History
Angelita (Littlest Angel)
Angelita was one of several rural communities which grew up in San Patricio County after the Civil War. A schoolhouse was erected in the 1880s and was the center of community life. After the arrival of the St. Louis, Brownsville, and Mexico Railroad in 1904, a town was platted and businesses were established.
History
Battle of San Patricio
The battle of San Patricio was fought in the streets of Old San Patricio at 3:00 A.M. on February 27, 1836. The general council of the provisional government of Texas had instructed Francis W. Johnson and Dr. James Grant to lead an independent military force against Matamoros, Mexico.
History
Bethel Baptist Church of Christ and Cemetery
Organized on May 6, 1873, the Bethel Baptist Church of Christ was the first Baptist congregation in San Patricio County. The ten charter members represented the pioneer area communities of Sharpsburgh, Moore's Lake Settlement, and Meansville. Under the supervision of L.D. Young, a Baptist missionary, John Walker Baylor was selected as the first pastor. Alexander Moore served as the first deacon.
Civic & Local
Chat Work Club
Formed by a group of thirty three women of Valentine's Day, 1921, the Chat Work Club derived its name from the members practice of working on sewing projects while conversing with each other. In 1925, they began raising funds for a portland public library, and by 1933 a building was completed. Beginning with 291 books, the library grew over the years and has occupied a number of structures.
Industry & Science
Coleman-Fulton Pasture Company
The Coleman, Mathis, Fulton cattle company was formed in 1871 by partners George Ware Fulton, youngs Coleman, Tom Coleman, Thomas Henry Mathis, and J.M. Mathis, with headquarters in Rockport. The The Coleman-Fulton Pasture Company, with 167,000 acres of land, was organized in 1879 after the Mathis cousins left the partnership.
History
Courthouses of San Patricio County
Eight structures have served as the seat of local government for the people of San Patricio County since its earliest settlement. A building known as the "Log Courthouse" was constructed in San Patricio in the early 1830's to serve the people of the San Patricio colony, although the county of San Patricio was not created until 1837.
History
Great Land Lottery of Aransas Pass
In 1909, real estate developers E.O. Burton and A.H. Danforth embarked upon a land promotion scheme to take advantage of available land in Aransas Pass. They hired journalist W.H. Vernor to produce the "Aransas Pass Progress", which promoted Aransas Pass and the pending land sale across the country by U.S. Mail. Promoter A.D.
History
Gregory
The town of Gregory traces its beginnings to 1886, the year the San Antonio and Aransas Pass railroad built a line through San Patricio county. The railroad and the local Coleman-Fulton pasture company joined forces to build a station here at a site known as Corpus Christi junction, a switch where the rail line turned toward Corpus Christi and branched off to Aransas Pass.
History
Gregory School
The town of Gregory was founded in 1887 when the Coleman-Fulton Pasture Company and the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway agreed to build a town at the site of Corpus Christi Junction, the location of a rail spur that led across Nueces Bay to the city. Formal education began in Gregory in 1891 with the opening of the first school.
History
In Memory of Captain Thomas K. Pearson
In Memory of Captain Thomas K. Pearson, Lieutenant Henry Cooney, Dr. William W. Hoit, Dr. Gustav Bunsen, Joseph Carpenter, Benjamin Dale, William Williams and two or three other Texan volunteers killed in action at and near San Patricio February 27, 1836 who were buried here next day by Rev. Father Thomas K.
History
Ingleside
The Ingleside community began in the 1850s when George C. Hatch purchased land on both sides of the bayou. He later acquired 3,800 acres of land and sold land to other settlers who built homes on the bayou and Ingleside Cove. John Vineyard is credited with naming Ingleside Cove for his Scottish ancestral home.
History
John Wiebel VFW Post 2932
In 1899, the United States government passed a law establishing the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) as a fraternal organization to help veterans and their families. Influenced by the VFW, congress established veterans benefits in 1917 that included disability compensation, vocational rehabilitation, and insurance.
History
Joseph French Green and La Quinta Mansion
Ohio native Joseph French Green arrived in South Texas after the building of the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad. During a lawsuit in 1886, the opposing counsel, David Sinton, was so impressed by Green that he hired him to manage the 224,000-acre Catarina Ranch near Gregory.
