy and culture of this frontier community.

Virgin forests were rich with building materials for homes, fences and tools. Wildlife was abundant. Open range for livestock was virtually limitless. The land was fertile and produced crops that helped sustain both humans and livestock. Water was everywhere. The Neches River flowed nearby. Creeks and small lakes were numerous. Land was readily available. The spirit and determination of the early settlers added to such natural wealth and formed an economic and social culture that helped to establish the foundation of today’s society.

Upon arrival in that place that would later be called Caney Head, families would often live in makeshift shelters until land was cleared for crops. To accomplish this, community residents would hold a “log rolling” for the new neighbors. A log rolling was sim-

ply the clearing of land for cultivation. The felled trees were cut into logs and subsequently skidded or dragged out of the cleared land by ox team or rolled by hand to the edge of the clearing. This newly cleared land was called “new ground.” Once the land clearing was completed, the felled timber was used to build homes and fences.

Settlers with a house and newly cleared land were well on their way to establishing themselves permanently. Livestock played a big role in this frontier land. Settlers built cattle herds and kept large numbers of hogs. The open range supported both, especially the hogs. The herdsman supplemented the winter food of his stock with corn grown in his fields. Thus, the land the new pioneers found in that area gave them all they needed to start a new life.

Food and shelter for people and livestock, all for the price of nothing more than a few tools and a lot of hard work.

By the latter half of the 19th Century, the cattle culture in East Texas had evolved and become central to the lives of its founders, a culture which seemed to have much in common with the cattle culture of ancient Ireland.

Author Thad Sitton, in his book Backwoodsmen and Stockmen Along a Big Thicket River Valley, describes the culture and sociology of the cattle and agrarian lifestyle that had developed in East Texas communities like Caney Head.

By about the 1880s, the virgin

Caney Head School, circa 1910: Many surnames are familiar in the list that follows: Back row from left is Guy Cunningham, Doc Eason, Sam Hare, Hance Cunningham, Walter Gore, George Eddings, Lela Cunningham, Otelia "Tee" Cunningham, Jim Gore - teacher, Hardy Gore, Pleze Hare, Stanley Gore and Dixie Eddings. Middle row from left is Bertie Eason, Maggie Cunningham, Angeline Gore, Gertie Gore, Roderick T. "Dirk" Gore, ? Eason, Isom Ard, ?, Escar Eddings, Ashley Gore, Tom Eason, Della Cunningham, Lela Hare, Bertie Moss, ?, Edna Eddings and Ruth Cunningham. Bottom row from left is ?, ?, Wilburn Eddings, Elbert Eddings, Stanley Gore, Olan Gore, Herman Eddings, Setsman Eddings, John Eason, Callie Gore, Bessie Gore, Lula Hare, Bell Cunningham, baby Eddings and baby Cunningham. In the window from left is Rebecca "Becky" Gore and Clerie "Chick" Eason.

forests of the Caney Head community offered yet another means of survival to local residents.

Sawmills had been built in Beaumont. There was a high demand for logs to feed the mills. With typical initiative, industriousness and hard physical work, many Southeast Texas settlers, including the ones in Caney Head, began to take advantage of this new opportunity.

Again logs were cut for personal gain. This time though, for a different purpose, to sell for cash. The local waterways were used to get the logs to the mills in

Judge Britt Plunk

Congratulations Hardin County!

District Judge 356th Judicial District & Staff

See CANEY on Page 10, Section 3

- Donalson Motor Company was opened by George Embry Donalson at location just South of railroad track on Hwy 96S Several years later, Donalson Motor Company moved to a larger facility. Due to continued growth they moved in 1996 to a new building where Silsbee Muffler and Tire is now located.

In the mid 70’s Donalson’s purchased 3 1/2 acres and moved to a new location at 1355 Hwy 96.

In 1992 Drew Donalson purchased the family business which carried Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep-Egle and GMC. In 1997, Drew purchased the local Ford / Toyota dealership which have been expanded at their present location.

From Section 3, Page 8 One of the museum’s aims is the involvement of the area’s youth in its activities. In cooperation with the Hardin County Extension Agent, the work of the county’s young artists, inventors and scientists is featured each May. The museum celebrates Black History Month with an annual show each February. During the school year, hundreds of students visit the exhibits to learn more about area fine artists and their works.

For a number of years the Ice House Museum has been organized and run by volunteers and local artists. Artist Kim Allen was the curator of the museum for several years. Silsbee artist Jenny Miller took over as curator last year. Joyce Stokes is currently in charge of exhibits.

Along with works of art, the Ice House Museum is also the home of the Hardin County Genealogical Society. The group meets monthly and welcomes newcomers and visitors to come and find out more about the people and places of Hardin County.

The Ice House Museum is located at 818 Ernest Ave. in Silsbee. For more information call 385-2444.

SILSBEE

Page 10, Section 3

THE SILSBEE BEE • www.silsbeebee.com • Sesquicentennial 2008

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

OIL!

HARDIN COUNTY: Celebrating 150 Years

After Ada Belle hits, Batson swells from 100 households to 10,000 people The Batson Oil Field complex was comprised of seven buildings, structures and features which included the wells, separating tanks, a round-house, the blacksmith shop, the company office building, and a low level mud storage pit.

The term “rocking jenny,” a holdover from the old muledrawn rig days, was the name ascribed to the oil wells. Relatively shallow wells of 700-1,500 feet are siphoned by 30-inch sucker rods attached to pipes that extend under the road to the round-house.

The well is built in a triangular shape which allows it to rock back and forth, pushing up the crude in spurts. Oil from this stripper well is pumped to the adjacent wooden separating tanks. Chains and sucker rods are stored in the tincovered round house along with the two wheels that drive the rocking jennies in the field.

A horizontal shaft drives the belted small wheel. The great 20foot wide driving wheel is turned by a rubberized canvas belt that is stretched across spindles set on concrete pillars and driven by an

electric motor. Above the wheel a narrow walkway was constructed; below it, and attached to it were off-set cams to which the sucker rods were attached causing the rhythmical gushing of the crude.

As the wheels turned, they pushed and pulled the sucker rods which radiated out from the round-house to the rocking wells. In the center of the wheel rested a bucket of grease ready for an emergency.

Crude and brine bubbled out of the well near ground level and flowed in an underground pipe from the old filtered cypress tank into the separation tank.

These tanks were constructed of heavy cypress boards and were routinely filled with crude which penetrated the tapered wooden plugs causing them to swell and form a seal. Crude and brine were mixed in the tanks then filtered through a screen to remove dirt and debris. As the oil floated to the top of the solution, it was siphoned off by a slanted pipe into the storage tanks until it was hauled away by pipe lines; the brine settles to the bottom of the tank and drawn off

by gravity and pumped into a leveed salt flat beyond the woods at the back of the oil field where it was left to evaporate naturally.

Periodically, the crew would lower a portable rig into a 40-50 feet well, draw it out and dismantle it to inspect the pipe for rust or corrosion, replacing the screen filters and adjustable parts if necessary. After checking the pipe the crew would hook up the jenny, prime the pump and start the rocking motion.

Located adjacent to the roundhouse and doubling as a tool shed is the blacksmith shop. An anvil and a firebox are the major features in the shop since most of the parts needed for the rig were hand-forged to fit the job. Horses were shod on the site and numerous shoes, traces, collars and branding irons line the walls.

A makeshift washing machine was fashioned from a 55 gallon drum bolted to the separating tank. At the end of the day, the workmen threw their dirty clothes into the drum along with some soap and water to have them

Discovered in the Batson Oil Field and developed by the Parrafine Oil Co. in October, 1913, the Ada Belle rig is the only remaining shallow oil well operation of its kind in the East Texas fields.

cleansed by the agitation of the rocker.

Discovered in the Batson Oil Field and developed by the Parrafine Oil Co. in October, 1913, the Ada Belle rig is the only remaining shallow oil well operation of its kind in the East Texas fields. Originally operating in the name of George Armstrong, the well was dug in 48 hours at a cost of $250 and initially yielded 600 barrels of oil a day. Wildcat speculating inflated the price of leases on farmland to $1,000 per acre.

Roughnecks, firemen and pumpers from the failing Saratoga, Sour Lake and Votaw fields descended on Batson and the rural wooded area became a boomtown. The population mushroomed from 100 households to 10,000 people in January 1904.

Opportunistic lumber mill owners moved in to supply the operators with clapboard for housing, offices and storage units. Saloons, general stores and boarding houses opened among the tents and row houses, quickly followed by a motley crew of gamblers, prostitutes and con men who lent their lives to the legends and lore that rose from the fever in the earth.

Public offenders lined up once a

week to plead guilty before returning for another week’s work.

“Sawmill weddings” were commonplace. This simple ceremony allowed that if a woman prisoner could convince a passerby to marry her, she would be released to his custody for the price of her fine.

One month after the well was operating, a blowout was heard and a fire ignited the field destroying everything except the rig.

No dividends were paid until June 1906. Sam Karnes took over the operation of the well in 1904 and changed the company’s name to Ada Belle in honor of his wife Ada Marie. George Armstrong

and Madaline Junk incorporated the fledgling company in July of that year.

John Cashen, James Donahoe and H.G. Camp formed the East Batson Oil Co. and merged with the Ada Belle Oil Co. in 1934.

Cashen operated a round-house in the Batson field back in the 1920s which is still used today. It is the round- house’s design that makes this process of oil extraction so economical and efficient: over 50 individual shallow wells can be pumped simultaneously.

Accessible only by horseback or wagon, the roads to the fields were often impassable. During See OIL on Page 14, Section 3

William Andrew ‘Buck’ Gilmore, Hardin County, ca. 1910.

CANEY

In the 1920’s, we didn’t have the modern equipment we have today, but we had the same desire...to provide the people of Hardin County and the surrounding areas with dependable electric service, at the lowest cost possible. We’re proud to have played a part in the economic growth of Hardin County and salute its citizens during this 150th Birthday celebration.

From Section 3, Page 9

Beaumont. Usually the logs were cut near a waterway in which they could be placed and floated downstream to the Neches River and from there to the mills in Beaumont. Some of the local waterways used for this purpose carry the same names today as they did over 100 years ago, Log Landing Lake, Maple Slough, Hog Wallow Slough and Timber Slough. Some of those had thick growths of Cypress and Tupelo Gum trees through which a path had to be cleared to allow the logs to pass unimpeded. The cleared paths were called “float roads.”

Once the logs were in the Neches, they were “rafted up” and their owners boarded them with cooking utensils and some means of temporary shelter to sustain them on their trip down river.

Once the logs were sold to the mills, the owners began the 40 to 50 mile trip back home on foot where their wives and children waited for their return.

As far as is known, the women never took part in these floats down the river. Maybe the physical work was too hard or the female clothing of the day was too cumbersome for floating logs down the river. We don’t know, but for whatever reason, the women contented themselves with staying home, looking after the children, keeping bears out of the hog pen, and the panthers out of

the house.

