Transport
Oak Forest Bridge
In October 1913, Gonzales County commissioners contracted with A.A. Alsbury & Company to construct a bridge over the Guadalupe River. Completed by February 1914, it connected the rural communities of Oak Forest and Monthalia, both established in the 19th century. A.A.
History
Old Eighteen
On this site, September 29, 1835 began the strategy of the 18 Texans who by advising with alcalde Andrew Ponton, held for two days 150 Mexican Dragoons sent to demand the Gonzales cannon, allowing colonists time to mass recruits for the Battle of Gonzales. Captain Albert Martin, Almond Cottle, Jacob C. Darst, Ezekiel Williams, Winslow Turner, Simeon Bateman, Wm. W. Arrington, Joseph D.
History
Old Smiley Lake and Townsite
Attracted by abundant water from a natural lake, settlers began moving to this area in the late 1840s. Ranching provided the earliest commerce. In addition to cattle and sheep, ranchers raised racing horses for sale in the southern states.
History
Ottine Cemetery
In 1879, Adolph Otto moved to this area with his wife, Theresia, and their eleven children. He and his sons, John August, Louis, Henry and Albert, constructed the family home, as well as a water-powered grist mill and gin. Due to declining health, Adolph moved to San Antonio, where he died and was buried in 1890. John August (J.A.) resumed the responsibility of building a town here.
History
Plaza
Gonzales town tract of 4 square leagues had 49 squares in inner city -- 7 of these squares for public use. This one was for municipal building, but became plaza. Now called Texas Heroes Square, in honor of all Gonzales men who fought in the Texas Revolution.
History
Remschel House
Built about 1907 as the home of Julius Frederick Remschel and his wife Luella (McLeod), this house was constructed by local builder Fred Meisenhelder. Remschel was the son of Julius H. H. Remschel, a German immigrant who founded the Remschel Lumber company in 1888.
History
Riverside School
After opening in 1914, the Water Street Mexican School, later named Riverside School, was the only facility available for Mexican American students in Gonzales. The one-story brick schoolhouse originally housed six grades, and there were additions to the building and new facilities on the campus as enrollment grew.
History
Route of Gen. Sam Houston to San Jacinto
Stricken with news of the fall of the Alamo and threatened by a massive Mexican army, Sam Houston gathered the nucleus of a Texan army here, issued orders to burn this town (to hinder the Mexicans) and marched east, March 13, 1836. He won Victory at San Jacinto, April 21.
Nature
Salt Flats of Pilgrim Lake
Long before the arrival of Spaniards or Anglo-Americans, this natural salt source was probably utilized by native Indians. Although not produced in great quantities, salt was processed here by pioneers in the 1800s. In damp weather, salty "dew" forms on the flats.
History
Sam Houston Oak
1/8 mile north is Sam Houston Oak where General Sam Houston established his headquarters camp March 13, 1836, after burning the town of Gonzales. Under this oak his small army was joined by many volunteers from the eastern settlements, who went with him to San Jacinto.
History
Sandies Chapel Cemetery
This cemetery first served as a burial ground for the family of Joseph and Catherine McCoy, pioneer settlers in the Green DeWitt Colony. It was later used by residents of the Sandies Chapel community. The earliest graves date from the 1860s.
History
Sandies-Dewville Community
Sandies was settled in the 1830s by members of Green DeWitt's Colony. A church (1842), Masonic Lodge (1858), and school were established. Tom and Frank Dew opened their store and gin one mile from Sandies in 1886. A post office opened in 1894 at the new community of Dewville. After Mrs. C. C. Vernor platted the townsite in 1897, the church and school relocated.
History
Site of the First Shot of the Texas Revolution
The monument, faced with Texas gray granite, sixteen feet two inches in width, thirteen feet six inches in height, and three feet ten and one-half inches in extreme depth, was designed by Phelps & Dewees, Architects. The great bronze plaque and the decorative figures carved in granite were designed by Waldine Tauch. The Commission allocated $10,000 for the memorial.
History
Steen Cemetery
The Steen family's migration west spanned several generations and included a friendship with the Davy Crockett family in Tennessee before they finally settled in Gonzales County in 1846. John Rumley Steen (1824-1910) bought this land, later known as Steen Flat, in 1849. In 1850, he married Mahala Burkett (1830-1881), whose family came from Missouri to Texas in 1830 as part of DeWitt's Colony.
History
The Eggleston House
text plate inscription: The Eggleston House was one of the first houses built in Gonzales after the Run-Away Scrape and burning of the town in 1836. Horace Eggleston built this house in 1848 and it was one of the first permanent type in Gonzales. The house was erected on Lots No. 1 to 6 Block 15 of the Inner Town of Gonzales which was 600 feet east of the Guadalupe River and on St. Michael Street.
History
The Immortal 32
In Memory of the Immortal 32 Gonzales men and boys who, on March 1, 1836 fought their way into the beleaguered Alamo to die with Colonel William B. Travis for the Liberty of Texas. They were the last and only reinforcements to arrive in answer to the final call of Colonel William B. Travis. Names and ages of the Immortal Thirty-Two: Captain Albert Martin, 30; Isaac G.
History
The Pilgrim Home
Center hall, 2 double fireplaces, wide board pine floors. Built 1883 for his bride, Mary Fleda Boothe, by Carey J. Pilgrim, editor "Gonzales Inquirer," son of T. J. Pilgrim, founder first Sunday School in Texas. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1965
History
The Town of Waelder
In 1876, when the Galveston, Harrisburg, & San Antonio Railroad built through Gonzales County, this town was laid out to serve as a shipping point for the surrounding agricultural and ranching area. Hopkinsville, a thriving community five miles north, moved here to become the nucleus of Waelder. Because of valuable services rendered to railroad interests in the early days, the G. H. & S. A.
History
Two Miles North to Site of Maurin Quarry
In operation 1882-1908, this quarry supplied sandstone for buildings in Gonzales, Shiner, Moulton, Flatonia, Hallettsville. Stone was first dynamited, then cut by hand. It was shipped by wagon until railroad was built. The founder was Firmin Maurin, from Marseilles, France. (1969)
History
Wells Home
Federal period ranch home of 15 rooms. Built in 1885 of long leaf pine lumber brought by Gulf steamers from Florida. Hauled from Indianola by oxcarts. Furnished in Guadalupe River valley walnut pieces hand-crafted in Republic of Texas. Home since 1889 of the James B. Wells family. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1964
History
William B. and Sue J. Houston House
William Buckner Houston (1852-1916), a native of De Witt County, became a successful rancher, landowner and civic leader in Gonzales. He and his second wife, Susan Jones Houston, built this home in 1898 on Houston family land. His mother, Julia, also lived here. The house remained in the family until 1952.
History
William B. Fleming
Born in Lumpkin County, Georgia, in 1830, William B. Fleming came to Texas before 1850 where he enlisted in Company C of the Texas Rangers Mounted Volunteers and later the Confederate Army during the Civil War. After the war, Fleming moved to Gonzales County. In partnership with Charles Erasmus Littlefield in 1871, Fleming purchased land on the Guadalupe River south bank.
Elsewhere in Texas
Hear it from the road
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