San Augustine

"Lone Star Historian 2" is a blog about the travels and activities of the State Historian of Texas during his second year. Bill O'Neal was appointed to a two-year term by Gov. Rick Perry on August 22, 2012, at an impressive ceremony in the State Capitol. Bill is headquartered at Panola College (www.panola.edu) in Carthage, where he has taught since 1970. For more than 20 years Bill conducted the state's first Traveling Texas History class, a three-hour credit course which featured a 2,100-mile itinerary. In 2000 he was awarded a Piper Professorship, and in 2012 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Wild West Historical Association. Bill has published over 40 books, almost half about Texas history subjects, and in 2007 he was named Best Living Non-Fiction Writer by True West Magazine. In 2013 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree by his alma mater, Texas A&M University - Commerce.

The "Halfway House" was located midway between
San Augustine and Nacogdoches and became
a stagecoach stop. 

In the 1690s El Camino Real (The Royal Road or The King’s Highway) was blazed from the interior of Mexico to Spanish Florida. In 1717 Mission Nuestra Senora de los Dolores de los Ais was established alongside El Camino Real and on what would become the southern edge of the future townsite of San Augustine. In the 1820s John and Matthew Cartwright, Elisha Roberts, Alexander Horton, and other Anglo pioneers settled in the area. “When I first came to San Augustine,” reminisced Horton, “I found this to be the most beautiful country I had ever seen.”

Located 11 miles west of San Augustine, the Milton
Garrett cabin was built in 1826 and is probably
the oldest log cabin standing in Texas.

A mass meeting of settlers in 1832 resulted in the acquisition and survey of a townsite. San Augustine developed rapidly and became known as the “Eastern Gateway to Texas,” a port of entry second only to Galveston. Prosperous citizens built Greek Revival homes, and San Augustine boasted many of the earliest examples of Antebellum architecture in Texas. Handsome churches were erected. The University of San Augustine was founded, and later Wesleyan College and the University of East Texas. The Masonic Lodge was one of the first three lodges in Texas, and San Augustine Masons operated the Masonic Male Institute and the Masonic Female Institute during the Antebellum period. San Augustine was proud to be known as the “Athens of Texas.”

Diorama at the Mission Dolores Museum.

Christ Episcopal Church opened in 1870.

Thomas J. Rusk, prominent political leader, practiced law in San Augustine. So did Sam Houston and  J. Pinckney Henderson, first Governor of the Lone Star State. Judge William Ochiltree was a formidable jurist, and young District Attorney Oran M. Roberts went on to become Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court and Governor of Texas. A prominent early physician was John S. Ford, who came to Texas at 21 in 1836, and after two years of service in the Texas Army he settled in San Augustine to practice medicine. (Later Ford moved and returned to military service in the Mexican War, and as a Texas Ranger captain and Confederate colonel, but his first home in Texas was in San Augustine.)

The First Methodist Church organized in 1836
 and the current sanctuary was built in 1909.

From 1840-1844 the Regulator-Moderator War was fought in Shelby and Harrison counties. Moderator leader John Bradley sought refuge in San Augustine in 1844, but Regulator “Colonel” Watt Moorman blasted him with a shotgun when he exited a church service held at the Masonic Hall. President Sam Houston soon called on militia men of the Republic of Texas to meet him in San Augustine to quell Regulator-Moderator hostilities. When President Houston rode into San Augustine, he was met by 600 volunteers. Houston established presidential headquarters at the Mansion House, a two-story frame hotel. Aided by Thomas Rusk, major general of militia, and by veteran officer Alexander Horton, Judge William Ochiltree, and District Attorney Oran Roberts, Houston rapidly organized the militia force. The 600-man militia marched north into Shelby County, sending 200 Regulators and 100 Moderators fleeing into the forests and ending the four-year war.

Bill stands in front of the old jail.

Judge H.K. Polk moved into his new home in 1840.

The Regulator-Moderator War was the first blood feud in Texas. One of the last of those conflicts was the Wall-Border-Broocks Feud, which exploded in San Augustine in 1900. Curg Border, a relative of the influential Broocks family, killed Sheriff George Wall, an old enemy, in the streets of San Augustine. Eugene Wall killed Ben Broocks in retaliation, followed by a gun battle around the courthouse in which two more men were slain. Court action produced no convictions, but rough justice was meted out through a series of shootings, climaxing with the death of Curg Border at the hands of a new sheriff.

Judge Ezekial Cullen  built this Greek Revival
house in 1839. 

The rich and colorful history of San Augustine is prevalent throughout the community. The site of Mission Dolores is under the archaeological supervision of Dr. George Avery, and an excellent mission museum center stands nearby. Downtown the Augus Theatre, which dates back to the 1920s, now is owned by the San Augustine County Historical Society and is an excellent museum and, on occasion, a performing theatre. The “Athens of Texas” remains on display with fine old homes, churches, and other venerable buildings.

This home was built in 1839 for Col. Stephen W. Blount,
who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence.

The old Augus Theatre houses an excellent museum.