Keeping the body and soul together wasn’t the only concern of the early settlers. Early on, efforts were made to educate the young folks according to reports by generations now passed on. At some time in the 19th Century, school teachers from better established communities would come in and teach the children.

The custom was for the teacher to stay with a local family for a few weeks while she taught the young ones and then return to her home where she taught in a regular classroom.

The first school house was said to have been built by Andrew Jackson “Jack” Gore on the high ground adjacent to what is now named the Jack Gore Baygall in his honor. Later in the 20th Century, another Caney Head School was founded near the Caney Head Assembly of God Church at a site that is now a private residence. At least one Hardin County resident that attended that last school still lives in the county.

By the close of the 19th Century, the industrial revolution was changing society, economics and culture. The self-reliant, independent and physically hard lifestyle of the Texans was on its way out but not without protest.

The East Texas cattle culture would continue into and later fade in the 20th century.

Ed Cain

and the Hardin County Sheriff’s Department

says

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

THE SILSBEE BEE • www.silsbeebee.com • Sesquicentennial 2008

Section 3, Page 11

During the past 65 years residents of Hardin County have come to know Farmer Funeral Home is more than a business. They find our family to be friends that they can talk to and people have confidence that we will deal with them in a professional manner.

In May of 1929, R.S. Farmer came to Silsbee from Beaumont where he had worked for the Dale Broussard Funeral Home.

The building which served as Farmer Funeral Home from 1929 until 1937 still stands today on the corner of South 4th Street and Ave. K, just north of Elmore Insurance Agency.

In 1937, R.S. Farmer moved to the present day location which was originally built by R.L. Weathersby, brother-in-law to John Henry Kirby, in 1915.

In the mid-60’s the building was renovated to its present day appearance.

Page 12, Section 3

THE SILSBEE BEE • www.silsbeebee.com • Sesquicentennial 2008

HARDIN COUNTY: Celebrating 150 Years 1 - Batson Prairie School and Church/Guedry Cemetery Located 2.5 miles south of FM 770 Saratoga on Regal Road Batson Prairie and the present day town of Batson were named for the pioneer Batson family who settled in this area by the 1840s. Matilda Guedry and her family were among the early settlers on Batson Prairie. Matilda purchased a large tract of land in 1873, and in 1896 her oldest son, Jerisan Guedry, donated one acre of land for a community school. A one-room schoolhouse named Batson School was built and served the area for ten years. In 1897 the Batson Prairie Baptist Church was organized by Pastor Sims Stovall and eight charter members. Early worship services were held in the schoolhouse until 1905, when land adjoining the school was donated by Jersian Guedry for a church building. Later the congregation constructed new facilities that continue to serve the community. Land for a cemetery was donated by Jerisan Guedry and his son-in-law Marion Smith. The first recorded burial was that of Nathaniel Foreman, Guedry’s grandson, in 1900.

Named Guedry Cemetery, the site is maintained through a perpetual trust and contains more than 2,000 burials including those of descendants of early settlers to the area. The cemetery continues to serve the community. (1997) 2 - Bragg, Braxton, General, C.S.A. Located on State Highway 327 at the Hardin County Courthouse (1817-1876) American military leader honored in this county in name of an early town (12 mi. W). Born in North Carolina, Bragg was in Texas in 1840s with army of General Zachary Taylor, to fight in Mexican War. Made a brigadier general of the Confederacy, 1861, he won renown by capturing many guns and prisoners at Shiloh (1862), and for Southern victory in Battle of Chickamauga (1863). He was respected as a strong disciplinarian, a devoted patriot, and a man with a stern sense of duty.

Serving as military advisor (1863-1865) to President Jefferson Davis, he traveled with President Davis after Confederate surrender on a suggested escape route, but was captured by Federals and paroled in Georgia in May 1865. After an 1866-1870 term as Alabama commissioner of public works, he moved to Galveston. There he was chief engineer in charge of construction of Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway, chartered May 28, 1873. When the G. C. & S. F. built into this area, a junction point on the line was named for General Bragg.

The 1901-1934 town of Bragg (now a ghost site) had many facilities serving the Saratoga Oil Field. This was one of many towns (and counties) in Texas named for statesmen, military leaders and soldiers.

3 - Concord Located in Loeb First town in Hardin County. Established in 1858 at a strategic crossing from Beaumont to points north. Original name was Benton. Rapidly became a thriving steamboat port and reached a population of about 300, but declined in the 1880s with coming of the railroad.

4 - Discovery Well of Hardin County Located on FM 770, half a mile east of Saratoga At this site in 1901 the first oil well in Hardin County was brought in at a depth of 995 feet by J. B. (Ben) Hooks and brothers H. A. (Bud), J. L. (Sam), and George. The ensuing boom town was first called “New Sour Lake” but later named “Saratoga” after the famous New York resort.

5 - Felps Cemetery Located 7.8 miles northwest of Saratoga on FM 787, then half-mile west on dirt road This cemetery developed on land granted to Christian Hopfield by Mirabeau B. Lamar and the Republic of Texas in 1841. Hopfield sold the land to A. J. McMillan in 1873. Though there probably are earlier burials, the earliest known grave is that of Nancy (Griffin) Hall (1855-1878), who died at age 23.

Other 19th century burials include those of 9-year-old Mittie Roberts (18761885), 2-year-old Ellen Hall (18821884), and 4-year-old Selern Hall (1895-1899). William Felps acquired the land around this site in 1918 and the cemetery gradually took on his name.

Other graves of interest are those of Confederate veteran Henry Patterson and several other military veterans, including Lance Rosier (1886-1970), a World War I veteran known as “Mr. Big Thicket” for his efforts to conserve east Texas’ Big Thicket National Preserve.

(2000) 6 - First Baptist Church of Kountze Located at the intersection of U.S. 96 and SH 326 The Baptist Church of Hardin was organized in 1860 with Pastor D. W. Jordan. When the railroad bypassed Hardin (then the county seat) in 1881, area residents began moving to nearby Kountze.

Hardin Baptists are believed to have followed, probably meeting in a multi-denominational building known as the first house of worship in Kountze erected in 1887. Southern Baptist Convention records list the origin of the Baptist Church of Kountze in 1890; the congregation declared itself in 1893 under Pastor J. W. Rhodes. In 1908 a loan from the Southern Baptist Convention to the First Baptist Church of Kountze facilitated the erection of a frame structure on Redwood Street. It was located two blocks from the original building, which had become the Methodist Church. In 1951 fundraising and planning began for

a new brick building, dedicated in 1955.

By 1979, a two-story wing was added; in the 1980s the church library and sanctuary were expanded and new youth programs established. The First Baptist Church of Kountze marked its 100th anniversary with a celebration lasting from the spring of 1990 to January of 1993.

With such developments as a new fellowship hall added in 1997, the church continues to serve the community.

(1998) 7 - First United Methodist Church of Kountze Located on SH 326 next to Brookshire Bros.

The town of Kountze developed in the 1880s, after the Texas and New Orleans Railroad was built through this area. The county seat, which had previously been located at the town of Hardin, was moved to Kountze in 1886. Soon after the town’s creation, a group of worshipers led by the Rev. James S. Mur-

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Marking the History of a County

phy joined together to organize a Methodist congregation. Land was acquired in 1887 from P. S. Watts, and plans were made to erect a sanctuary to be used by all denominations. The cornerstone was laid on May 11, 1888, and the first church building in Kountze soon was completed. Worship services were held on alternate Sundays by Methodists and other denominations. Murphy continued to serve as circuit-riding minister to the Methodists until December 1888, when he was succeeded by the Rev. V. A. Godbey. The Methodist Church in Kountze continued to grow over the years. Sunday School and missionary programs were organized, and in 1940 the congregation became a full charge in the denomination, with its own full-time pastor. A new sanctuary was built in 1951 to serve the growing congregation.

The church has been a part of Kountze history for over a century.

8 - Ghost Road: The Big Thicket Light Located about one mile north of Saratoga at the intersection of FM 787 and Ghost Road Ghost Road runs arrow straight through territory that was once thicket, cypress brake, baygalls and lobolly pines. It began as the bed of a branch rail line of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe that ran between the towns of Bragg and Saratoga to provide access to the timberlands of the area. At the southern end of the line was the McShane Lumber Company operation at Dearborn. Tales of a ghostly light began even as the line was in service, before automobiles ran through the area. The stories continued after the line was converted to a county road in the 1930s. Arthur Fullingim, outspoken editor of the Kountze News, published accounts of ghost light sightings, which brought widespread attention and interest. The road became a popular site for travelers, young couples and others interested in the phenomenon, known as the Ghost, Bragg, Big Thicket or Saratoga Light. Explanations over the

years have included the natural — swamp gas or reflection of phosphoric foxfire; the historical — gold hidden by Spanish soldiers and explorers; as well as the supernatural — the spirits of a rail worker searching for his lost head, a groom looking for his murdered bride, a lost hunter, disgruntled rail workers or jayhawkers. In addition to its place in popular lore, the road’s once dense timber stands attracted development and lumber interests. For decades, county officials disagreed with others, including noted Big Thicket conservationist R.E. Jackson, over the road’s importance. In the late 1990s, it finally became a protected resource. Today, it draws visitors enticed by its flora and fauna, as well as by its mythic, ghostly lights. (2005) 9 - Hardin Located off FM 326, three miles south of Kountze Founded 1859 as first county seat of Hardin County, created in 1858. Prospered until bypassed by Sabine & East Texas Railroad in 1881. A fire of suspicious origin razed the Courthouse here on Aug. 8, 1886. In an 1887 election, Kountze, on the railroad, was named the county seat.

10 - Hardin County Located on SH 326 at the courthouse Created January 22, 1858; organized August 9, 1858. Named in honor of the Hardins of Liberty County, five brothers— Benjamin Watson, Augustine Blackburn, William, Franklin and Milton A. who came to Texas in 1825. County seat, Hardin, 1858-1887; Kountze, since.

11 - Courthouses of Hardin County Located at SH 326 and Redwood St., the northeast corner of the courthouse in Kountze Hardin County was created in 1858.

