Historical Markers in Bell County
Texas·166 places·Page 1 of 7
Military
42nd Reunion of Hood's Texas Brigade
Honored the late General John B. Hood, for whom Fort Hood was named. Meetings were in First Baptist Church. Transportation from Carnegie Library (convention headquarters) was by one of the first auto parades in Temple. J.W. Stevens, Chaplain, Hood's original brigade, conducted the annual memorial ceremony. Other speakers included Dr. T.A. Pope, of Cameron, and Hon. W.B. Lane, State Comptroller.
History
A Memorial to Civil War Education in Texas
Baylor University (including the "Female Department" later to become Mary Hardin-Baylor) had operated at Independence for 15 years before 1861. In the Civil War it suffered the setbacks of Texas education in general. This was despite leadership of its 1861-63 president George W. Baines (ancestor of U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson) and loyalty of such patrons as Mrs.
History
African American Education in Belton
Bell County school districts were formed in 1854. The earliest record of public education for area African American students dates from 1882 when Mrs. Aleck McGee was hired "to teach the colored school." Professor Thomas Breckenridge Harris (1862-1907), a graduate of Fisk University, became the first instructor of the African American High School in 1890.
History
Alexander's Distillery
On this site in 1861-65, the William R. Alexander Distillery met a wartime need in Texas. May 28, 1862, Governor Francis R. Lubbock closed all Texas distilleries, to save grain. Army calls for medicinal liquor (for opiate and stimulant purposes) soon caused him to order a few, including Alexander's, re-opened.
History
Alice Gray Hamblen
Alice Gray Hamblen, born March 14, 1846, in Mississippi, and her husband, William Kroger Hamblen (1817-1902), moved to Salado in 1868 and quickly became involved with the local private school, Salado College. Alice was passionate about the importance of education for young people and even provided room and board to children of family members so they could attend the school.
History
Althea School
Thompson F. Fowler and his family were among the earliest permanent settlers of this area. A rural community which built up around the family-owned cotton gin became known as Fowler's Gin. A community school, established about 1894, was consolidated with the nearby Alligator School in 1897 to form Fowler Common County Line School District No. 111.
History
Alvin Ailey
Revered as a pioneer in modern dance, Alvin Ailey was an internationally-recognized choreographer credited for incorporating African American movements into 20th century concert dance. Ailey was born in Rogers, a small rural community in eastern Bell County, to Lula Elizabeth Cliff (1912-1944) and Alvin Ailey, Sr. (1911-1974). While still an infant, Alvin's parents separated.
History
Anna Laura Cole
Anna Laura Cole was born on October 27, 1909, in the farming community of Turney, Texas. Cole finished high school and attended Lon Morris College for a year before enrolling at Scott & White School of Nursing in 1928. After graduating in 1931 as valedictorian, Cole was appointed assistant director of nursing education and then named as a nursing school instructor.
Architecture
Armstrong-Adams House
Dr. David H. Armstrong, who served as one of the first trustees of the Salado public free schools, and his wife, Julia, built this home between 1869 and 1872. It later became the residence of a succession of Salado doctors, including Dr. D.G. Adams and Dr. J.E. Guthrie.
History
Arthur Carroll Scott, Sr., M.D.
(1865-1940) Born in Gainesville, Texas, Arthur C. Scott graduated from Bellevue Medical College in 1886 and won an internship at the Western Pennsylvania Hospital. Returning to Gainesville, he married Maud M. Sherwood in 1889 and began a private medical practice. In 1892 Dr. Scott was appointed Chief Surgeon of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Hospital in Temple. In 1895 he hired Dr. Raleigh R.
History
Arthur Carroll Scott, Sr., M.D.
(July 12, 1865-October 27, 1940) Born in Gainesville, Texas, Arthur Scott graduated from Bellevue Medical College in 1886. In 1892 he became Chief Surgeon of the Santa Fe Hospital in Temple. He formed a partnership with Dr. R.R. White, Jr., in 1897, and they founded the Temple Sanitarium (later Scott and White Hospital) in 1904. A specialist in surgery, Dr.
Architecture
Avenue D School
Constructed to replace an earlier brick schoolhouse destroyed by fire, the present Avenue D School was built in 1923. C.J. Leinbach of Dallas designed the three-story building, which features decorative stonework and separate entrances for girls and boys. Funds from the sale of advertising space on the auditorium curtains were used for interior furnishings.
