History
Alice O. Wilkins School
Alice O. Wilkins School Early education for African American students in Port Lavaca dates from the late nineteenth century and a one-room school run by James Choice. The Rev. A.K. Black, a Baptist pastor, later led the school, which included grades 1 to 5 and was located at Ann and Mulberry streets.
History
Alsatian Immigration Through Lavaca Bay
Texas land empresario Henri Castro contracted to bring colonists of various European nationalities to Texas beginning in 1842. The first of these were Alsatians, most of whom spoke German and held German sympathies. They arrived at Galveston, their official port of entry, with 114 passengers from France in early 1843; most then sailed for Lavaca (later Port Lavaca).
History
Andrew A. Rasmussen
A native of Denmark, Andrew Rasmussen (1858-1933) came to the United States at the age of 13 and began a maritime career that lasted for 60 years. Following the shipwreck of his schooner, the "Dorio and Doria," in 1885, Rasmussen joined Calhoun County's Saluria Life Saving Service, which had rescued his crew. By 1889, he was placed in charge of the station, which later became part of the U.
History
Beach Hotel
Constructed in 1904 by local merchant and real estate agent C. U. Yancy, the Beach Hotel has been a part of the Port Lavaca landscape for generations. At the time of its construction, the hotel was the tallest building in town.
History
Calhoun County
Formed from Jackson, Matagorda, and Victoria counties; created April 4, 1846 - organized July 13, 1846. Named in honor of John Caldwell Calhoun 1782-1850. A distinguished southern statesman, a member of Congress and of the cabinet. Vice-president of the United State, 1825-1832. Port Lavaca, the county seat.
Military
Calhoun County Participation During World War II
Before World War II, Calhoun County was primarily involved in farming, ranching and commercial seafood but after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the county became a major participant in the war effort. In November 1940, much of the county's shoreline had been condemned for military purposes.
Military
Civil War Bombardment of Port Lavaca
As part of the U. S. naval initiative to control Texas Confederate ports, the gunboats "Clifton" and "Westfield" turned to the town then known as Lavaca after easily taking Galveston and Indianola. On October 31, 1862, under a flag of truce, Commander William B. Crenshaw demanded the surrender of Lavaca. Maj. Gen. Daniel D. Shea refused.
Military
Civil War Torpedo Works
In February 1863, local inventor E. G. Singer developed and tested a torpedo with a unique spring action ignition system on the shores of Lavaca Bay. With nine other Lavaca citizens including Singer's financial partner Dr. J. R. Fretwell and Captain David A.
Industry & Science
Cotton Gins of Calhoun County
After Texas was annexed into the United States in 1846, part of what was once De Leon's Colony was organized as Calhoun County, giving the county access to valuable cropland and bays'the most important being modern-day Matagorda Bay.
History
Ed Bell
Famed story teller David Edward "Ed" Bell was born on January 10, 1905, near Leakey, Texas. After moving to Indianola, Bell and his wife Mary Alma (Smith), bought land along Powderhorn Bayou where they established what his customers called "Ed Bell's Fish Camp".
History
German Immigration Through Karlshafen
On April 20, 1842, a group of nobles convened at Biebrich Am Rhein and incorporated as the Adelsverein. They elected Count Karl von Castell as their president and then pledged a goal to purchase land in Texas. From 1821 to 1910, more than five million Germans emigrated, more than any other European country. Providing a potential escape from this misery was the Adelsverein.
History
Grace Episcopal Church
Records indicate Episcopal worship services were held in Lavaca prior to the 1850s. By 1852 the Rev. Henry N. Pierce, rector of Christ Church in Matagorda, periodically came to conduct services here. The Rev. C. S. Hedges, with funding made possible by an Ohio benefactor, organized Grace Church in 1853. Deadly yellow fever epidemics in 1853 and 1855 devastated the church and the town.
History
Green Lake
Named for the nearby tidal lake of the same name, the community of Green Lake began to develop in the late 1840s, although records indicate there were some settlers in the area before that time. A group of wealthy planters from Kentucky migrated to the area about 1849, along with their families and many slaves. They established extensive cotton plantations and built large and impressive homes.