The first official Hardin County building was probably a two-story log building that burned about 1886. Early county records were destroyed in the conflagration. In 1887, architect Frank Smith of Beaumont designed a two-story

frame structure built in Kountze by local contractor W. B. Pedigo. A safe was positioned inside the structure and the walls were built around it. The building was replaced in 1905. J. B. Hooks moved the old courthouse across the street to become the J. B. Hooks Abstract Company. A new masonry courthouse was erected in 1905. It was designed by Andrew P. Bryan and built

by M. J. Lewman and Company. Domed in the tradition of the nation’s capitol and the Texas State Capitol, the edifice was built of native stone from the Pecos area of West Texas. Salmon-colored brick was imported from the Hydraulic Press Brick Company of St. Louis, and the columns and bases were crafted by Bedford Stone Company. A carbide lighting system was installed in 1918. A threestory colonial-style sandstone building was erected with four 24-foot two-story columns front and back and 16 smaller columns supporting the dome. This building served until 1958. A modern facility was planned by Dickson-Dickson and Associates and built by Lumbeck Construction Company in 1958. The 1905 edifice was destroyed in 1960. At the end of the 20th century, the 1958 courthouse was still in service and the 1887 building continued to stand, now the home of law offices, near the courthouse square. (2000) 12 - Hardin-Concord Road Located on US 69, seven miles south of Kountze (In use 1859-1900) One of oldest landmarks in area. Formed by wagon and horseback travel from early settlements on Pine Island Bayou (to the SE) to Hardin, first county seat. Much of old road can be traced today. The highway crosses its course here.

13 - Hart-Herrington Cemetery Located 7.8 miles north of Kountze on US 69; 1.7 miles east on FM 420 William Henry Hart was born in GeorSee MARKERS on Page 13, Section 3

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THE SILSBEE BEE • www.silsbeebee.com • Sesquicentennial 2008

Section 3, Page 13

MARKERS

From Section 3, Page 12

gia in March 1804. Hampton Jackson Herrington was born in the same state in 1817. Hart married Sarah Granberry Herrington, becoming “Hamp” Herrington’s brother-in-law. Herrington married Rachel Overstreet in 1838; after Rachel‘s death he married her sister, Elizabeth Overstreet, in 1845. The Hart and Herrington families moved to the East Texas community of Providence in 1853. In that year Hart served as a delegate from Jefferson County to select a nominee for congressman for East Texas. Hart and Herrington purchased eighty acres of the W. M. Bumstead survey n 1854. A portion of that land was to be set aside for a cemetery. When Hardin County was created in 1858, William H. Hart was elected county treasurer and his brother-in-law, “Hamp” Herrington, became the first chief justice (county judge). William Hart died in 1861 and his body was interred near this site, formally establishing the cemetery. The next burial was that of Sarah Ann Teel of Saratoga, who died in 1872. Sarah Herrington Hart was buried beside her husband in 1896. Hampton Herrington served the people of Hardin County until his own death in 1899. Of the nine marked graves in Hart-Herrington Cemetery, eight are those of relatives of William and Sarah Hart or Hampton and Elizabeth Herrington.

Believed to be the second graveyard established in Hardin County, the Hart-Herrington Cemetery remains as a chronicle of the pioneers of East Texas.

14 - Harvey Houses of Silsbee Located at the corner of S. 4th St. and Ave. H in the library parking lot Laid out in 1894 as a sawmill town, Silsbee became a stop on the Santa Fe Railroad in 1902. By the end of that year a depot was built, and three years later a Harvey House Hotel opened. Named for entrepreneur Fred harvey, Harvey House Hotels and restaurants were located along the Santa Fe lines from Chicago to California. Offering efficient and elegant service, Harvey Houses often were an important part of a town’s cultural life. The Silsbee Harvey Hotel burned in 1906, but a new Harvey House Restaurant, completed in 1908, continued in operation until 1923.

15 - Hooks Abstract Company Located behind the courthouse Established in 1902, the Hooks Abstract Company is thought to be the oldest continuously operating business in Hardin County. Named for its major investor J. B. Hooks, the company initially provided land ownership research for oil and timber companies. Co-founder Amos Rich operated the company until 1906 when J. A. McKim, Sr., assumed management of the firm. In the 1950s title insurance services were added by J. A. McKim, Jr., and his wife, who purchased the business in the 1960s. Their son succeeded them, changing the name of the firm to Hooks Title and Abstract Co.

16 - Hooks Cemetery Located 6 miles south of Kountze on Hooks Cemetery Road, off US 69 North Carolina native William Hooks (1818-1894) lived in Florida and Georgia before moving to Texas in 1849. He settled here on his survey in 1852. Soon after, he set aside land at this site for a burial ground. It was originally used for family members and for residents of the adjacent area known as Pigeon Roost Prairie.

William Hooks took a personal interest in the cemetery; he built coffins, dug graves, and maintained the grounds. After his death, it was administrated by his two youngest sons, Bud (d.1933) and Ben (d.1949).

17 - Jackson Family Cemetery from FM 326 and FM 105 junction, go north on FM 326, then left on Crosby to Brown; right on Brown one bloc then left; take next left to end of gravel road Stephen Jackson (1803-1860), a settler in the Lorenzo de Zavala colony, was granted one league (4,428 acres) of land in this area in 1835. Jackson built his home near this site and cleared pastures for cattle and horses on most of the land. The grant also included palmetto thickets shielding numerous mineral springs and lakes of sulphurous water. Settlers frequented the lakes seeking cures, and a small community grew near Jackson’s home. In 1851 he sold this land but in 1856 acquired a controlling interest in the spa that had developed nearby (then located about 5 mi. NW). As late as 1878, Jackson’s daughter Minerva (1838-1911) and her husband James A. Merchant (1836-1886) were operating the spa’s hotel. Jackson died in 1860 and was buried near his home. In 1871 his widow Susan Choate Jackson (1807-1873) designated four acres of her homestead as a cemetery, including her husband’s grave.

She was subsequently buried here, along with five of their children. Other members of the Sour Lake community have been buried here, as well as numerous descendants of Stephen Jackson. Surnames of Jackson family descendants represented here include Frazier, Guedry, Herring, Merchant, Mowbray, Moye and Pietzcker.

Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986 18 - Richard E. Jackson Located 7 miles north of Kountze on US 69 at FM 420 at the Big Thicket National Preserve Visitors’ Center Richard E. Jackson Conservationist Richard E. Jackson was born August 12, 1880, in Leary, Georgia. In 1886, he came with his parents to Jasper, Texas, where they opened a general mercantile store. As a teenager, he worked for the family store and carried mail from Jasper to Woodville.

In 1896, he was the first ticket agent for the GB & CK Railroad at Silsbee “Junction.” Working as a conductor for the Santa Fe by 1904, he carried freight to sawmills and oilfields. In 1907, he married Velma Ophelia (Byrum), of Gainesville, and

settled in Silsbee. Because of his admiration for the Big Thicket, Jackson began leasing land in the region, which was threatened by development, timber activity and oil explorations. His leases exceeded 18,000 acres, and he formed the Hardin County Co-operative Pasture and Game Preserve Group. Envisioning a park and hunting club, in 1929, he began an effort for the area’s preservation and attracted wide support. In 1936, Jackson called a meeting in the offices of the Beaumont Chamber of Commerce and organized the East Texas Big Thicket Association with 52 members. He hosted field studies for scientists, offered tours for public leaders, used his leases to show off the Big Thicket and delivered speeches publicizing it throughout the state and the region.

Among other factors, the Great Depression and World War II contributed to the collapse of this early organization, but Jackson continued his conservation efforts until his death in 1957. Many of his followers later joined to establish the Big Thicket Association. Due to Jackson’s early initiative and vision in preserving the unique landscape he loved, a national preserve was finally created here in 1974. Because of his unselfish dedication, R.E. Jackson is widely recognized as the “Father of the Big Thicket.” (2003) 19 - Kirby-Hill House Located at 210 Main St. in Kountze Designed by Frank T. Smith of Beaumont and built in 1902, this was the home of James L. (1844-1922) and Martha Slater (1840-1907) Kirby. James Kirby was superintendent of the Kirby Lumber Company, founded by his brother John Henry Kirby. Most of the home’s materials came from the Kirby Mills. Colonial revival and Victorian stylistic features include vertical siding, 48 pillars, curved walls, and six shingled gable ends. The house was inherited by the Kirby’s daughter Lucy and her husband Austin M. Hill, Sr. Their descendants lived here until 1990. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1998 20 - Kountze Baptist College Located on US 69, half mile north of FM 418 in parking lot of Kountze City Hall Kountze Baptist College (also known as Jermany College) served African American students in the area for nearly two decades. In 1910, the Trinity Valley Baptist Association opened the primary and secondary grade level school. Such institutions were often known as colleges at the time. Professor W.H. Jermany served as president of the school and also taught classes along with four other teachers, including his wife. Affiliated with Bishop College in Marshall, the school initially enrolled 15 students housed in a small wooden building. Classes included Reading, Writing, Mathematics, Home Economics and Sewing, Dressmaking and Millinery, Music and Theology. The school also operated a truck farm on part of its 81-acre campus to support its agricultural

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education programs, and included a college preparatory academy and a teacher training program.

Kountze Baptist College thrived in the 1910s and into the 1920s. The small wooden school building was replaced by a larger structure, and in 1915 the school obtained additional land and erected a three-story building which contained dormitory rooms, classrooms and a chapel.

By the late 1920s, Professor Jermany had resigned and was replaced by a Professor Schlyde. Because of financial difficulties compounded by the Great Depression, the school closed in 1930.

Many of the young African American men and women who were educated here went on to graduate from college. Serving as a source of pride for both blacks and whites in the area, Kountze Baptist College left a legacy as an institution of vital importance and significance in Hardin County. (2007) 21 - Kountze Church of Christ Located on US 69N in Kountze This congregation was established in 1886, one year before Kountze was named Hardin County Seat. First services were held in the Masonic Hall and in the Courthouse. In 1891 a permanent building was constructed on Brown Road on land given

by Judge and Mrs. W. W. Cruse. It served the congregation until 1952 and was equipped with an 1819 church bell that provided the traditional call to worship.

First elders of the church were John R. Bevil and J W. Daniels, with D. A. Leake serving as first minister. For over a century, the Church of Christ has been an important part of the history of Kountze.

Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986 22 - Pine Lodge, No. 642, AF&AM Located at the corner of N. Main and Maple St. in Kountze Organized in September 1886, and chartered in December of that year, the Pine Lodge drew its original thirteen members from all over Hardin County. William B. Pedigo served as the first master of the lodge and would continue his association with it for many years. The Washburn Building on Main Street was the first home of the lodge, which responded to appeals for assistance in the county and helped start new lodges in other area towns. The lodge began renting this building in 1923 and bought the property in 1945. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986 23 - Pine Ridge Baptist Church Located on FM 421, two miles east of FM 326 The founders of the Pine Ridge community came here to settle during the 1840s, soon after Texas was admitted to statehood. The Rev. David M. Jordan and his family moved to Pine Ridge probably during the late 1860s. A Baptist minister ordained in Alabama in 1852, Jordan had first come to Hardin County in 1858 and organized the Providence Baptist Church near the present town of Kountze. Rev.

