|
Marker Title: Arneckeville
City: Cuero
County: De Witt
Year Marker Erected: 1983
Marker Location: from Cuero, take FM 236 row about 7 miles south.
Marker Text: A native of Germany, Adam Christopher Henry Arnecke settled in this area in the 1850s and opened the community's first general store. Originally known as Zionsville, the settlement later was named for Arnecke. By the end of the 19th century, Arneckeville had blacksmith shops, doctors' offices, a cotton gin, post office, school, and a church, Zion Lutheran, that was organized in 1865. Although the small German community began to decline when a farm-to-market road was built to Cuero (7 miles north), it has retained much of its pioneer heritage.
Marker Title: Bellevue-Cheapside
City: Cuero
County: De Witt
Year Marker Erected: 1981
Marker Location: from Cuero, take FM 766 northwest about 7 miles then go 5.5 miles north west on CR to Bellevue Cheapside Cem.
Marker Text: Pioneer area settlers, many of English descent, acquired land at this site in 1876 for the establishment of a community church, school, and burial ground. A 2-story Woodmen of the World Lodge was also located nearby. Still used, Bellevue Cemetery has served residents of the Cheapside community (1.5 miles north). Named for a well-known street in London, Cheapside was once the site of a cotton gin, grist mill, hotel, grocery stores, saloons, and a variety of other businesses. Despite the town's later decline, influences of the pioneer English settlers are still evident.
Marker Title: Peter Bluntzer
City: Meyersville
County: De Witt
Year Marker Erected: 1969
Marker Location: St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church yard, Meyersville
Marker Text: Early German colonizer in this are and donor of land on which this church stands. Migrated with his wife and children from Oderen, Alsace (in Europe), to Texas about 1843. Bound for Castroville with other pioneers, he stayed here after his wagon overturned, injuring his wife. This was the first Catholic family to settle in Coleto (present Meyersville). His enthusiasm for the new home led him to make two return trips to Alsace several years later to bring numerous families to settle here. After his young daughter Theresa was stolen by Indians, she was found some months later, in the woods, unharmed and dressed like an Indian princess; Bluntzer had always been kind to the local tribes. First mass in the community was said in the home of Bluntzer, a devout Catholic, in 1852. Area settlers united to build the first Catholic church in De Witt County -- Sts. Peter and Paul Church -- in 1859 on a 15-acre tract given by Bluntzer. Dedicated in 1860, the small log building was a predecessor to others built 1876, 1892, and the present one of 1939. First priest was the Rev. J.A. Koenig; first resident priest was the Rev. A. Hainke. Many early settlers are buried in the church cemetery. Bluntzer is buried in San Patricio.
Marker Title: Buchel Community and School
City: Cuero
County: De Witt
Year Marker Erected: 1986
Marker Location: from Cuero, take US 183 north about 5 miles then go north west about 1 mile on CR.
Marker Text: Permanent settlers arrived in this area of Texas as early as 1839. A post office was established in 1842, two years after the first school opened near this site. In 1894, Cuero merchant and banker Otto Buchel (1849-1909) gave land at this site for a community school. The first schoolhouse constructed here was known as Oak View. When a new building was completed in 1921, it was named in honor of Buchel. Although the Buchel School closed in 1950, the 1921 schoolhouse remained in use as a community center. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986.
Marker Title: General August C. Buchel
City: Cuero
County: De Witt
Year Marker Erected: 1964
Marker Location: Courthouse grounds, corner of Live Oak and Gonzales, Cuero.
Marker Text: Educated in stern military schools of Prussia. Was in French Legion and army of Turkey. Knighted in Spain after work in Carlist wars. Came to Texas 1845. In Mexican War 1846-47. Later became Port of Lavaca customs collector. Commanded Confederates at Brownsville, 1862-63. In charge of roads exporting cotton, beef, importing corn, munitions, medicines and factory goods thru Mexico. Foreign ships waited beyond territorial waters. Their goods were exchanged for Confederate cotton, hauled to them by small boats. Goods then came north, via Buchel post. (Back of General August C. Buchel) Buchel's regiment, 1st Texas cavalry, in 1863 was organized with nucleus from 1st Texas Mounted Rifles. In Buchel's regiment were Taylor's Texas Riflemen.