History
Bartlett Electric Cooperative
Although the town of Bartlett had regular electric service by 1905, farmers in the surrounding rural area were not supplied with electricity until thirty years later. On May 11, 1935, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed an executive order establishing the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) as part of his New Deal emergency relief program.
History
Bartlett Grammar School
By the early 1900s Bartlett had become the railroad center of a prosperous cotton growing region. In 1903 the Bartlett Independent School District was created. By 1906-07 the 5-room schoolhouse here proved inadequate to house the district's expanding student enrollment.
History
Bell County
Settlement began on Lampasas River, 1847. Created Jan. 22, organized Aug. 1, 1850. Named for Peter Hansbrough Bell (1812-1898), native of Virginia; veteran of Battle of San Jacinto; served in Somervell expedition to stop Mexico's Raids into Texas; officer in Mexican War; Governor of Texas 1849-1853; U.S. Congressman, 1853-1857. First county seat Nolanville. Moved Dec. 16, 1851, to Belton.
Architecture
Bell County Courthouse
Using arched passageways, round-arch and pedimented windows, a clock tower with columned gallery, and a rusticated limestone finish, Jasper N. Preston & Son of Austin designed the 1885 Bell County Courthouse in the Renaissance Revival style. Ben D. Lee served as contractor.
History
Bell County Courthouses
Three Bell County courthouses have stood on this site--part of the 120 acres given by Matilda F. Connell Allen for the location of the county seat. Prior to erection of a courthouse, early official business of the county (created and organized, 1850) was handled in blacksmith shop of John Danley, the first chief justice.
History
Belton Woman's Commonwealth
In 1867, Martha White McWhirter experienced a religious vision during which she felt she had been sanctified by God. She began to share her experience with other Belton women, and soon formed a small community of women who, desiring to leave their unfulfilling lives as wives and mothers, joined McWhirter in her beliefs.
History
Bird Creek Battlefield
Named in honor of Captain John Bird who lost his life here May 26, 1839 With only 34 Texas Rangers he met 240 Indians at this point, and routed them.
History
Bird Creek Indian Battle
May 26, 1839 This marker commemorates the death of Captain John Bird, Sergeant William Weaver, Jesse E. Nash, H.M.C. Hall, Thomas Gay, and the heroic and successful battle of a Ranger force of 34 against 240 Indians. Erected by the State of Texas 1936
Industry & Science
Blackland Experiment Station, Substation No. 5
BLACKLAND EXPERIMENT STATION, SUBSTATION NO. 5 THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE AUTHORIZED BLACKLAND EXPERIMENT STATION, SUBSTATION NO. 5 IN 1909. THE TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION SYSTEM WAS CREATED AFTER THE 1887 HATCH ACT AUTHORIZED FEDERALLY-SUPPORTED EXPERIMENT STATIONS AS PART OF STATE LAND-GRANT COLLEGES.
Architecture
C. L. Walker Home
Will Campbell, who constructed many early homes in Temple, built this residence in 1912 for C.L. Walker (1881-1940) and his wife Daisy (1884-1969). Since 1945 it has been owned by their son C.L. ("Chick") Walker, Jr., and his wife Iladene, who raised their three children here. The elder Walker served as mayor of Temple from 1922 to 1924 and his son was mayor from 1950 to 1952.
History
Capt. Milton Wesley Damron
Milton Wesley Damron (1825-1887), an early settler and Salado public servant, was born in Tennessee and came to Texas as part of the Mercer Colony. He arrived in the 1840s and shortly afterwards married Sarah Pennington. When original settlement plans in the colony failed to materialize, he moved to the Milam District in what is now Bell County.
Architecture
Carnegie Library Building
Completed in 1904, this brick library building was funded by a personal contribution from the noted New York industrialist and benefactor Andrew S. Carnegie. Ben D. Lee, builder of the Bell County Courthouse, served as contractor. Designed by the firm of Smith and Moore and made of bricks from a local kiln, the structure features elaborate detailing of the Beaux Arts classical style.
Architecture
Christ Episcopal Church of Temple
Founded as a mission in 1889, this fellowship achieved parish status in 1902 and began raising money to erect this church building. After a public fund drive (1904), construction was started on the Gothic Revival edifice designed by A.O. Watson of Austin. The Rev. Thomas J. Sloan led the first service here Sept. 24, 1905. The debt was paid in 1913, during the pastorate of the Rev.
Elsewhere in Texas
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