Jordan organized the Pine Ridge Baptist Church in 1874. Joining him as charter members were Mary, Susan T., George B., W. J., and Sultana L. Jordan; Jessie and Missouri Jordan Daniels; The Rev. J. W. “Billy” and Miley Jordan Teel; Mandy Shaw Cotton, Jane Teel, Thomas Laird, and Aletha Laird Herrington. Rev. Jordan donated land for a church and cemetery. During the early years, baptisms were held in Little Pine Island Bayou. Upon the death of the Rev. D. M. Jordan in 1906, his son-inlaw, the Rev. J. W. Teel, became the church’s second pastor. Over the years, the congregation has been served by many able pastors, and several ministers have been licensed to preach from the church’s membership. With a history of service and leadership to the community, Pine Ridge Baptist Church continues to uphold the ideals and traditions of its founders.

24 - Lance Rosier Located east of Saratoga on FM 770 at the entrance of the Big Thicket Field Research Station The Big Thicket National Preserve exists today in large part due to the efforts of a few dedicated individuals who took up the causes of conservation and wildlife preservation against great odds, both political and social. Lance Rosier was one of those early advocates. Rosier was born in what is now the Preserve unit that bears his name. He grew up in Saratoga, in the center of the Big Thicket, living with his aunt Mattie Evans in her Vines Hotel. There, he listened to stories told by roughnecks, drummers and pioneers. He spent much of his youth wandering the nearby woods and learning about the native flora and fauna. After serving in the U.S. Army, he became a timber cruiser, as well as a guide for surveyors. Authors and journalists wrote numerous stories about the selftaught naturalist who provided tours for scientists, photographers, politicians, students, scholars, conservationists and others who sought his expertise. His knowledge grew through work with scientists who identified plants for him, thus expanding his understanding of habitats, life cycles, medical or industrial uses, and scientific names of species of plant life. His tours featured extras, like stories of an encounter with a black panther. Known as “Mr. Big Thicket,” Rosier served as a bridge between the first East Texas Big Thicket Association (1929-1957), led by R.E. Jackson, another regional conservationist, and others to establish the second Big Thicket Association in 1964. Unfortunately, Rosier died in 1970, a few years before the realization of his dream to have the unique environmental area declared a national park. Today, his legacy lives on in the protection and continuing research of his beloved Big Thicket. (2005)

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25 - Silsbee Ice Plant Located at the corner of Ernest and S. 4th St. in Silsbee The Silsbee Ice, Light, and Power Co., bought by Gulf States Utility Co. in 1926, grew rapidly after relocating to this structure in 1930. With a new spur track of the Gulf, Colorado, & Santa Fe Railway in place, the company became a major regional ice distributor. The plant was sold to local businessmen in 1943 and functioned until 1981. Designed by D. H. Paulson, the raised 1-story brick building reflects Spanish revival stylistic influences in its tiled pent roofs and awnings.

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1991 26 - Sour Lake C.S.A. Located 1.5 miles west of Sour Lake on SH 105 Early-day health resort, with baths that attracted such Texans as Gen. Sam Houston. The healing waters had been used for years by the Indians. One spring’s water, with high sulphuric acid content, primed telegraph batteries during the Civil War. This was of vital importance, for at best telegraph service was limited. Started in 1854, the 1861-65 system went on from Shreveport to Marshall all the way to Houston, and from Houston to Galveston to Orange. A 20-word telegram sent from Shreveport to Houston in February 1865 cost $36.

27 - Stephen Jackson Located at FM 326 and E. Crosby St. in Sour Lake, one block north of the FM 326/SH 105 intersection (1803-1860) Born in South Carolina, Stephen Jackson moved to Lorenzo de Zavala’s colony in Texas in 1831. He received a labor of land (177 acres) to establish a farm. In 1835 Jackson was granted a league of land (4,428 acres), which included the later community of Sour Lake. In 1836 Jackson served in Captain Logan’s company of the Texas army and awarded 320 acres of land in Milam County as bounty. He married Susan Choate (1807-1873) in 1838 and established their home near here. They are buried along with their children— Ambrose, Sarah, James A., Minerva, Stephen, and W. J.— in the family cemetery (.5 mi.

NW). Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986 28 - Teel Cemetery Located 2.5 miles south of FM 770 Saratoga on Regal Road Alabama native Richard Teel (18331918) came to East Texas in the 1850s. He married Nancy A. Hart (1842-1900) in 1858 and they settled here. When the Teels’ son, D. J., died in 1893, he was buried here beside the family home. In 1908, after other burials had taken place, Teel legally designated the site a cemetery.

The more than sixty graves in the historic cemetery include those of Richard and Nancy Teel, as well as other relatives, friends, and neighbors. Now located in the Big Thicket National Preserve, the cemetery is a tangible reminder of the area’s early permanent settlers.

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Page 14, Section 3

THE SILSBEE BEE • www.silsbeebee.com • Sesquicentennial 2008

HARDIN COUNTY: Celebrating 150 Years

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Santa Fe Railroad & the Harvey House

Harvey House provided a taste of civilization during railroad days A Harvey House in Silsbee?

Where is Silsbee?

This question must have been asked many times by the readers of the Texas Almanac, that prestigious publication considered as the final word on the growth and condition of Texas counties.

The 1904 edition of the Texas Almanac listed as the principal towns of Hardin County as Sour Lake, Batson, Saratoga and Kountze.

Silsbee, at that time still in its infancy, was not mentioned, though it had been laid out on May 1, 1894 as a sawmill site and

named after Nathan D. Silsbee, a financier. It was also known as “Old Town.”

On Oct. 1, 1902, the Gulf Colorado and Santa Fe opened a line through the Big Thicket of Southeast Texas from Conroe to a junction with the Gulf Beaumont and Kansas City Railroad a half mile south of Old Town. This was named Silsbee Junction or South Silsbee and was to be the location of a Fred Harvey Hotel and Dining Restaurant.

Much has been written of the merits of Fredrick Henry Harvey, often call the “Civilizer of the

From Pastor Daryl and First Lady Audrea Gilbert and the 1680 Sweat Rd. • Silsbee, Texas

West” and how his epicurean expertise and flair for elegance replaced the old “eating houses” along the railroads with “Meals

by Fred Harvey” into “Harvey Houses.” This reputation, along with detailed descriptions of the new Harvey House in Somerville, built in 1900, served to whet the appetite of his rural community that would one day be the cultural center and largest city in Hardin County.

By the end of 1902, a depot had been built and plans were formulated to build a roundhouse and clubhouse for employees similar to the joint Depot and Harvey House in Somerville. This was announced on June 1, 1905 by the Beaumont Enterprise. The Beaumont Journal reported on June 26, 1905 that plans had been revised, that the Depot was to be remodeled and enlarged and a Harvey Hotel to be erected a short distance from the Depot. The contract to build was reportedly let to W.C. Whitney of Beaumont.

By August, a 50-acre tract of land had been surveyed for a South Silsbee Townsite plat. This was to be Woodrow, a development for Santa Fe employees.

Progress was almost certain.

Murphy’s Law was inevitable; a threatened strike by a machinist union and the resulting lockout by Santa Fe in May 1904, which had produced little or no effect at this point in time, now became a reality as the roadhouse and machine shop were involved. The management of Santa Fe issued a warning to strikers “Not to trespass or interfere with business of the Company.”

Mr. L.L. Smith, supervising architect of Gulf, Colorado and

This two-story depot was built in Silsbee to handle the passenger, luggage and freighter traffic. The second floor ws used for living quarters by the depot agent and his family. There were four passenger trains that operated through town daily and this service continued until about 1956 when the automobile replaced the passenger coach as the principal mode of travel. This building was enlarged and remodeled in 1905 and modernized in 1958 for use as an office for the roadmaster and his staff. The building was bulldozed in the mid 1960s.

Santa Fe Railroad, appeared in Silsbee to investigate buildings being erected by outside contractors.

He allegedly stated that “a contract for the erection of the Harvey eating house had not yet been let.”

Thus as the year of 1905 ended, so it appeared, that the prospect of a Harvey House in Silsbee also faded.

The people of this growing community were not to be intimidated by minor adversities. On the evening of Nov. 11, 1905, 24 Masons, leading citizens and railroad men of Silsbee, requested of Pine Lodge in Kountze a recommendation to Grand Lodge of Texas for a charter to forma Masonic Lodge in Silsbee. The petition was immediately honored and Silsbee Lodge No. 927 AF&AM was granted a charger on Dec. 7, 1905.

THe new year of 1906 showed promise. By Feb. 17, material was on site for erection. Previous and subsequent reports disclosed a question of priorities as to a rooming hotel for railroad men or a Harvey House for railroad men and traveling public. Santa Fe opted for both, which led people to refer to both as “Harvey Houses” and created some confusion in distinction in later years.

The March 23 issue of the Beaumont Enterprise reported “The Harvey House is being complted for railroad men containing bath, billiards and reading room.” ON April 24, the same paper reported “Work progressing rapidly on Harvey Hotel in Silsbee and will soon be ready for business.”

The Harvey Hotel burned in 1906. The date of the fire, if recorded, has been lost to time.

Rendition for Hardin County taxes of June 18, 1906 for hotel and fixtures was $3,000. These were reduced to $480 on July 4, 1906, suggesting that the hotel was opened under the auspices of Fred Harvey, but the building was property of Santa Fe. Plat maps reveal that the hotel foundation was 88.5 feet by 65.5 feet, 8 inches thick and 24 inches above ground level.

This was further described by Mrs. D.D. McGowan who moved to Silsbee in 1912. According to Mr. Otis Thomas, bookkeeper of Harvey Houses, there was a basement containing a barber shop and pool tables.

1906 proved to be an exciting year for this burgeoning community. The jail cell, on the courthouse square in Kountze, was ordered moved to Silsbee on Feb. 22, 1906.

By April 8, a U.S. Post Office had been moved from Mill Town to Junction. Silsbee Junction was incorporated on May 7, 1906 and the election of mayor, marsall and five aldermen was June 2, 1906.

There has been much specula-

OIL

tion as to why the Harvey Hotel was not rebuilt. Perhaps the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe considered that passenger traffic was insufficient to justify the large rooming house as the railroad yards and a Harvey HOtel. Whatever the reason, it was announced in the October 1908 issue of the Santa Fe magazine that the new Harvey House was rapidly filling up.

This Harvey House was a Santa Fe restaurant located 200 feet southeast of the original Harvey Hotel, on track No. 20. It was 24 feet by 80 feet long with a 24x24 dining room. This dining room was often utilized by the community for conferences or social functions.

As the automobile began to replace the passenger coach as a principal mode of transportation, so were the Meals by Fred Harvey served by neatly dressed Harvey Girls replaced by drive-ins.

The Harvey facilities were closed in 1923 and ordered to abandon on Jan. 24, 1927 by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company.

From Section 3, Page 10

rainy weather, crewmen “corduroyed” the roads with logs and drug equipment out to the fields with the assistance of mules and oxen. Seven days a week the oil men slogged through mud to work the rigs and fight runaway fires in the fields. Sleeping cots were never allowed to cool with the rigging crews working twelve hour shifts, changing at sunrise and sunset. The risk of danger was imminent—on the field and off.