Marker Title: Burns Station Cemetery
City: Cuero
County: De Witt
Year Marker Erected: 1970
Marker Location: from Cuero, take Highway 87 south about 5 miles (Marker is on east side of highway just south of entrance to cem. - across street).
Marker Text: Reminder of De Witt County's earliest settlement, Irish Creek, begun in 1826 when Arthur Burns (1780-1856) migrated from Missouri and Iowa to Texas. He joined colony of Green DeWitt and built a 2-story log home near here. Used as a refuge during Indian raids, the house was also visited by General Sam Houston, 1836. On Dec. 19, 1837, President Houston appointed Burns to board of land commissioners, Victoria County (which then encompassed this portion of DeWitt County). Area's first grist mill (operated 1856-69 by Moses Rankin) was established by Burns. Near it clustered the Sherman and Thomas General Store, Charlie White's Blacksmith Shop, and Warn Hardware. The Irish Creek settlement became known as Burns Station, as it was a stage stop on the Victoria - Gonzales Road. Cemetery site, donated 1853 by Ardelia Burns Cook, daughter of Arthur Burns, adjoined the Irish Creek Methodist Church. In oldest marked grave lies Joseph Allen (1812-53), born in Ireland. Here also is buried Sarah, Arthur Burns' widow. (Burns is buried in Iowa). In 1870s, Burns Station lost business to Thomaston and Cuero, but was a stop on the Gulf, West Texas and Pacific Railroad until the name was changed in 1902 to "Verhelle," honoring a railroad official. Incise on back: Cemetery restored 1969 by work of relatives and the Southwest Texas Methodist conference.
Marker Title: Site of Cameron, First County Seat of DeWitt County
City: Cuero
County: De Witt
Year Marker Erected: 1977
Marker Location: from Cuero, take FM 766 northeast about 2.4 miles
Marker Text: This site was chosen in June 1846 as the first seat of DeWitt County and named for Capt. Ewen Cameron (1811-43), slain prisoner of the Mier Expedition. Although a town was platted on the 100-acre tract donated by Joseph Tumlinson, a log courthouse and a county clerk's office were the only buildings erected. In 1850, after four elections and four court decisions, Cameron lost the title of county seat to the nearby town of Clinton. County offices moved to Cuero in 1876.
Marker Title: Allen Caruthers
City: Cuero
County: De Witt
Year Marker Erected: 1936
Marker Location: from Cuero, take US 183 southwest about 3 miles, take FM 2718 southwest about 6.5 miles go west 3/10 mile.
Marker Text: A veteran of San Jacinto; born in Kentucky May 31, 1804; died May 29, 1863. His wife Martha B. Caruthers born in North Carolina April 24, 1816; died July 8, 1858.
Marker Title: Old Chisholm Trail Centennial Monument
County: De Witt
Year Marker Erected: 1961
Marker Location: Cuero Courthouse lawn, 301 North Gonzales Street, Cuero.
Marker Text: From Longhorn cattle gathering site, 1800 Longhorns were headed up and moved out of Cardwell Flats near here on April 1, 1866 on first Chisholm cattle drive to northern markets. Crockett Cardwell, owner of cattle bedground had gathered the herd with Thornton Chisholm of De Witt County serving as Trail Boss and G. M. (Tip) Alexander of Cuero serving as one of the cowboy trail drivers. The Old Chisholm Trail on departing from site near Cuero Texas proceeded toward Doan's River crossing and then into Oklahoma, Kansas and finally terminated in Missouri 7 months later. It is the purpose of our association to perpetuate the memory of these brave hardy pioneers who blazed the trails in the wilderness before us, suffering the many hardships that accompanied the greatest movement of animals in history under the control and direction of men on the Old Chisholm Trail. Dedicated April 1, 1966, 100th Anniversary of the Old Chisholm Trail. Rawhide Riders, Town and Country Trail Riders, Sand Hill Trail Riders - Indianola Trail Riders. Old Chisholm Trail Drivers Association, Inc., John C. Hamilton, Founder 1961, Cuero, Texas.
