History
Joseph and Catherine Bartula
Born in Poland, Joseph (1840-1919) and Catherine (1841-1907) Bartula overcame many hardships after migrating to Texas in 1873. They became the first Polish settlers in Robertson County in 1875. Assisted by J. C. and Mary Roberts, on whose farm he worked, Bartula wrote letters urging other Polish immigrants to join him. Soon 50 families arrived from Poland and 60 moved here from the Marlin area.
History
Katy Hamman Stricker Library
In 1868, Robert Calvert and other local farmers urged the Houston & Texas Central Railroad to build through the area. The city of Calvert became an agricultural trade center and attracted new residents from other area settlements. After the turn of the 20th century, women's clubs became a popular aspect of community life throughout the country. In 1907, Missouri-based businessman Edward G.
History
Love High School
T.W. Parker founded Bremond Colored High School in 1920 to educate young African Americans in the Bremond area. Professor Charles Love, principal from 1925-1965, played such an integral part in the school by preparing the students that it was renamed in his honor in the 1940s.
Architecture
Mistrot-Adoue House
This house was built in the 1870s by Henry B. Mistrot or Bertrand Adoue. Mistrot was a partner in business with Adoue's brother Jacques. The two-story residence features characteristics of the Greek revival and Victorian styles. The French influence of the owners is reflected in the use of fleur-de-lis patterns in the woodwork.
History
Nesbitt Cemetery and Beck Prairie Baptist Church
Beck Prairie is believed to have been named after Tennessee native Absalom Beck, a farmer here in 1850. The name changed to Nesbitt when postal officials misspelled Nisbett, the name of the family whose store became the site of a new post office in 1900. In 1875 the Beck Prairie Missionary Baptist Church was organized by William D. Anderson and B. L. Wright.
History
Norwood Cemetery
Though the oldest known grave on this site was made for Mary Stroud Bolton in 1870, the year it was deeded to the City of Hearne, stories persist that patients of the Sisters of Charity Hospital that once overlooked the cemetery were buried on this site. Among the nameless may be Irish and Chinese immigrants who built the railroad in this region.
Industry & Science
Old Calvert Foundry and Manufacturing Company
Founded about 1870 as one of Calvert's first industries. The building is of county-made brick; iron facade came from St. Louis. Iron ore from local deposits and from Cherokee County (100 mi. NE) was hauled here by horse-drawn wagons to be made into farm tools and other sturdy articles. Prominent Texans have owned this foundry. J.
History
Old Cavitt House
Republic of Texas homestead established when log cabin was built, 1836. Main house of hand finished lumber, begun in 1842, completed in present form 1854. During 1840s and 1850s was stage stop between Nacogdoches and San Antonio de Bexar. Cavitts were political followers of Sam Houston, friend and frequent guest here, who gave a desk to Volney Cavitt. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1964
History
Paul Bremond
The city of Bremond is named for the noted financier and railroad builder Paul Bremond (1810-85). A native of New York, where he apprenticed in the hat trade, Bremond came to Texas in 1839 and eventually joined other investors in a railroad that became the Houston and Texas Central. With Bremond as president, it built a line from Houston to Dallas and beyond.
Architecture
Robert Cyrus Allen Home
(1871-1933) Had this Victorian residence built in 1900 as a wedding present for his bride Florence (Blair). A prominent area merchant, banker, and civic leader, Allen also served as mayor of the city and was instrumental in the organization of the Hearne and Brazos Valley Railroad. This house, constructed on the site of his family home, was designed by the noted Waco architect W. W. Larmour.
History
Robertson County
Settled by people from Tennessee under an 1822 contract heldby Sterling Clack Robertson (1785-1842), who later signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. Colony and county were named for him. County was created Dec. 14, 1837, organized March 1838. County seats: "Old Franklin", 1838-1850; Wheelock, 1850-1855; Owensville, 1855-1869; Calvert, 1870-1879; Franklin, since 1879.
Architecture
Robertson County Courthouse
Erected in 1882 at a cost of $30,000, this white limestone building is the fourth to serve as Robertson County Courthouse. In 1879 the county seat had been moved for the fifth time, to Morgan, on the International & Great Northern Railroad. But because Texas already had a post office named Morgan, the town was renamed Franklin for the first county seat, which was named for pioneer Will Franklin.
History
Site of Extinct Town of Hammond
Dr. Ben F. Hammond moved here from Alabama in 1853 and built a plantation home about a mile to the west. Neighbors included James Love and Robert S. McCall. Hammond Depot and Post Office were opened at this point on the Houston & Texas Central Railroad after the doctor granted right-of-way through his land in 1869. Near the depot, used by planters for their shipping, were a few stores.