Crew members routinely fell off derricks and were killed from the impact of failing equipment.

Many were blown to bits by unexpected explosions; others were succumbed by poisonous gases trapped in low relief areas. Off the job, shoot-outs and knifings were common. Oil men worked hard and played hard, often placing their lives on the line as stakes.

Policing the violence and crime in the camps became such a problem that offenders were occasionally bound to trees with tracing chains until a law enforcement officer could be summoned. Eventually, the Texas Rangers were called in

to keep law and order.

Ada Belle’s production level decreased steadily in 1904 from 10,000,000 barrels of oil to 200,000 in 1933. Batson’s boom period ended when the wells began to turn to salt water. Production dropped until it was no longer profitable for the big operators and the crewmen moved on to Humble, Texas, a new boom town. The rig yields of seven barrels of crude a day now, producing an annual income of $200,000. With expenses assessed at $93,500, the well is still profitable and energy efficient. The odor of the field with its venting gases and the rhythmical creaking of the wells and tank engines lulling the crewmen and their families to sleep are all but a memory now as Ada Belle pumps her crude alone in the Big Thicket.

In 1977, the National Park System Advisory Board toured the Big Thicket and the Ada Belle Oil Well field. The Board suggested that Ada Belle be studied as a possible National Historic Landmark.

Celebrating a Sesquicentennial is like walking....

One Foot Must Be Solidly In The Past So The Other Foot May Be Confidently In The Future.

St. Mark’s Church 11 Street & Payne Street Silsbee, Texas

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

THE SILSBEE BEE • www.silsbeebee.com • Sesquicentennial 2008

Section 3, Page 15

Stories from the Past

HARDIN COUNTY: Celebrating 150 Years

Tales of ghostly light near Saratoga bring various explanations A unique part of Hardin County is also one of its most mysterious, fascinating and out-if-way places: The Ghost Road.

The Ghost Road is situated in the heart of the Big Thicket. It begins at a bend on Farm-toMarket Road 787 that is 1.7 miles north of the intersection of FM 787-770, near Saratoga. Trees growing on both sides offer a natural canopy as drivers travel down the long dirt road.

Its original name is the Bragg Road, named after the town that was in that area at one time. The name Ghost Road was attached in this century after a number of tales that center around a ghostly light that is said to be seen on certain occasions at night.

The section of area was just part of the Big Thicket, thick with native and underbrush.

In 1902, Santa Fe Railroad hacked a survey line from Bragg

to Saratoga, bought right-of-way and opened the Big Thicket forest with a railroad, and the Saratoga train began its daily trips to Beaumont, carrying people, cattle, oil and logs.

When the area’s oil booms and virgin pine gave out, road crews pulled up the rails in 1934, the right-of-way was purchased by the county and the tram road became a county road.

Tales of a ghostly light gathered

steam in the 1940s, 50s and 60s as more people traveled to the road.

Explanations on the Ghost Light (or Bragg Light as it was called originally by locals) are varied and descriptive. Some people believe the light is the reflection of car lights while scientists believe it is a gaseous substance. Of course the best explanations are left to the imagination.

One story about the light is that it is a mystical phenomenon that frequents areas where treasure is buried and that Spanish conquistadores are looking fo the golden treasure.

Another story is that the light is a little bit of fire never extinguished after another famous historical spot in the county, the Kaiser Burnout, or it could be the ghost of a man shot during the Burnout.

Still another story is about a railroad man who was decapitated in a train wreck when the railroad was still in place. The light is the body of the man looking for his head which was never found. The light could also be the night hunter who got lost in the Big Thicket decades ago. The hunter still wanders, searching for a way out of the Thicket.

A story that really gives you chills, is the one about the husband looking for his bride. The story goes the couple was honeymooning at the Bragg Hotel, which used to be at the end of the road, and by mysterious circumstances the bride was murdered.

The light is the groom who continues to search for his bride’s killer.

Whatever the light is, its presence, or the thought of its presence, has been powerful enough to generate enough interest to make sure the Ghost Road remains as it is, an important part of Hardin County history.

The road has an illusion of a forest - a closed canopy green tunnel of pines, oaks, sweet gums, hollies and other hardwoods, with an understory of wax myrtle, arrowwood viburnum, titi and buttonbush.

The “bar” ditches of the old tram support interesting aquatic vegetation, such as insectivorous bladderworts and floatinghears, In sunlit openings another insectivorous plant appears, the sundew and along the roadsides a seasonal variety of wildflowers appear, including the fall ladies’ tresses orchid.

Notice the oil derrick built into the facade of the old Sour Lake High School.

Sour Lake high-schoolers have a little fun Along about the early 30's after the boom had hit and begun to pass Sour Lake, the enthusiasm of that Hardin county town was still alive at the old High School. As young small town teens have a tendency to do, schemes and antics abound, usually around the holidays.

Such pent-up energies found fruition one Halloween season in 1935.

A local farmer made an overnight trip into town in his old-time wagon drawn by two dependable mules. Parking them on the street near his acquain-

tances, he little suspected the events that would ensue.

Some teens took advantage of the occasion to dismantle and redeposit his wagon. The following morning, the wagon sat intact on the top pinnacle of the school's roof. The two mules were found safe on the street, but had been crudely painted to resemble zebras.

Nothing is really kept secret in a small town, especially not in 1930s Sour Lake. The culprits involved were duly put to task with replacing the wagon to ground level. The mules were

Sesquicentennial 2008

not so easily returned to previous-hijinks conditions.

The farmer complained for some time thereafter. Seems that the mules could not recognize each other as before. Their former team spirit of unity was gone and they had considerable trouble pulling together as zebra-mules until their former coats regrew to match the past.

No damages were permanent.

The memorable event is still amusing after 70-plus years and small-town living still can be enjoyed in Sour Lake and Hardin County.

City of Lumberton

Lumberton, like its name implies, began with a lumber mill location This growing “bedroom community” originated around 1894 much as it stands today as a stopping point between Beaumont and Hardin County. As a stop point on the Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe railroad, the original core site was known as Hook's Switch. George Hooks and Dr. S.B.Turner started a lumber mill there in 1886.

As with so many mill towns of the time, Hooks Switch and the Hooks Lumber Company experience the precarious ups and downs of the trade. The Panic (Major recession) of 1893-95 nearly closed the mill. By 1896, prosperity returned so that the mill, run by G. Hooks, Phillip

Chance, and W.B Strickland reportedly was extremely busy.

The J.F. Keith Lumber Company purchased the mill in 1899 and changed the name to Ariola, after Eduardo Ariola who held the original Mexican land grant to the area. Kirby Lumber absorbed the mill in July, 1902. Upon expansion and improved well facilities Kirby operated the site until 1907 when the mill was dismantled and moved to Fuqua By 1909 the name changed again to Fletcher. For that period 1909-14, Fletcher had a post office and experience some prosperity with the Nona-Fletcher Lumber Company.

Although locals had referred to the area along the railroad as “Lumber town” it did not officially adopt its current moniker of Lumberton until incorporation in 1973. Its growth has been persistent ever since. Certainly it expanding population and physical size will continue to cover the old local town sites of Chance, Loeb, and Ariola.From the 1970 census, the population stood at 2,150.

Today its estimated as 10,550 in the city proper. As the most populated town in Hardin County, Lumberton certainly has passed its adolescence and if busting out at the seams. Times are right for more restaurants.

Serving Hardin County Since 1982 The Care You Deserve

The clinic gym area includes all new exercise equipment.

1162 Hwy 327 E • Silsbee

Medicare - Worker’s Comp - Insurance

Serving Hardin, Jasper & Tyler Counties for 26 years

Lic# TACL B019465E

The Big Thicket Association commissioned a survey of the vegetation on the road, which was conducted in November of 1995.

Cores from several pines indicate an approximate age of 70 years diversity of plant life, with plants indicative of prairie, baygall, palmetto flat, and wetland savannah communities. This first survey listed 43 tree and shrubs, nine woody vines, 33 flowering plants and six ferns, with more to be surveyed during other seasons.

The importance of this road led many in the area to make sure no harm will be done to destroy the delicate balance of nature.

The Ghost Road Scenic Drive County Park was officially designated by Hardin County Commissioners Court on July 28, 1997.

To reach the Ghost Road, take U.S. 69 at Kountze to FM 326, from there take the turn onto FM 770 which will take you diretly to Saratoga. Go through Saratoga and at a right on FM 787 turn, the Ghost Road is not far off the beaten path.

For more information on the Ghost Road or the Big Thicket, contact the Big Thicket Association at P.O Box 198, Saratoga, Texas 77585.

Page 16, Section 3

THE SILSBEE BEE • www.silsbeebee.com • Sesquicentennial 2008

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Recording the History of a County

HARDIN COUNTY: Celebrating 150 Years

The Silsbee Bee has reported on events for nearly 90 years The Silsbee Bee may well be an endangered species. One by one America's small town newspapers have been gobbled up by giant conglomerates-- their independent voice muffled by corporate policy.

Some, despite worthy reputations for dealing with local issues, have been reduced to little more than shoppers for neighboring metropolitan markets.

But at the Bee office folks still line up each Wednesday afternoon to buy their papers fresh off the press. They eagerly turn to full accounts of city council and school board meetings. The deliberations of commissioners court are duly recorded along with highlights of

W.H. Harris, founder of The Silsbee Bee, published his first issue on March 15, 1919, nearly 90 years ago.

school boy sports. Since 1919 the Bee has routinely published in depth news of particular interest to Silsbee residents, notices of civic meetings, police reports and obituaries. Management has remained notably consistent throughout the Bee's 75 year history.

W. H. Harris, and experienced newsman from Nacogdoches, first entered the Silsbee Bee at the U.S. Post Office as second class mail on April 10, 1919. The initial issue actually hit the streets March 15. Harris was not the first to think the community struggling to grow from a logging camp into a proper town needed its own voice. J. B. Power founded the Silsbee Signal about 1915. The issue dated June 28, 1917 consisted of four pages, six columns wide. The lead story lauded Silsbee citizens for their generous response to the Red Cross Drive, contributing $5,058.15 to war relief. Also featured was the Santa Fe timetable.

Six passenger trains left the Silsbee depot daily.

The Signal had folded when Harris launched the Bee. Incorporated in its logo was the motto “Read the Bee or grow up in ignorance.”

In 1922 the paper was still just one folded sheet of four pages. Ads from that time informed readers Henry Ford was selling his remarkable automobile for $580 FOB Detroit, Silsbee State Bank's resources totaled $450,000 and Santa Fe offered round trip tickets to Beaumont for $1. Periodically

Employees of The Silsbee Bee take time out for a photograph. Pictured as part of this group are Robert Read and David Read. David owned The Bee until his death in 1968 when Robert and David’s son Tommy shared ownership. Tommy died in 1972. Robert continued his ownership of the newspaper until it was purchased by Danny Reneau in 1991.

the Nut also appeared in the Bee. This student section was apparently the forerunner of the Tiger Rag, Silsbee High School's popular publication.