Marker Title: Old Chisholm Trail
City: Cuero
County: De Witt
Year Marker Erected: 1966
Marker Location: from Cuero, take US 183/77A north about 4 miles to JCT US 183 north and 77A northeast (just south of JCT).
Marker Text: From site near here, 1800 Longhorns were moved out April 1, 1866, on first trail drive from this area to northern markets. Crockett Cardwell, owner of cattle bedground, had gathered the herd. The trail boss was Thornton Chisholm, a native of DeWitt County. Indian Scout Jesse Chisholm in 1865 had marked the upper trail from the North Canadian to the Arkansas River. Road here became a prong of the famous ChisholmTtrail, going past Gonzales, San Marcos, Austin, Round Rock, Georgetown, Gatesville, Glen Rose and Red River Station, into Indian territory. The 30 men of this 1866 drive to St. Joseph, Mo., were gone 7 months, 10 days. The cook and many of the men made numerous later drives; but Thornton Chisholm died in 1868. 260,000 cattle - accumulated in Texas in 4 years of Civil War - went in 1866 up the Chisholm Trail, a flood channel from a vast reservoir of beef. Sold in northern markets or to the U.S. Government to feed Indians on reservations or soldiers in forts, the trailed cattle helped Texas recover from the war. From 1866 to 1895 at least 10,000,000 cattle were driven up the Chisholm Trail by courageous Texas cowboys - the greatest movement of animals under the control of men in all history.
Marker Title: Clinton
City: Cuero
County: De Witt
Year Marker Erected: 1967
Marker Location: from Cuero, take US 183 south 3 miles south
Marker Text: Created in 1846, De Witt County was named for Empresario Green De Witt. The county seat, originally at Cameron, was moved in 1848 to the pioneer town of Clinton, named for De Witt's son. County government returned briefly to Cameron, but Clinton again served as the county seat from 1850 until 1876, when Cuero was named the seat of government. Courthouse here included a log cabin and two frame buildings. A cemetery and well remain at the site of Clinton, evidence of the once-thriving community that was the home of many prominent area pioneers.
Marker Title: Cuero
City: Cuero
County: De Witt
Year Marker Erected: 1968
Marker Location: US 87 bus., east side near Limit
Marker Text: Founded 1873 with arrival of Gulf, Western, Texas and Pacific Railroad. County seat moved here from Clinton, 1876. Population grew after coastal storms of 1875 and 1886 destroyed Indianola and refugees from there made a new start here. Home of Turkey Trot, begun in 1912. Farming, ranching, oil and gas center.
Marker Title: George Washington Davis
City: Cuero
County: De Witt
Year Marker Erected: 1962
Marker Location: Private - No Access Davis Family Cemetery; from Cuero, take FM 766 north about 13.3 miles
Marker Text: Star and Wreath A soldier at Gonzales, Siege of Bexar and San Jacinto; delegate to the Constitution. Erected by the State of Texas, 1962.
Marker Title: De Witt County
City: Yorktown
County: De Witt
Year Marker Erected: 1936
Marker Location: East limit to Yorktown SH 72
Marker Text: Created March 24, 1846 from Gonzales, Victoria and Goliad counties; organized July 13, 1846, with Cameron as the county seat. Named in honor of Green De Witt, a Texas Empresario born in Kentucky February 12, 1787. Died in Mexico, May 18, 1835.