For more information: www.sanaugustinetx.com

A Busy Weekend

"Lone Star Historian 2" is a blog about the travels and activities of the State Historian of Texas during his second year. Bill O'Neal was appointed to a two-year term by Gov. Rick Perry on August 22, 2012, at an impressive ceremony in the State Capitol. Bill is headquartered at Panola College (www.panola.edu) in Carthage, where he has taught since 1970. For more than 20 years Bill conducted the state's first Traveling Texas History class, a three-hour credit course which featured a 2,100-mile itinerary. In 2000 he was awarded a Piper Professorship, and in 2012 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Wild West Historical Association. Bill has published over 40 books, almost half about Texas history subjects, and in 2007 he was named Best Living Non-Fiction Writer by True West Magazine. In 2013 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree by his alma mater, Texas A&M University - Commerce.

With the History Club of East Texas

Thursday evening, September 12, marked the first meeting of the year for the History Club of East Texas. The club began years ago as a Civil War Roundtable in Kilgore. I was privileged to speak to the Kilgore group a couple of times, and I was immediately drawn to this gathering of history buffs. Within a few years the group had mostly exhausted available Civil War speakers and topics, and it was decided to expand the subject base. "Civil War Roundtable" was dropped in favor of "History Club of East Texas," and the meeting place was changed to Longview.

For years we have met at Jason's Deli, which provides a free meeting room along with appealing supper possibilities. Monthly meetings are held from September through May. Modest annual fees are collected to provide an honorarium for speakers. A large crowd gathered to begin the new year, and it was good to talk with longtime friends and kindred spirits. Several months ago Joan Marshall, director of the Bob Bullock Museum of Texas History asked me to deliver an address on "Sam Houston as a Leader." I enjoyed developing and presenting this subject, and because of Houston's iconic status I felt that the History Club of East Texas would enjoy the topic. It was a most pleasant session, and for the State Historian a good warmup for a busy weekend. 

On Saturday morning I drove to Marshall, 30 miles from Carthage, to participate in the reopening of the Harrison County Museum in the renovated 1901 courthouse building. This imposing structure served as the county seat of government for 63 years, until a larger and more modern courthouse opened on the west side of the square. But the 1901 courthouse remained in service as the home of the county museum. Museum exhibits filled 13 rooms, so a visit to the museum offered a bonus of touring a picturesque and historic old building. Construction materials featured yellow brick, carved limestone, marble, and pink granite columns. Atop the impressive dome is a statue of the goddess of justice, holding a sword of justice in one hand and the scales of justice in the other. 

After the aging courthouse passed the century mark, the building had fallen into serious disrepair. The museum was moved to the historic Ginnochio Hotel building, where many exhibits still were displayed and archival collections remained open to researchers. (Prior to the move I had researched the 1879 shooting in Marshall of Maurice Barrymore and a fellow actor, as well as Marshall's minor league baseball team. But when the archives were transferred to the Ginnochio, I found ready access to files on the Regulator-Moderator War.) The empty courthouse was the beneficiary of renovation through the Texas Historical Commission's Courthouse Program. The refurbished courthouse was rededicated in 2009. 

Now the Harrison County Museum has been reestablished in the 1901 historical gem. The second week of September was declared "A Celebration of Local History: The Reopening of Our NEW County History Exhibits in the 1901 Harrison County Courthouse." Early in the week members of the Museum enjoyed preview tours, and there were other events. On Saturday the museum was opened to the public from 10 AM until 7 PM. I was invited to speak at 10:15 AM on historic events in 19th-century Marshall.

At 1:15 PM Dr. Ivan White, Director of Administrative Services at Wiley College, delivered an address on "Wiley College, Celebrating 140 years." At 2:30 PM  Dr. Randolph Campbell, Regents Professor of History at the University of North Texas and Chief Historian of the Texas State Historical Association, spoke on "Texas Confederate Pensions." Utilizing Harrison County as a sample, Dr. Campbell has performed groundbreaking research on slavery and other antebellum topics. We enjoyed appreciative audiences, and everyone was impressed with the superb new museum exhibits.

The Heart of Texas Museum is housed in the old county jail.

I drove from Marshall to Brady. Brady is near the geographical center of the Lone Star State, and freely uses the term "Heart of Texas." In recent months the local chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, the Heart of Texas Historic Museum, the Heart of Texas Writers Group, and the Heart of Texas Historic Commission united forces to inaugurate a new community event, "Heart of Texas Historians and Storytellers " Modeled after an annual event in nearby Mason, the Brady activity was scheduled for Sunday afternoon, September 15, and there would be three programs. 

Gary Sutton, a local rancher who is an enthusiastic member of the Heart of Texas Historic Commission, invited me to present the historical programs. Marilynn Johanson, a retired educator and pioneer descendant, agreed to be the storyteller. A large number of volunteers from the four different groups resourcefully handled arrangements - and treated me with great hospitality. Shelly Perkins produced a professional program of events. These efforts were rewarded with a crowd exceeding 150, and I led off with a program on "Gunfighterology," which included demonstrations with old weapons and holsters. During a break members of the audience purchased large numbers of inscribed books, and my sister, Judy O'Neal Smith from Lampasas, was an invaluable aide at my book table. Afterward Marilynn Johanson charmed the crowd with an account of her great-grandmother, "The Pioneer Woman's Story." 