In 1933 Harris retired and sold out to J. R. Gilbert. Shortly thereafter David Read, a graduate of Port Arthur College and a former postal clerk, bought the publication. He was joined in 1937 by his younger brother Robert L. Read, fresh out of Texas Tech and eager to utilize his journalism degree.

The masthead listed him as both reporter and editor until May, 1942 when he joined the Armed Forces.

In 1946, World War II behind then, the brothers became equal partners. That arrangement continued until David Read's death in 1968. Tommy Read, David's son and heir, then joined his uncle. The two remained co-owners of the Bee until Tommy suffered a fatal heart attack in 1972. From that date until the Bee was sold to Danny Reneau Jan. 1, 1991, R. L. Read remained the sole publisher and owner.

The newspaper was housed in a series of rented wooden structures until 1947. Weary of making do, the Read partners constructed the

masonry building now in use. It was later expanded to include an office supply store and storage space for roll newsprint. The old Linotype machine is long ago. The Bee Converted to offset printing years ago. Today computers have all but replaced typewriters. The office supply store closed upon R. L. Read's retirement, but the paper continues it's time honored tradition of unbiased reporting of local issues.

Certainly the Bee grew along with the town. David Read maintained the highest profile of the publishers. He was the town's first

ial

Ha

e S s q y u t i n c u e o n C t e n n i n rd

Home of The Silsbee Bee from 1946 - 2008

1858 - 2008

Gerry Dickert, Janet Reneau, Leah McInnis, Sarah Gordon, Debbie Gordon, Danny Reneau

In 2008 moved to 404 Hwy 96 S

The Silsbee Bee

Danny, Jan, Gerry, Debbie, Sarah, Leah, Janice, Ryan, Bobby, Sarah G., Lisa & Jessie.

404 Hwy 96 S

385-5278

Silsbee

www.silsbeebee.com

city secretary and served two terms in the State Legislature. During his tenure, legislation was passed making Lamar Tech a four year college and establishing the farm to market road system. It was he who ultimately resolved the troublesome problem of roving livestock.

As late a 1938 pigs snoozed in the post office, while cows ambled down Avenue H heading for the lush grazing beyond Collier's Store. Knowing full well this did little to promote the image of a progressive community, the city fathers proposed incorporating Silsbee. The cattlemen, champions of the open range, formed a powerful block certain to defeat any such measure. David Read rode to the rescue.

His research revealed the city had actually incorporated in 1906.

The action had been ignored but never revoked. If those interested in progress would stand for election, a city council could finally be installed to pass the much needed livestock ordinance. The Bee endorsed the election, drumming up public support and Silsbee gained a city government.

Bee publishers have strongly endorsed bond issues to construct schools, build sewer and water systems and pave city streets. A campaign to obtain equal representation for the Silsbee area through redistricting succeeded. In recent years the paper has supported efforts to enhance interracial communications and understanding.

The big stories that break on the evening news have no place in a weekly paper. The Bee strives to reflect the community--the commerce, the politics, the people who call Silsbee home. It may never claim a Pulitzer, but it speaks with an independent voice to a circulation of 6,800. In this age of takeovers that's a rarity.

Oil well fire ignites north of Silsbee

By PAUL HIMMELREICH Special to the Bee Every Fourth of July, barbecues, displays and celebrations may bring out the flash, bangs and sizzle of Hardin County, but nothing like the prominent display that was seen around these parts the summer of 1936.

Republic Oil Company had been drilling a discovery well north of Silsbee at a pond in a field surrounded with crawfish holes by a water well. Some gas had begun to prominently be discharged from both wells. Then, simultaneously, a spark from below sent an instant combination of fireworks display and ready-made crawdad cookout to the field.

That blowout on Aug. 7,1936 reached heights of 200 feet skyward. It blew both wells, created a crater and sent flames shooting out of all the crawfish holes throughout the field.

The burning well that had initially blown out on Aug. 5 was not capped until Oct. 2. A second well was drilled nearby at a slant to a depth of 7,025 feet. Under great pressure, waters pumped below cut the gas off that had been feeding the flaming crater. Some described it as initially blowing debris like volcanic lava.

Despite the tremendous loss in time and revenue, the display set new standards for local oil interests. The two-month burn consumed 2,000 barrels of oil daily at an estimated cost of a quarter-million dollars — a tremendous sum in Depression era dollars. Yet the value of attention was even more amazing.

On site, the blazing inferno was described by eye-witnesses as aweinspiring, terrific, even monstrous.

Yet, seen from afar, especially at night, it projected a majestic display of splendid colors dancing on clouds of its own creation, much like a continual Autumn sunset without end.

Couples and families gathered nightly to behold its splendor even along forested lanes 10 miles around.

My aunt Edna relates that its intensity was such that you could read a newspaper in the yard from the north end of Beaumont.

And some, no doubt, felt a pang of disappointment when the show finally ended in early October.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

THE SILSBEE BEE • www.silsbeebee.com • Sesquicentennial 2008

Section 3, Page 17

History of the City of Kountze

HARDIN COUNTY: Celebrating 150 Years

Could brothers be behind mysterious courthouse fire?

By PAUL HIMMELREICH Special to The Bee Should you study the histories of Omaha, Nebraska or Denver, Colorado, the lives and legacies of the Pioneer Banking Empire of the Kountze Brothers will be proudly espoused.

A slightly different shade will be painted in their histories regarding the business activities of the same celebrated family in Southeast Texas.

Wikipedia will relate how elder Brother Augustus “developed a massive banking, real estate, and railroad portfolio,” a great story about the opportunities of those who made the American dream happen.

Among the brothers, he was the most beneficial and benevolent in his public interests and business professionalism. Along with the considerable investments in the western expansion of cities and railroads through Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming, he and younger brother Herman also made investments in Texas.

Realizing the demand for lumber in the west and the depletion of northern stock, they purchased the Sabine Pass area lands, built the primary railroad to the Thickets of east Texas, and purchased a large holding of timberlands in the region in the early 1880’s.

The town of Kountze is named in honor of Augustus and Herman.

The Sabine and East Texas rail-

road built in 1881 which was one of the first railways to penetrate the woodlands of the Thicket was strictly an investment to be maximized for profit, not a developmental tool for long term local business, as Kirby and Silsbee intended with the Gulf, Beaumont, and Kansas City railway.

Although the brothers had made their considerable fortunes basically around Omaha and Denver before moving to open their Bank in New York that was always home.

Texas was strictly an investment locale. That is why, especially after Augustus’ death in 1892 and Younger brother Luther’s oversight of the Texas investments, their dealings were more cold numbers than a personal endeavour. No wonder that the conspiratorial legend (among many others in the Thicket) still persists concerning the mysterious fire in Hardin which lead to Kountze becoming the county seat in 1886.

Herman Kountze had no less a reputation as a benevolent western banker-developer as his elder brother Augustus. The large Lutheran Church of Omaha and the suburban Kountze Place are only a part of their namesakes.

During the 1870-90’s their investments expanded through Iowa, Minnesota, and the growing railways in the area. Besides land deals including Fort Omaha, their fingers were involved in a half dozen other railroads besides

Herman Kountze

backing the Sabine and East Texas.

Another red blooded American investor in Kansa City also had designs on growing opportunities in Southeast Texas. Arthur Stillwell visited the Sabine Pass area in April 1895 with his wife and prospective investors. Already backed by American and European investors, he had a plan to connect Kansas City with the Gulf and open up the Midwest to larger commerce. Rejecting the Sabine Pass site for his railroad terminus, Stillwell established Port Arthur as an inland port by a man-made canal. That planned investment opened up a two year battle with the Kountzes includ-

ing sixteen lawsuits and political intrigues in Congress. In his biography, “Cannibals of Finance” Stillwell reports that at his invitation, he met with Luther Kountze in his Manhattan Bank. Luther K. offered his land and port at Sabine Pass at one million dollars to the Stillwell investors and suggested a $100,000 fee to Stillwell. Upon Stillwell’s rejection of the offer, Luther K. replied “I will force you to buy it.”

Alas, all the reports of who said what and how it played out are all closed door reports. Stillwell was something of a peculiar fellow in his own rights. Yet, he did prevail and break the Kountze monopoly on the area shipping harbour. The irony of the story ends with the fact that the Sabine Pass investments landed in the hands of the one-time partner and promoterinvestor with John Henry Kirby, Patrick Calhoun. It was Calhoun that tried to undercut the Kirby Lumber plans of John Henry once he had begun his big dream of the Kirby Lumber- Houston Oil Company Empire in 1901. It also was that same Luther Kountze who held strong to his Thicket Timber investments he offered to John Henry at $2 million. My reading of the historical accounts conclude, that Luther wasted no time in replenishing his projected profits when plan A failed at Sabine Pass with Stillwell.

Now Kirby needed those

Kountze timberlands to establish his success with the Kirby Lumber- Houston Oil program he worked up with Calhoun. Pat Calhoun, grandson of the famous Senator-orator, was promoting a suburb in Columbus, Ohio. He had eastern connections with serious New York money. The accumulated forty million investment proposed for his lumber-oil scheme was strongly hinged to the 189,000 acre Kountze land holdings in Angelina, Hardin, Jasper, San Augustine, and Tyler counties. Falling lumber prices, unaccounted extra expansion costs in updating the eighteen mills purchased and philosophical differences prevented Kirby from raising the funds necessary to buy the Kountze option he held for the first two years of Kirby Lumber’s operation. Needless to say, Calhoun and his financial backers attempted to raid Kirby Lumber and that fight that began in 1903 ran the courts till 1907 when Kirby took back control of the lumber operation and Calhoun ran with the Houston Oil company.

John Henry Kirby had two great financial angels in the achievements of his life. (Those same achievements that had a profound affect on the history of Hardin County.) His first angel was Nate Silsbee when he opened the doors of opportunity to his life goal to tap the natural assets of the Thicket and harvest its bounty of pines. His second angel was

R.P.Ripley, president of the A.T.& S.F. railroad who financed him through many of his struggles with empire building including the purchase of the Kountze lands In June 2008 the AP reported that the Kountze family members in Nebraska still had internal problems with their fortunes.

Seems they still play hardball over who had what at what price. The problems and persistent questions of how ethical or how right profit gathering should be will no doubt play out till the day the dollar is worthless. It lends credence to the old story about the Baptist Minister and the one-eyed Banker.

The Baptist minister of a small town church ran out of money building a new sanctuary for his poor but growing congregation.