Marker Title: De Witt County
City: Cuero
County: De Witt
Year Marker Erected: 1936
Marker Location: US 877, near east city limits, Cuero
Marker Text: Included in the colonial grant in 1825 to Green De Witt, Texas Empresario, settled until 1840 largely by Anglo Americans. Created a county of the State of Texas March 24, 1846. Its area being taken from Gonzales, Victoria and Goliad counties. Organized July 13, 1846, with Cameron as the county seat, named in honor of its original grantee Green De Witt 1787-1835. By 1860 half its population was of German birth. Clinton served as county seat, 1849-1877. Cuero, incorporated April 23, 1873. Was made county seat in 1876, in memory of Arthur Burns. First settler in De Witt County, 1826, Columbus Burns, first Anglo-American child born in the county, 1829. George Washington Davis, delegate to the Second Convention of Texas, 1833. George W. Davis, participant in the Battle of Gonzales, 1835. George W. Davis, delegate to the Consultation, 1835. Captain John York, Captain David Murphree, James M. Bell, Albrecht Von Roeder, Louis Von Roeder, Squire Burns, John F. Pettus, participants in the capture of San Antonio, 1835. Thomas R. Miller, William Dearduff, martyrs of the Alamo, 1836. J.L. Allen a messenger from the Alamo, 1836. O.H. Perry Davis of Fannin's command who escaped the Refugio Massacre 1836. Captain David Murphree, John F. Pettus, James Bell, Joseph Kent Berry Doolittle, Allen Caruthers, Robert J. Kleberg, John MC Crabb, James J. Tumlinson, Louis Von Roder, heroes of San Jacinto. Creed Taylor, Squire Burns, Josiah Taylor, Chas. A. Ogsbury, George W. Davis, soldiers in the Texas Army 1836; James Norman Smith, first school teacher in De Witt County 1840. Captain Daniel B. Friar, Miles S. Bennet, James J. Tumlinson, Josiah Taylor, Creed Taylor, participants in the Battle of Salado Creek, Bexar County, 1842. George Lord, Alfred A. Allee members of the Mier Expedition 1842 and all other pioneers of the Republic of Texas who resided in De Witt County prior to or after the Revolution.
Marker Title: De Witt County Courthouse
City: Cuero
County: De Witt
Year Marker Erected: 1966
Marker Location: 307 North Gonzales Street, Courthouse Square, Cuero
Marker Text: County was created 1846 with Cameron as seat of government. In 1850 Clinton became seat, and served until 1876 when the two- story frame courthouse was moved to Cuero. That building burned in April 1894. Present structure was built between June 1894 and May 1896 under supervision of architects A.O. Watson and Eugene Heiner. Interior was renovated in 1957, but exterior remains unchanged. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1966.
Marker Title: C. Eckhardt and Sons Building
City: Yorktown
County: De Witt
Year Marker Erected: 1965
Marker Location: Main and Eckhardt Streets, Yorktown
Marker Text: Erected 1876. Had iron shutters, elevator, walls 25 inches thick. Housed general mercantile store begun by pioneer Caesar Eckhardt family in 1848, soon after founding of Yorktown. Wagons brought in goods from seaport of Indianola. Gold and silver hidden under potatoes were sent to San Antonio to purchase other supplies. During the Civil War, wife ran the business while the husband and two sons served the south. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1965
Marker Title: The Five-Mile (Ratcliffe)- Rabke Community
City: Cuero
County: De Witt
Year Marker Erected: 1985
Marker Location: from Cuero, take FM 2718 west 8 miles west.
Marker Text: When four well-educated German families settled on Five Mile Creek in 1849, the community was called Latiner for their knowledge of Latin. Capt. Robert Kleberg (1803-88), Battle of San Jacinto veteran, was one early resident. In the 1880s, the German settlement of Rabke grew up nearby. Edward Rabke's store housed the post office, 1898-1905, and Woodmen of the World Lodge. Local children attended Five Mile School, which moved to the Ratcliffe farm in 1921. Except for Rabke Methodist Church, the early community landmarks have disappeared.
Marker Title: Site of Friar-Cardwell Stage Stand
City: Cuero
County: De Witt
Year Marker Erected: 1974
Marker Location: from Cuero, take US 183/US 77A north about 4 miles to 'Y' in road (just south of).