History
Josepha Rodriguez
Josepha Rodríguez, known as "Chipita," was hanged in 1863 for the murder of John Savage. She remained the last woman legally executed in the state of Texas until 1998. Little is known of Rodríguez' life, though it is believed that she was the daughter of Pedro Rodríguez; they moved to San Patricio de Hibernia when Chipita was young.
History
Late Pleistocene Ingleside Fauna
Known today as Swan Lake, this is the site of an archeological excavation that yielded one of the largest assortments of fossils found in a single locality in Texas. They were discovered in 1939 when highway engineers were digging for caliche to use in road building. Between 1939 and 1941 the fossils of 42 prehistoric vertebrates were excavated and sorted.
Architecture
Odem Building
The Sinton townsite company was organized in 1894 to promote the development of the new railroad town of Sinton. Local merchant David Odem, one of the founders of the townsite company, established himself as a prominent landowner and businessman in Sinton. In 1906 he became one of the principal stockholders in the newly organized Sinton State Bank.
History
Odem First Baptist Church
ON SUNDAY, APRIL 28, 1912, BAPTISTS OF ODEM ORGANIZED THEIR OWN CONGREGATION. REV. R. A. COHRAN, GENERAL MISSIONARY OF THE BLANCO ASSOCIATION, WAS CALLED TO ASSIST. WITH J. F. JANICKE AS CLERK AND W. B. JONES AS MODERATOR, REV. COHRAN READ THE ARTICLES OF FAITH AND CHURCH COVENANT, WHICH WERE ADOPTED BY THE CHURCH.
History
Old Cemetery on the Hill
This cemetery is believed to have been used for generations by Indian tribes and Mexican settlers who lived in this area previous to Anglo colonization. Following the establishment of San Patricio de Hibernia in 1830 by empresarios John McMullen and James McGloin, the colonists continued to use the old cemetery on the hill.
History
Old Cemetery on the Hill
This cemetery is believed to have been used for generations by Indian tribes and Mexican settlers who lived in this area previous to Anglo colonization. Following the establishment of San Patricio de Hibernia in 1830 by empresarios John McMullen and James McGloin, the colonists continued to use the old cemetery on the hill.
History
Old Dougherty House
Location of noted St. Paul's Academy for Boys. Home of school owner Robert Dougherty (1827-1881), a refugee from 1840s Irish famine. Educated at St. Mary's College, Kentucky, Dougherty worked as a journalist and merchant before settling in Texas, here marrying Rachel Sullivan. In 1867-1874, he was principal, Hidalgo Seminary, Corpus Christi.
Industry & Science
Plymouth Oil Company and Plymouth Oilers
Pennsylvania-based Plymouth Oil Company was founded in 1923 by M.L. "Mike" Benedum (d. 1959). With operations headquarters in Sinton, the company profoundly affected the city's development by creating jobs, building company housing, and providing health and retirement benefits for many local workers.
History
President William Howard Taft Visits Taft
In 1908, Charles P. Taft, director of the Coleman-Fulton Pasture Company (also known as Taft Ranch) extended an invitation to his half-brother, newly-elected President William Howard Taft, to visit the 165,000-acre Taft Ranch and the Taft community. The President agreed to come in October 1909. Charles Taft and ranch manager Joseph F. Green immediately began preparations for the event.
Transport
Reef Road
Early settlers in the eastern and central areas of San Patricio county faced difficulty traveling across Corpus Christi Bay to Corpus Christi, the main center for trade. The Reef Road, which according to local tradition was discovered by indians, was the shortest and most favored route. Consisting of oyster shell reefs close to the water's surface, the road was passable only at low tide.
History
Rincon Ranch
Youngs Coleman and his son, Thomas, established a south Texas ranching empire in the 1850's. The headquarters of their operation was here at Rincon where there was a fresh water depression. In 1871 the Colemans joined with George W. Fulton and T.H. and J.M. Mathis to form what became the Coleman-Fulton pasture company.
History
Saint Patrick's Catholic Church
Empresarios John McMullen and James McGloin brought irish catholic immigrant families to Texas about 1829 to form a new colony, San Patricio de Hibernia. Under the direction of the Rev. Henry Doyle, the colonists established Saint Patrick's Catholic Church about 1830. A fire in 1858 destroyed the original frame church building and all church records. The Rt. Rev.
Elsewhere in Texas
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