His best option was to approach the only Banker in town who just happened to dislike Baptist Ministers. After relating his needs, the old Banker retorted, ”Well Pastor, I’ll tell ya. Everone knows I have one false eye, but no one knows which one it is. If you can tell me correctly, I’ll give you the money you need.” At that, the pastor just sat and stared at the Banker for the longest. Finally, he said ,”It’s the right one.” The Banker leaned over his desk and inquired, “You are the first person in thirty years that figured it out. How did you know?”

“Simple,” replied the Pastor, ”I thought I saw a little mercy in that one.”

Kirby-Hill House finds new life as historic attraction The Kirby-Hill House, named after the two principal occupants, James Lafayette Kirby and Austin Mae Hill Sr., was built in 1902. It is located at 210 Main Street in Kountze, one blocks north of the Hardin County Courthouse square.

The home was built by Frank T. Smith, master architect and builder from Beaumont, whose credits include several major buildings in the business district of Beaumont, two of which are the Gilbert Building and the Alamo Building.

Smith built the home for James L. Kirby, brother to John Henry Kirby, founder of the Kirby Lumber Company empire, which dominated the economy of Hardin County and Southeast Texas for one hundred years.

The home is located in the original town site of Kountze on eight city lots, consisting of about two and three-tenths acres of land. The curved wrap-around front walls of the upper and lower porches are of tongue and groove heart pine and the 48 impressive Victorian Style Columns on both porches are made of cypress.

The Kirby-Hill House is a twostory, colonial revival style home and is an exceptional example of the Neo-classical style from the Colonial revival period in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Much of the lumber used in the construction of the home came from the Kirby mills. Most of the flooring in the house is of tongue and groove heart pine. The double front doors of the home have the original beveled glass panes and the full length window screens, originally made of bronze, open out onto the porches on hinges, so that one could step through the windows onto the porches from each room in the house. The front door and windows were built with large transoms above each one to allow the prevailing wind to cool the entire house.

Four of the rooms have a distinctive fireplace, each with a different styled beveled mirror.

The beautiful winding staircase connecting the upper and lower full-length hallways is one of the most impressive parts of the house and is made of heart pine. It was built in Georgia specially for this home and was made in three sections and shipped in Kountze.

When it first arrived, there were some problems because no one knew how to correctly install the staircase. The staircase was later installed by John R. Bevil, a local attorney.

The home was originally lighted by carbide gas lamps and the two bathrooms had hot and cold running water supplied by a wood burning heater connected to the cook stove in the kitchen.

A close look at the top of the house discloses a 10x10 foot flat surface where the cypress balustrade encircled the unique widow’s walk. The balustrade was removed several years ago during a hurricane season and stored in the attic of the house, awaiting restoration. The balustrade has been restored, but it is so difficult to reach that the curator calls it the crow’s nest.

The home, built in the once affluent section of town, was built of the finest materials that money

could buy at the time and the workmanship was the best that could be obtained. The home still retains a high degree of architectural and historic integrity, and it is still in its original condition. It is the only one of its kind in Hardin County, and work is under way to restore it to the original condition.

James Kirby, the first owner, lived in the home from 1902 until his death in 1922 until his wife Martha died in 1907. He married a woman 42 years younger than he, and he had more children. He sold

the house to his grown daughter Lucy Kirby Hill. James died in 1922. One of his sons was still alive until 2003.

Lucy Kirby married Austin Mae Hill in 1892 and lived in the home until her death in 1957. Their son, Austin Mae Hill Jr., married Esta Lois Pye in 1922 and both lived in the home most of their lives. Their daughter, Autie Lois, was born in 1923 and lived in the home until she and her mother moved out in 1990.. Esta died in 1991. Autie See HOUSE on Page 18, Section 3

The Kirby-Hill House in Kountze pictured at night in 2008.

Is Proud to be an Integral Part in the History and Future of Hardin County Businesses and Residence.

Banking History of Kountze Includes: Hardin County State Bank - early 1960’s, People’s State Bank - chartered 1953, First Security National Corp - 1974 then First City Corporation which was purchased by Citizens Bank in 1993.

Trust us to help you meet your present and future financial goals.

1055 S. Pine • Kountze

www.citizensbanktx.com

115 Hwy. 326 • Sour Lake

Page 18, Section 3

THE SILSBEE BEE • www.silsbeebee.com • Sesquicentennial 2008

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Founding Families

HARDIN COUNTY: Celebrating 150 Years

Chances, Hooks carry on through generations The Hardin County Genealogical Society provides a treasure trove of history on the area, and the means to acquire more from all over the world. They now boast a microfische library larger than that at the Tyrrell Historical Library.

Members and non-members are welcome to visit, peruse the collection of materials, or ask questions.

Membership is growing as fast as the collection. One can discover connections to people they never knew were related to them. The following information of the genealogy of the Chance family was provided by member Laurie Wier Jennings of Lumberton.

“Eli (Elijah) Chance was born in 1788, and died in 1863. He fought in the War of 1812 under Captain Thomas Neasom's Company of Louisiana Militia. He married Elizabeth Cagle, who was born in 1801, in 1816. They lived first in Louisiana and then in Mississippi before moving to Texas sometime between 1837 and 1842. He was given a Third-Class Certificate of 320 acres by the Republic of Texas, and they settled on Village Creek in what is now Silsbee, Texas. The 1860 Hardin County census listed Eli Chance as a 72 year old farmer, and his wife Elizabeth, 59, both born in Georgia. He was described as standing five feet, seven or eight inches with light colored hair, blue eyes and fair complexion, which still describes many of his descendants. They had nine children: Ezekiel More who married Eleanor Ward, Isaiah, Elizabeth J. who married Stephen Ward, Daniel Eli who married Elizabeth Humble, David, Sarah Emiline who married James Fairchild and later John A. Fowler.

Emily Susan who married Joseph Ward and later Rev. Thomas M. Neal, Martha A. who married Pinckney Skinner, Mary A. who married John P. Jordan. The Chance family plaque is proudly dedicated to all the descendants of Eli and Elizabeth Chance and Moses and Eleanor Ward, parents

The John Edward Chance family stand in from of their home in 1897. From left to right is T.C. Riggs; Lottie Chance Riggs, daughter of J.E. Chance; Frances (Fannie) Chance, daughter of J.E. Chance; Jane Hooks Chance, wife of J.E. Chance and William Hooks' sister; she is holding their son Allen; Dora (Dode) Chance, another daughter; Hardee Chance, son and Darrell D. Shine's father; Ed Chance behind Hardee and the brother of J.E. Chance; Mattie Lee, another daughter; Lottie Hooks Floyd who died eight years later; Clara (Bye), another daughter; Will, a son; D.B. (Hick) Chance, a son; and the man standing on the porch is another Chance uncle, name unknown. J.E. and Jane Chance had 10 children. Charlie died at the age of three.

of Eleanor Ward Chance.

“I, Laurie Wier Jennings, have chosen my direct line, Ezekiel Chance (1819-1896), the first child of Eli and Elizabeth, to trace the Chance family line into the 21st Century. He and Eleanor Ward were married in 1848. She was 18.

Their first child of six was born in Louisiana, but the second child, John Edward, was Texas-born in 1850. Ezekiel was in the First Texas Infantry in the War Between the States under General John Bell Hood. In the 1860 Hardin County Census, he is listed as a saddler.

Ezekiel's father-in-law, Moses Ward, was in the War of 1812 under Captain William Bates' Company of Mississippi Militia.

“John Edward Chance married Martha Ann Sarah Jane Hooks (another fine, old Hardin County family)in 1873. Jane had ten children, but lost two. Charlie died at

age 3, and Fannie Chance Allums at age 23 and after six days after giving birth to my mother, Frances.

Fannie's husband, Jim Allums, kept the three older children: Winnie, barely seven, Ben, five and Ogden, three; but Jim's mother and father-in-law, Jane Hooks at 52 and John Edward Chance at 55 took the newborn to raise. Mama moved into the house with her grandparents, her Aunts' Dode, who was 22, and Mattie Lee, who was 13, and her Uncle Allen, age nine.

He eventually inherited the house. Mama's father, Jim Allums, later married Fannie McDonald and they had three children, Don, Weldon and Martha. The would all ride 12 miles from Kountze to Lumberton (at that time called Chance) in the wagon to see Mama. She was very close to her father, stepmother and siblings.”

John Edward, Jane and all their children are buried at Hooks Cemetery.

When Aunt Dode died during the flu epidemic of 1919, Mama was 15. Her aunts moved her to Kountze to live with Mattie Lee, now married to Tom Jordan. She lived there for a year and then moved to Beaumont with yet another aunt and uncle, Bycie and Crawford Riggs, to attend high school. Mama lived with them until she married Dr. Stuart T. Wier in 1926.

“As I write this article in my parents' home on land my greatgrandfather, John Edward Chance, owned, I am filled with the wonder of family, of roots and continuity of love throughout the generations. To the Chance, Allums, Hooks, and Ward families of Hardin County, Texas ... What a heritage!”

A Halloween Party, TOP, circa 1920s: Pictured front from left, Thelma Yarborough, Elsie Shackelfer, Maudie Yawn, unknown, George Markham, Wilma Daniel, Betty Hunt, Pat Hunt, Burnell Bruner, unknown, Mary Virginia Collier, and Jack Evans; back from left, Maxine Wilson, Jo Helen Moody, Delores Cox, Louise Sagstetter, Rosemond Moffett, Neva Richardson, Margaret Watts, Tommie Bruner, and Louise Brown. The teacher is Mrs. Barnhill, who taught music.

HOUSE

Selma Collier dressed in his uniform during World War I.

From Section 17, Page 3

Lois sold the antique furniture of the stately home because of illness and financial reasons. She eventually sold the home to the Kountze Council of the Hardin County Arts and Education Foundation just prior to her death. The goal of the council is to purchase back the original furniture and restore this historic home to its original state.

The history of the Kirby-Hill families is interwoven in the early history of Hardin County and even the State of Texas. Their history in Southeast Texas includes the lumber, oil and railroad industries. It also includes Texas Revolution heroes. The father of Austin Hill Sr., T.A.W. Hill, was a member of Terry’s Rangers, and his great-grandfather, Dr. William P. Smith, was appointed surgeon general under Stephen F. Austin during the Texas Revolution.

Lucy Kirby Hill was a charter member of the Daughters of the

Republic of Texas.

The Kirby-Hill House represents a period of time in the history of the community when owners of large business ventures in the area were attempting to enhance the arts, entertainment, educational and social lives in the newly named seat of government of Hardin County. The home was the center of gala social events.

For many an invitation to the Kirby-Hill Home was a mark of acceptance into Southeast Texas high society.

Volunteers man the tours of the home and are currently working on restoring the house to its original splendor. An average tour at the home will take visitors back to the golden time in the early part of the century. And a visit to the home is not complete without a look at the crape myrtle tree in the front yard, registered as the state’s largest.

Shine and Johnston has played a vital role in the growth of Hardin County.