Marker Text: In 1839 or 1840 at the junction of the La Grange - La Bahia and Victoria - Gonzales Roads (.5 miles east), Daniel Boone Friar (1800-58) built a home and store that served as a social, political, transportation, and trade center for early De Witt County. In 1841 the two-story frame structure became an overnight stop on stagecoach lines between San Antonio and coastal towns. It was designed as a temporary courthouse for the short-lived judicial county of De Witt in 1842. When the county was actually organized in 1846, the court met at Friar's place for several months. It was also the county's first post office, established on May 22, 1846, and named Cuero, with Friar as postmaster. In 1849 Friar sold the building to Crockett Cardwell (1812-91), who continued to operate it as a stage stand, store, post office, and community meeting place. The county's first Masonic lodge, Cameron Lodge No. 76, A.F. & A.M., was organized in an upstairs room in Nov. 1850 and met there until Jan. 1853. When the Gulf, Western Texas, and Pacific Railroad located the town of Cuero four miles south of the Cardwell stand in 1873, the post office was moved to that site. As the town along the railroad grew, other activities at the old stage stand ended. It was torn down in 1916.
Marker Title: The Alexander Hamilton House
City: Cuero
County: De Witt
Year Marker Erected: 1976
Marker Location: 906 North Esplanade, Cuero
Marker Text: Alexander Hamilton (1846-1906) came in 1850 with relatives from Kentucky to Texas. As a Civil War veteran and businessman, he moved in 1873 to Cuero, where he was to be merchant banker - manufacturer - rancher pioneering in Hereford cattle. Married in 1876, he saved gold coins from his cash box and built (1883) this elegant house for his young wife, Annie E. (Thornton), and their sons. The structure was modified in 1937 by the son who now owns and preserves it. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark-1976
Marker Title: Hebron Community
City: Yoakum
County: De Witt
Year Marker Erected: 1984
Marker Location: from Yoakum, take FM 682 southeast about 13 miles, take CR northeast 1 mile.
Marker Text: This rural community traces its roots to the 1840s, when the first wagon train of settlers arrived in the area. The pioneer families built their homes out of the abundant timber available to them and began meeting for worship in a one-room log structure. Hebron Missionary Baptist Church was formally organized in 1855 and remains a focal point of the surrounding agricultural area. The community cemetery, first used in 1867, contains the graves of many pioneers, former pastors, and war veterans. Hebron was the site of an area school until the early 20th century.
Marker Title: Hochheim
City: Hochheim
County: De Witt
Year Marker Erected: 1972
Marker Location: US 183, Hochheim
Marker Text: Founded near home and stage stand of Valentine Hoch on old Austin - Indianola Road, 1856. In 1864, German Methodist Church was built; post office opened 1869. County's first Protestant church (organized 1841 on Cuero Creek by J.M. Baker and James N. Smith) moved here in 1882 as Hochheim Presbyterian Church. The Baptist church was founded later (1923). Concrete Lodge No. 182, A.F. & A.M. (Chartered 1856 with F.J. Lynch, first worshipful master), became Hochheim Lodge, 1884, buying (1885) upper story of schoolhouse for Lodge Hall; in 1921 bought lower story, housing school until 1938.
Marker Title: Hopkinsville Community, A Colony of Freedmen
City: Cuero
County: De Witt
Year Marker Erected: 1983
Marker Location: from Cuero, take US 183 south about 7 miles
Marker Text: Members of the Hopkins family came to De Witt County in 1854 as slaves of Judge Henry Clay Pleasants (d. 1899). They worked for a time on a Gonzales County plantation and returned to this area after the Civil War as freedmen. In 1872 Henry Hopkins bought 42 acres of land and established the Hopkinsville community (1 mile west). Residents of the settlement organized the Antioch Baptist Church in 1873 and began a school about ten years later. Although the school closed in 1956, members of the Antioch Baptist Church continue to worship near Hopkinsville.
Marker Title: Lindenau
City: Lindenau
County: De Witt
Year Marker Erected: 1979
Marker Location: on Rifle Club grounds, from Cuero, take US 87 west about 8 miles to FM 853 and follow north about 2 miles.
Marker Text: By 1891 German farmers settled in this area which Charles and Daniel Wild named "Lindenau." A schoolhouse built in 1893 served as a community center and for worship. The settlement boasted a church, cemetery, mercantile store, blacksmith shop, drugstore, post office, and cotton gin. The present rifle club formed in 1901 and erected a hall which became the social center. In 1906 Lindenau was moved to be near the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad. The post office closed in 1947 and Lindenau School consolidated with Westhoff. Many descendants remain in the area.
