Historical Markers in Bell County
Texas·166 places·Page 5 of 7
History
Mrs. Sarah Ann Hardin-Kelton
Widow of William Hardin before her marriage to Dr. O.P. Kelton. Many of the Mexican officers and men were placed in the care of Judge and Mrs. Hardin after the victory at San Jacinto and were mercifully treated by them.
Architecture
Muehlhause House
German immigrant Fred Muehlhause, Sr. (1868-1947) arrived in Texas in 1885. He married Louise Albrecht in 1892, and later that year the couple moved to a home located adjacent to this homesite. Muehlhause worked as a craftsman shoemaker and repairman, and in 1906 established the Belton Shoe Shop in the city's downtown business district.
History
Nolanville School
Pioneers who settled this area in the early 1850s built a 1-room log schoolhouse about 1854. That year Bell County was divided into 15 school districts. Nolanville School moved to several different sites in the area. In 1928-29 the last high school class graduated from a 2-story brick schoolhouse in Nolanville. At various times after 1929 the school offered classes in nine or eight grades.
History
Norman Austin
(August 2, 1811 ' May 12, 1890) Texas revolutionary veteran and local merchant Norman Austin made important contributions to his adopted state. Born in Skaneateles, New York, he was the fifth son of a large family and traveled widely throughout his life. He farmed in Michigan and clerked in Alabama before arriving in Matagorda County, Texas to ranch in 1835.
Architecture
Norton-Orgain House
Built about 1872 by Edward R.A. Buckles, this I-plan vernacular house exhibits Classical and Victorian detailing. Its two-story gallery features Doric columns on the ground level, which contrast with the Victorian turned wood columns and balusters located above. Residing here only a short time, Edward Buckles sold the house in 1873 to Colonel Nimrod Lindsay Norton (d.
History
Ocker Brethren Church
A group of deeply devoted followers of the Unity of the Brethren faith were among the Czech immigrant families who settled in this area of eastern Bell County in the late 1870s and established the farming community of Ocker. The group initially worshipped informally in their homes. Annual visits from 1884 to 1891 by the Rev. Henry Juren and the Rev.
History
Old Anderson Place
Built 1860 at edge of an old Indian campground, by James B. Anderson, one of town's founders and a school trustee in Salado. Community leaders, lawyers and doctors have lived here. Boarding here in 1883 while a student at Old Salado College was James E. Ferguson, 1915-1917 Governor of Texas--and husband of the first woman Governor. Under panelling and cedar walls. Window glass is hand blown.
Architecture
Omar L. Fletcher Home
Omar L. Fletcher (1887-1975), a native of Bell County, was an industrialist and civic leader. He and his father James Fletcher were the successors to a family business, started in 1881, which became Fletcher Enterprises, a prominent banking and industrial firm. Ernest Scrivener of San Antonio designed and constructed this house for Fletcher in 1924.
Military
Oveta Culp Hobby and the Women's Army Corps
Oveta Culp Hobby served as the director of the Women's Army Corps (WAC) during World War II. Her organizational skills and leadership helped make the WAC a respected part of the American military and opened new possibilities for women in U.S. postwar society. Born in Killeen on January 19, 1905, Oveta was the second of seven children of Isaac W. and Emma Elizabeth (Hoover) Culp.
History
Peter Hansbrough Bell
1812 - 1898. (right panel) Fought at San Jacinto April 21, 1836. Assistant Inspector General and Inspector General of the Texas Army 1837-1839. Captain of Texas Rangers and Lieutenant Colonel of Mounted Volunteers in the Mexican War 1845-1846. Colonel of a Texas Volunteer Regiment 1848-1849. (left panel) Governor of Texas November 5, 1849 to November 23, 1853.
History
Pleasant Hill Cemetery
Pleasant Hill Cemetery has served the citizens of this area since 1855 and is one of the oldest cemeteries in Bell County. The first person to be interred at the site was J. Carmack (d. 1855). Carmack was buried on the farm of pioneer settler Fleming Trigg Cox (d. 1890), who had arrived in the area from Missouri with his wife Mary Guinevera (Leigh) (d. 1907) in 1852.
History
Raleigh R. White, Jr., M.D.
Born December 10, 1871, in Tippah County, Mississippi, Raleigh R. White, Jr., was the son of the Rev. Raleigh White, Sr., and Anna Davidson White. The Rev. Mr. White had trained as a physician, but became a Baptist minister who served a number of Texas churches after moving his family to Texas in 1882. Raleigh White, Jr.
History
Raleigh R. White, Jr., M.D.
