Entertainment & Sports
The Kay Theater
In 1947, E. L. Bryan and the Foy Arrington family bought a surplus Quonset Hut, one of thousands of the all-purpose metal buildings made during World War II. The hut was moved to Rockdale to become the core of the second movie theater in town. Local carpenter Jack Kyle, Sr.
History
The Town of Gause
William J. Gause (1829-1914), born in Alabama, moved to Texas in 1849, to the Brazos region in 1856, and to this locality in 1872. Buying lumber in Montgomery, he gave his friend Dan Fowler half in return for hauling it here. The two built the first homes in this settlement.
History
Walkers Creek Cemetery
The Walkers Creek community was named for W.H. Walker, who moved to the area in the 1830s. Tennessee native Richard W. Cage settled in the area with his wife Mattie and their family, and in June 1884, the Cage family donated land for the Walkers Creek Cemetery, Baptist Church and School. The burial ground was in use by 1880, when Mattie Lee Jinks was interred here.
History
Westbrook-Walker Cemetery
(One-fourth miles southeast) Georgia native Ervin Westbrook and his wife Rachel McCorra Walker left their Mississippi farm for Texas in 1858. They were joined by Rachel's brother, John H. Walker, and his family. The two families settled in this area in 1859. The cemetery began with the burial of Walker's wife, Mary Frances Wells, in 1864.
History
Wied Hardware Store
Albert J. Matocha was born in Austria-Hungary in 1876 and immigrated to Texas with his family as a young boy; the family made their home in the nearby community of Burlington. As a young man, Matocha began working for the Law and Sprinkel Hardware firm, and he opened his own hardware store in 1898 in the area of Cameron known as "Dutchtown," in a building owned by Frank Mondrik.
History
William Carroll Sypert
(Nov. 15, 1815 - July 18, 1885) A native of Tennessee, William C. Sypert entered the army of the Republic of Texas in 1836 at the age of 20. He returned to Tennessee and married Permelia Benjamine Perry (1819-94) in 1838. After two trips via covered wagon between Tennessee and Texas, they settled permanently in Texas in 1849.
History
William Persky
(Nov. 21, 1844 - Feb. 9, 1945) A native of Germany, William Persky migrated to the United States with his family at the age of eight. He enlisted in the Confederate army during the Civil War and served time as a prisoner of war. A farmer, Persky lived in Austin and Bell counties before moving to this area in 1925.
History
Williams-Atkinson Homestead
This house, built in 1893, was the vision of Thomas Herbert Williams, a South Carolina native and descendant of Rhode Island founder Roger Williams, and his wife Emma (Massengale). An officer in the Palmetto Sharpshooters of the Confederate Army, he left his home state shortly after the Civil War and arrived in Milam County in 1866.
Elsewhere in Texas
Hear it from the road
Whistlestop tells you this story automatically when you drive past. No searching, no tapping, nothing to ask.