History
Site of Harvey Massacre
(one mile west) At this site one Sunday night in November 1836, the family of John Harvey was attacked by an Indian raiding party. Harvey, his wife, and son were all killed, Mrs. Harvey's blood staining the open pages of the family Bible. Their daughter Ann, aged 5, and a servant girl were taken captive, later to be sold as slaves. The price of Ann was a few blankets.
History
Site of Owensville
Robertson County's third county seat was located here, 1855-69, on land given by D. H. Love (1816-66). The town was Owensville, named for Harrison Owen (1803-96), who was the first county clerk, 1838-47. Public officials, doctors, lawyers, businesses moved here and town thrived. It was on Houston-Waco mail, stage, and freighting road.
History
St. Phillips Episcopal
W. B. Wadsworth (1843-1916) and J. G. Wilkerson (1847-1903) moved their families to the Hearne area from Matagorda. With their help, this church was founded in 1871. It was named in honor of the Rev. J. W. Philips who preached the first sermon. This property was donated to the congregation by the New York and Texas Land Company.
History
Staggers Point
Earliest large community in Robertson's colony. Settled by Irishmen who came to America in 1821; lived in South Carolina and then in Alabama; and in 1829 sent west an emissary, Robert Henry, to find a permanent location. In 1833, their ox-wagon train arrived, and log cabins were built. By 1836, kinsmen had joined early arrivals to strengthen settlement.
History
Sterling Cemetery
Burial place of some 400 Texas pioneers and descendants. On land granted (1835) to A. J. Webb; bought in 1850 by Judge Robert Calvert, a civic leader in Sterling, a town named for Empresario Sterling C. Robertson. Calvert dedicated 11.1-acre cemetery and built adjacent Cumberland Presbyterian Church of his own plantation timber. In 1867, Judge Calvert died and was buried near cemetery gate.
History
Stricker-Sneed House
Victorian house built in 1900 by Herman L. and Katy Stricker, business, civic, social leaders. Stricker was a jeweler; his wife, daughter of Confederate General William H. Hamman. Mrs. Stricker led in movement to erect League of Women's meeting house, now the Calvert Library building. In 1913, banker H. Marvin Sneed and his wife Cara (Weber) bought the house; their heirs sold it to Mr. and Mrs.
History
Suggs Cemetery
Calvin A. Suggs and his family came to Texas from Georgia in the late 1860s. They settled in this area about 1868, and Suggs purchased eighty acres of land. This cemetery was established on Suggs' land and has served as the principal burial ground for the Black Jack community for over a century. The oldest documented grave here is that of Jera William McWilliams, who died on October 11, 1880.
Architecture
The Parish Carriage House
In 1892 wealthy merchant, cotton buyer, and banker L. H. Parish (1846-1924) and his wife Mattie bought this property. Soon they erected this carriage house with ornate Victorian styling to match their home. Plans for both structures came from the mail order catalogue of noted architect George Franklin Barber (1854-1915).
History
Town of Calvert
Swarming ox-carts and cotton wagons, busy stores and saloons, casino tables stacked with gold: this was early Calvert, a major cotton export and trade center. Community began as "Sterling," in Sterling C. Robertson colony of the 1820s. It was center of mustering and military supply activity in Civil War, 1861-1865.
History
Virginia Field Park
Land given to Calvert 1868 for use as a park by the Houston & Texas Central Railroad. Co. C, 4th Texas Inf. Regt., Hood's Texas Brigade, under Major Wm. Townsend, mustered nearby, 1865. Was site during Reconstruction, 1868-1873, of "Sky Parlor" (room built on pole, as a tree house) to serve as prison for Southern sympathizers. In 1895 and 1912, Hood's Texas Brigade Association entertained here.
History
Walnut Creek Cemetery
The Walnut Creek community was established in the 1850s with the arrival of several farming families. J. Grant Taylor came as a child to this area with his parents. Tradition says the Walnut Creek Cemetery began before 1869 with the death of a two-year-old girl. She was the daughter of a horse trader who lived nearby. Taylor gave permission for the child's burial on his 30-acre tract of land.
History
Wheelock
Founded in 1833 by Colonel E. L. R. Wheelock, soldier, lawyer and educator. One of the organizers of Robertson's colony. Captain of Texas Rangers. Died in Edwardsville, Ill, in 1846 while visiting the place of his birth.
Elsewhere in Texas
Hear it from the road
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