(1871-1917) Mississippi native Raleigh R. White, Jr., moved to Texas in 1882. A graduate of Tulane University Department of Medicine in 1893, White was hired by Dr. A. C. Scott as house physician for the Santa Fe Railway Hospital in Temple in 1895. White and Scott formed a medical practice partnership, became joint chief surgeons for the railway, and established what is now Scott & White Hospital.
History
Raleigh Richardson White, Sr.
(August 9, 1840 - January 11, 1919) Born to a wealthy Missouri plantation family, Raleigh R. White joined the Confederate army, against his father's wishes, at age 21. During his service White fought under Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest and made a lifelong friend of fellow soldier J. B. Gambrell. In 1863 Raleigh married Annie Davidson (1844-1902), a family friend of Gambrell's.
History
Reed's Lake
Earliest settlement in Bell County; founded 1834 by men of the Sterling Robertson colony. Named for family of John Burnett Reed, who in 1859 built near here his large house that is still in use; also put in cotton gin, and gave sites for a school and cemetery. (1967)
History
Robert Bonner Halley
A native of Georgia, Robert B. Halley brought his family to this area about 1853. With partner T.J. Eubanks, he operated a liquor distillery and a flour and grist mill on the Lampasas River. Halley served as Bell County Commissioner in 1859 and as a delegate to the State Democratic Party Convention the following year.
History
Robert Emmet Bledsoe Baylor
(1793-1873) Noted lawmaker, judge, lay preacher, served in the legislatures of his native Kentucky and of Alabama. Represented Alabama in U.S. Congress, 1829-1831. Came to Texas 1839. Was Associate Justice Supreme Court, Republic of Texas, 1840-1846. Judge 3rd Judicial District, 1846--1863. Helped organize Baptist churches, Masonic lodges, Texas State Baptist Convention.
Architecture
Robertson Home
Built by Col. E.S.C. Robertson and wife, Mary Elizabeth (Dickey). Rare ante-bellum plantation complex, comprising home, servant quarters, land, family cemetery, stables. Still a working ranch. The house, occupied by fifth generation of Robertsons, is an example of Classical Revival style.
Civic & Local
S.P.J.S.T. Lodge No. 47, Hvezda Texasu
In January 1903, Frank Motl and J.F. Sefcik led Seaton men in forming an order of the SPJST (Slovanská Podporujic' Jednota Statu Texas), a Czech benevolent society. Members of Hvezda Texasu, the Texas "Star" Lodge, met in Thomas Mikulastik's blacksmith shop and the Seaton School before building their first lodge hall in 1906 at this site.
History
Salado
Salado was officially established in 1859 when Col. E. S. C. Robertson donated land for a townsite and for a college. Col. Hermon Aiken drew a plat for the town, which developed along its main street. However, there had been activity here long before this time, as Native Americans and Spanish Explorers, among others, came through the spring-fed land.
History
Salado Cemetery
Established 1856 on 2.5-acre site given by E.S.C. Robertson. Distinguished Texans interred here include the Rev. G.W. Baines, great-grandfather of President Lyndon B. Johnson; the Rev. and Mrs. J.E. Ferguson, parents of Governor James E. Ferguson; A.J. Rose, Grand Master of A.F.&A.M. of Texas and trustee of Texas A.&M. College; J.L. Smith and S.J.
Nature
Salado Creek
Gushing limestone springs, abundant fish, flowers, and trees have long made the banks of Salado Creek a good home site. Indians camped beside stream; Spanish explorers named it; the first Anglo-American settler was Archibald Willingham, 1851. College and town of Salado were built on creek, 1860. Stream once had 8 mills, thus was county industrial center.
History
Sanderford Log Cabin
One of earliest homes in Nolan Valley community. Built when he moved to Texas in 1867 by John Rice Sanderford (1841-1923), a veteran of the Civil War. Birthplace, 1895, of John Roy Sanderford, State Senator from this district from 1933 to 1937. Settler John Rice Sanderford was father of 12 children.
Transport
Santa Fe Depot
Founded in 1882 as a shipping point on the Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe Railroad, Killeen was named for railroad official Frank P. Killeen. After the first depot was destroyed by fire, Santa Fe workers used standard plans to build this structure in 1913. The presence of the rail line was instrumental in the U.S. Army's decision to build Camp Hood (later Fort Hood) during World War II.
History
Santa Fe Memorial Hospital, Inc.
The first hospital in Temple, this institution opened in 1891 for employees of the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad. The first section of the present building, completed in 1908, replaced an earlier frame structure. Until 1948 nursing care was provided by Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word. Early staff members Dr. A.C. Scott, chief surgeon, and Dr. R.R.
Elsewhere in Texas
Hear it from the road
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