History
Half Moon Reef Lighthouse
Constructed in 1858, this three-story hexagonal lighthouse was originally located in Matagorda Bay, at the southern tip of Half Moon reef. The beacon served as an aid to ships trading in Port Lavaca and the nearby town of Indianola (14 mi. SE). During the Civil War the light was disabled by Confederate troops in an attempt to disrupt federal efforts to capture southern blockade runners.
History
Howard Gallemore Hartzog, Sr.
In the mid-twentieth century, Calhoun County was beginning an unprecedented period of growth. Howard G. Hartzog, Sr. was an active community leader who guided the county as a private citizen, county judge and as a state representative by diligently promoting growth and community spirit. Howard Gallemore Hartzog was born on April 11, 1901 in Tolosa, Texas to J.O. and Sybil Hartzog.
History
Indianola
Many currents of the mainstream of Texas history flow in this onetime port. Pineda explored the coast in 1519 and La Salle planted a settlement near here in 1685. Once an Indian trading point, it was a major seaport from 1844 to 1875. Texas colonists, including Germans led by Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels, entered through Indianola.
History
Indianola Cemetery
Many of the graves in this cemetery reflect the hardships encountered by residents of Indianola, one of Texas' leading 19th-century ports. The earliest marked grave is that of a child, William Woodward. His death occurred in 1852, a year when cholera and yellow fever epidemics swept through Indianola.
History
Jefferson Beaumont
In whose honor Jefferson County, Texas was named Chief Justice of Calhoun County 1848-1856. Born in Kentucky March 12, 1801 died July 25, 1865.
History
Judge Henry Joseph Huck
Henry Joseph Huck was born on August 3, 1882, in Ottenhofen, Baden, in southern Germany. He graduated from Heidelberg University and, with the inheritance from his mother's death, Henry venture to London and established a merchant business at the age of 17. On Sept.
History
Lavaca Lodge No. 36, A.F. & A.M.
The first Masonic lodge in Calhoun County was chartered as Lavaca Lodge No. 36 in 1848. After a period of inactivity during and after the Civil War, the Port Lavaca Lodge disbanded. The fraternal organization reappeared in Port Lavaca in 1886, when Indianola Lodge No. 84 moved here from Indianola following a destructive hurricane. It was known as W. P. Milby Lodge No.
History
Moses Johnson, M.D.
(1808-1853) Born in Virginia, Dr. Moses Johnson settled in Port Lavaca about 1837. After moving to Austin in 1840 to practice medicine, he was elected city alderman and then mayor. An active Mason, he served as Grand Marshal of the Grand Lodge of Texas, A.F. & A.M. in 1844. When Anson Jones was elected president of the Republic in 1844, he named his friend Johnson treasurer.
History
Mrs. Angelina Bell Peyton Eberly
(about 1800 - March 15, 1860) A Tennessean, Angelina Peyton came to Texas in 1822. With her husband, J. C. Peyton, she operated an inn in San Felipe, capital of the Austin colony. Peyton died in 1834; in 1836 the widow married Jacob Eberly. She and Eberly had a hotel in Austin by 1842, when Angelina Eberly discovered men secretly removing records from the capital.
History
Old Town Cemetery
Located on the elevated ridge at Indianola Beach, this cemetery is one of three that served the port of Indianola during the 19th century. The oldest existing grave marker, that of James Chilton Allan, bears a date of 1851. Also buried here are some of Calhoun County's earliest settlers, who came in the first wave of German immigration to Texas in the 1840s.
History
Olivia
Established in 1892, the community of Olivia was named for Olivia Haterius, wife of the Rev. Carl J. E. Haterius, a Swedish Lutheran minister who bought land in the area and advertised a new settlement to other Swedish immigrants in the Midwest.
History
Olivia Cemetery
In 1892, the Rev. Carl J. E. Haterius of Galesburg, Illinois, acquired land at this site with the intention of establishing a community for Swedish settlers. He named the settlement for his wife, Olivia. When the townsite was laid out in 1893, land was set aside for this burial ground in association with the Swedish Lutheran Eden Church.
Elsewhere in Texas
Hear it from the road
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