Marker Title: Lithuanians in Texas
City: Yorktown
County: De Witt
Year Marker Erected: 1994
Marker Location: FM 119 and Alvis Road about 4 miles south of (near Royal Oaks), Yorktown.
Marker Text: Among the many European immigrants arriving in Texas in the mid-19th century was a small group of Lithuanians who settled in the Yorktown vicinity of De Witt County. Due to their eventual assimilation with the numerous German immigrants in the area, the Lithuanians and their contributions to the history of this region were overlooked for generations. Records reveal that the first Lithuanian family to settle in this area probably was that of David and Dora (Scholze) Stanchos. They arrived about 1852, making them among the earliest documented Lithuanian immigrants to America. By 1874 they were joined by about 70 more immigrants, most from the province of Gumbinnen in what was then part of east Prussia. Leaving their homeland for a variety of religious and political reasons, the Lithuanians arrived in Texas primarily through the ports of Galveston and Indianola. Establishing farms in the area, the Lithuanians became American citizens and contributed to the history and culture of this area. Men from the community fought on both sides of the American Civil War. A small graveyard south of Yorktown known as Jonischkies Cemetery contains the interments of many of these early settlers.
Marker Title: Meyersville
City: Meyersville
County: De Witt
Year Marker Erected: 1971
Marker Location: FM 3157, Meyersville
Marker Text: Community opened by Peter Bluntzer, an 1843 settler drawing many others from Alsace; named for Adolph Meyer, an 1846 arrival, at whose home post office was established (1851). Lutheran and Catholic churches were founded in 1850s. Public school opened in 1899. Famous turkey-producing area. Population reached peak about 1923.
Museum Name: Nordheim Historical Museum
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 104
City: Nordheim
Zip Code: 78141
Street Address: Broadway and Second
County: De Witt
Types of Exhibits/Collections: Photos, Historical, Local/Pioneer History
Marker Title: Pilot Knob
City: Pilot Knob
County: De Witt
Year Marker Erected: 1968
Marker Location: from Nordheim, take FM 239 southeast about .5 mile (at top of Hill).
Marker Text: A beacon for early Texas pioneers. Because this hill could be seen for miles, it guided travelers from Old Indianola (on the coast) inland to Helena and San Antonio during the 19th century. On the hill, they discovered charred rocks and artifacts from a previous Indian campground. The area was first surveyed in 1838 by the Goliad Land District and in 1886 the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad was built through this region. For years a sign at the Weldon Switch (present Nordheim) Depot proclaimed its 400-foot elevation was highest on the line between Houston, San Antonio, and Waco. In 1895 Nordheim was platted. Afterward numerous German immigrants were attracted to the area. Under the sturdy oaks on Pilot Knob, young and old enjoyed typical German and pioneer activities, including band concerts, shooting matches, harvest and May festivals, and Easter egg hunts. A refreshment stand and dance platform were built on the hill, which became the center of social life for Nordheim citizens. Here the townspeople also buried their dead, and since most activities had been moved into town by about 1910, Pilot Knob gradually settled into its present use as the community cemetery.
Marker Title: Stagecoach Inn
City: Hochheim
County: De Witt
Year Marker Erected: 1966
Marker Location: from Hochheim, take Hwy. 183 about 1.7 miles south
Marker Text: Built of hand-quarried native stone in 1856 by V. Hoch, a settler. Served as an inn on the Austin-Indianola Stage Road. While drivers changed four-horse teams, the passengers welcomed the chance to enjoy the inn's food and hospitality.
Marker Title: Yorktown
City: Yorktown
County: De Witt
Year Marker Erected: 1968
Marker Location: on SH 72 (east edge of town), Yorktown
Marker Text: Founded 1848 as way station on old Indianola Trail. Chartered August 2, 1854. Incorporated 1871. San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad reached here 1886. Town's first school organized 1853. Prospered as center of farming and ranching; later, of oil and gas. Pioneer strains are German, American, Pole, Czech, Spaniard, Mexican, Negro. |