145 East Ave N

Silsbee

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

THE SILSBEE BEE • www.silsbeebee.com • Sesquicentennial 2008

Section 3, Page 19

Education in Hardin County

Celebrating 150 Years

Silsbee ISD starts out in Santa Fe boxcar The forerunner of the Silsbee Independent School District began in 1903. Classes were held in a box car donated by the Santa Fe Railroad.

In 1908-1909 the entire school system, grades one through 10, were housed in a two-story building.

The Silsbee district consolidated with several other area school in 1910 to form the Silsbee Independent School District.

Research of the old district records reveal that the following schools, and perhaps others, were consolidated: Union, Junction, Caney Head, Shady Grove, Drake, Woodrow, Pine Grove, Waldo Mathews and Caraway.

In 1913 the school operated on a total budget of $5,482.86.

Teachers were paid $50 per month. The board minutes from

the year state that the school was closed for 10 days in March because of an outbreak of smallpox.

On Aug. 12, 1916, the school board issued the following regulations: 1. All teachers are required to eat their lunches at the school house; 2. All teachers shall have regular duties on the grounds during recess and intermissions; 3. All teachers shall be at the school house at 8 a.m. to perform such duties as the Superintendent may assign to them, and they shall stay after 4 p.m. till the business of the day is wound up; 4. The Superintendent shall conduct institutes for both white and colored teachers at least once each month at such times as will best suit the convenience of the teachers; 5. The board considers

it unprofessional for one teacher to criticize another either in presence of the pupils or the patrons. It is also injurious to the school; 6. It is for the best interest of teh school for the teachers to keep numbers of their deliberations to themselves; 7. All pupils are required to take such parts in the general exercises of the school as the teachers may assign them. This work is required for promotion from one grade to the next higher.

The school has been led by eight different superintendents: A.D. Rawlinson, 1918-1932; Lester D. Self, 1932-1952; Don L. Hough, 1952-1974; Weeks Crawford, 1974-1985; Herbert C. Muckleroy, 1985-1994; Jim Lang, 1994-2001; Mike McGowan, 2001-2008; and present superintendent Richard Bain Jr.

This building was used for the Kountze Baptist College, a landmark educational center for blacks in Kountze in the early 1900s. A historical marker was erected in 2008 honoring the memory of the school and its legacy.

New historical marker erected in honor of Kountze Baptist College

By GERRY L. DICKERT The Bee Perhaps it was appropriate that Fred Williams stood up and spoke first at the unveiling of a state historical marker in front of the Kountze City Hall.

Williams, who is now the mayor of Kountze, was hired on at Kountze High School early on in his career.

"They needed a black teacher," he said, the crowd laughing at the idea. "That's why they hired me."

And so today, years later, Williams opened the remarks for the recognition of Kountze Baptist College as a landmark educational center for blacks in Kountze in the early 1900s.

The new historical marker sits in front of the Kountze City Hall near the location of the original college, part of an initiative by the Hardin County Historical Commission. The Kountze Baptist College was founded in 1910 by the Trinity Valley Baptist Association.

According to Kountze City Councilwoman Mary Adams, the school and organization had a three-fold purpose.

"First they were missionaries, then evangelism and then education," she told the crowd of about two dozen people gathered for an unveiling ceremony on Friday morning.

Kountze Baptist College, also known as Jermany College, served African-American students in the area for nearly two decades.

In 1910, the Trinity Valley Baptist Association opened the primary and secondary grade level school.

Such institutions were often known as colleges at the time.

Professor W.H. Jermany served as president of the school and also taught classes along with four other teachers, including his wife.

Affiliated with Bishop College in Marshall, the school initially enrolled 15 students housed in a small wooden building. Classes included reading, writing, mathematics, home economics and sewing, dressmaking and millinery, music and theology.

The school also operated a truck farm on parts of its 81-acre campus to support its agricultural education programs, and included a college preparatory academy and teacher training program.

Kountze Baptist College thrived

in the 1910s and into the 1920s.

The small wooden school building was replaced by a larger structure and in 1915 the school obtained additional land and erected a three-story building which contained dormitory rooms, classrooms and a chapel. By the late 1920s, Professor Jermany had resigned and was replaced by a Professor Schlyde. Because of financial difficulties compounded by the Great Depression, the school closed in 1930.

Many of the young AfricanAmerican men and women who were educated here went on to graduate from college, serving as a source of pride for both blacks and whites in the area. Kountze Baptist College left a legacy as an institution of vital importance and significance in Hardin County.

According to The Handbook of Texas Online, The Trinity Valley Baptist College Association was a black coeducational institution.

The building, after its closure in 1930, was demolished, but its pine lumber and large doors were later installed in the parsonage of the Starlight Baptist Church in Beaumont.

Business

Sesquicentennial 2008

Hooks Title celebrates 103 years in county Hooks Title Company, the oldest continuously run business in Hardin County, will celebrate another anniversary as the company turns 103 years old.

The title company was formed in 1902 and originally incorporated in 1905. It is recognized by the Texas Historical Commission as being the oldest continuously operated business firm in Hardin County and is also among the oldest abstract and title companies in Texas. Hooks Title Company is

also one of the oldest title agencies affiliated with Texas-based title insurance company Stewart Title Guaranty Co., of which they have been agents since 1953.

Among the founders was J.B. Hooks, an oil and timber investor who was the major contributor to setting up the company, which was named after him although he was not actually involved in the day-to-day operation of the business.

Other investors included Martin

Dies, an attorney and later U.S. congressman, and Amos Rich, who managed the company until J.A. McKim Sr. assumed management duties.

The McKim family has been involved with the company since 1906 when J.A. (Mack) McKim Sr. joined the firm. When Martin Dies was elected to Congress, he went along as a congressional aide (called secretary in those days).

After World War II, J.A.

1230 Hwy 96 South • Silsbee wphillips3@farmersagent.com

See HOOKS on Page 20, Section 3

The Moorman & Associates staff congratulate Hardin County on its 150th Birthday and take great pride in being a part of its communities.

2684 Calder • Beaumont

222 E. Durdin • Silsbee

Page 20, Section 3

THE SILSBEE BEE • www.silsbeebee.com • Sesquicentennial 2008

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Sports

Celebrating 150 Years

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In the 1930s and 40s, people worked hard and entertainment was not as prevalent as it is today. In those days there was no television to occupy people's time. The young men of the community would often gather at the ball fields for a game of baseball.

There were white teams and block teams. In the black community the local black teams would play teams throughout the area and occasionally a traveling professional team would stop when the trains came through town and hoop up a game with one of the local teams.

It was not uncommon for 500 people to show up for some of these games and crowds could sell into the thousands on Juneteenth and the Fourth of July.

Irvin Jones, a 40-year employee of Santa Fe Railroad, played second base for the Silsbee Black Cats.

He fondly remembers those days, stating that the team had two good catchers, Manual Smith of Call and Herman Bubba of Silsbee. They also had three fine pitchers, David Griffin, Ollie West and the school teacher Wilmer Hicks.

Marvin Williams of Controe, Euless Giles, Frank Jones played short stop.

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Harold Grimes manned third, Ernest Beal, Cal Grimes and Elmo Shaw held down the outfield. The Black Cats were managed by the trio of Sam Hester, H.P. Moran and Harry Jones.

One of Irvin Jones' fondest memories was when the team played the Chicago American Giants in Silsbee. That was when the Giants were traveling to Houston for series and stopped for a visit in Silsbee. Jim Taylor was managing the Giants at that time.

West and one other player joined the Giants after the series and headed out with them. Jones said several of the Silsbee players were good enough to join the touring black pro teams, but could not afford to because they had jobs and there was really no future with the black teams because in those days they could not advance into the Majors.

Jones had a good job with Santa Fe and said he was one who could not afford to quit his job to play ball.

Most of the time the Black Cats played other community teams from throughout South Texas and Louisiana, places Like Will Gate, Center and San Augustine.

One of the great series that the Black Cats were involved in was with Center. In those days they would run a special train on the Santa Fe to take fans to Center for the game.

Five coaches made the trip on the Santa Fe to Center for the big game, which Silsbee lost 1-0.

Later when Center returned to Silsbee, the Black Cats avenged the loss with a 4-3 win.

Jones says that when he was a

HOOKS

young boy, eight or nine years of age, he remembered watching the old team run by Frank Johns.

Jones said "They had a crack team way be in the 20s and early 30s."

During the time that Jones was playing, there was another young many who probably saw a few games.

Frank Robinson, the first player to every be named most valuable player of both the National and American leagues, lived in Silsbee in those days.

He was born on 12th St. and went on to become known as one of the greatest players of all time.

Jones says he never saw him play in Silsbee because he was probably too young.

Jones also spent a little time in California when he was a teenager. He said that when he was 15, he could play as well as he could when he was 25. He said that while in California, he met and played with many of the black greats like Satchell Paige, Josh Gibson, Agent Snow and Willie Wells.

According to Jones, baseball was not limited to the black community. The white guys usually played at Santa Fe Park and the blacks had their own field located near S. 16th St. in Silsbee.

But even though society was segregated, he and other black players would go to Santa Fe and play with the white guys on a regular basis.

"They had a damn good team," Jones said. It included guys like Don Henderson, Will L. Ernberger, Earl Weathersbie, Ray Word, Frank Richardson, Leon Shine, Willis Selman and the Read boys.

From Section 3, Page 19

(James) McKim Jr. assumed management of the company until his death in 1974. During the war, he served as captain in the tank destroyer corps of the U.S. Army.

J.A. (Jimmy) McKim III had returned after graduation from Baylor University and has managed the company since 1974. Also, Louise McKim, his mother, was greatly involved in the operation of the company until her death in 1986.

Although the McKim family acquired complete ownership of the company by the early 1960s, they continued to operate as Hooks Title out of respect for the historical name of the company and the place it holds in the history of Hardin County.

Hooks Title has been involved with the earliest oil exploration of the county by preparing title searches and information for the early oil fields of Saratoga, Batson and Sour Lake, such information being vital in determining ownership of land and mineral estate rights. Concerning oil exploration, the company has performed title services relative to rather famous people such as properties involving famous billionaire Howard

Hughes who inherited oil properties in Sour Lake from his father who had a company named Moonshine Oil Co. Also, title services have been performed for oil and gas exploration for Glenn McCarthy, famous wildcatter, of whom the character Jet Rink was inspired in the movie of the 1950s “Giant.”

Since the 1970s, the company has handled acquisitions of property for the federal government concerning the Big Thicket National Preserve and is proud to have played a role in the preservation of the Big Thicket lands and the diverse plant and animal life found there.

Although the company gets involved in rather large transactions, they get their greatest satisfaction in the closing of the purchase of a new house for young people who have decided to make their home in Hardin County. This allows the company to make a positive mark for the future of the county after having been such a part of its past.

The company performs closings and title services from two locations, the main office in Kountze across from the courthouse and now in Lumberton on Hwy. 69.

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