Tracy Pitcox is a Brady native who has been a mainstay of radio station KNEL for more than a quarter of a century. Tracy has transformed Brady into a center of Country Western Music, and he provided his events center for our Sunday afternoon program. Therefore,for the closing presentation I described the "Musical Traditions of Texas," focusing on the enormous Texas contributions to C&W Music. 

My sister, Judy O'Neal Smith (at left), drove
to Brady from Lampasas.

That evening I was hosted by a dozen of the volunteers at a celebratory dinner. They were elated by the turnout and response to the event they had created. And it was deeply gratifying that I had played a part in launching a community event - there can be no more important role for the State Historian of Texas. 

Members of the Brady High School History Club
with their sponsor, Jim Griffin

National Cowboy Symposium

"Lone Star Historian 2" is a blog about the travels and activities of the State Historian of Texas during his second year. Bill O'Neal was appointed to a two-year term by Gov. Rick Perry on August 22, 2012, at an impressive ceremony in the State Capitol. Bill is headquartered at Panola College (www.panola.edu) in Carthage, where he has taught since 1970. For more than 20 years Bill conducted the state's first Traveling Texas History class, a three-hour credit course which featured a 2,100-mile itinerary. In 2000 he was awarded a Piper Professorship, and in 2012 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Wild West Historical Association. Bill has published over 40 books, almost half about Texas history subjects, and in 2007 he was named Best Living Non-Fiction Writer by True West Magazine. In 2013 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree by his alma mater, Texas A&M University - Commerce.

Bill with Monica Hightower

Lubbock's fabled National Cowboy Symposium celebrated its silver anniversary throughout the first weekend in September. The Symposium opened in 1989 and rapidly became one of America's most important and enjoyable cowboy events. 

"Cowboys of the American West developed a `Cowboy Culture' of their own with values and traditions such as self-dependence, individualism, work ethic, personal honesty and a brand of western chivalry," explains Monica Hightower, the lovely and efficient boss wrangler of the National Cowboy Symposium and Celebration. Hightower has served for eight years as executive director of the Symposium, and she emphasizes what the public expects. "Passing along the cultural traditions, values, and history of yesterday, and keeping the modern culture alive are what make this unique event an important part of today's `Cowboy Culture.'" 

Billy Huckaby, Western book publisher

The Symposium is held at Lubbock's vast Memorial Civic Center, which offers ample space for more than 200 exhibitors, comfortable performing areas, and a grassy outdoor section where more than 20 chuck wagons are parked, with nearby cooking fires and tents. At previous Symposiums my wife Karon shopped successfully for Western clothing and jewelry. She found for me a set of leather coasters personalized with my Circle N brand, a blue cap with my brand, and a canvas ranchman's vest which I've worn in countless presentations. I found for myself numerous autographed copies of valued books. Together we enjoyed excellent chuck wagon meals, as well as live western music that is performed in the halls throughout Friday and Saturday.

This year's Symposium opened Thursday evening, September 5, with a banquet featuring American Cowboy Culture Awards presentations. There was an attractive variety of programs throughout Friday and Saturday, as well as evening concerts starring Waddie Mitchell, Mary Kaye, R.W. Hampton, Larry Maurice, and other western performers. On Saturday morning "The Parade of the Horse" featured handsomely mounted riders, miniature horses, carriages, wagons - and the Texas Tech Masked Raider! Following an action-packed Friday and Saturday, on Sunday morning there was a chuck wagon breakfast, followed by a Cowboy Devotional Service. 

Western authors Jan Devereaux and Bob Alexander

At past Symposiums in Lubbock I've manned publishers' tables to sign such books as Historic Ranches of the Old West and my biography of rancher-feudist-trail boss Pink Higgins. One year a Symposium program theme was western music, featuring the Sons of the Pioneers and other noted groups. I had recently published a "biography" of The Sons of the Pioneers, and it was a privilege to present a program on this iconic western singing group.

Tai Kreidler, Symposium advisory board; Bill;
and authors Norman Brown and Chuck Parsons

The program theme of this year was Outlaws and Lawmen of the Old West. I felt certain that this theme would be attractive to Symposium attendees. Nothing is more dramatic than life and death conflict. and when that conflict is set in the frontier West, involving gunfighters and shootouts, there is a special appeal. Monica Hightower assembled such noted authors in this field as Bob Alexander, Bill Neal, Chuck Parsons, and Norman Brown. I was elated when Monica contacted me about presenting a program on what I call my "Wild West Soap Opera," The Johnson-Sims Feud: Romeo and Juliet, West Texas Style. Two prominent ranching families - in the region south of Lubbock - intermarried, but the marriage tragically led to the last old-fashioned blood feud in Texas. The Johnson-Sims Feud was published in 2010 by the University of North Texas Press, and it has led to a popular series of programs. Monica Hightower emphasized my position as State Historian of Texas in the PR and in the Symposium Souvenir Program. My  time slot was three o'clock on Friday afternoon, and there was a large turnout. The audience was responsive, and the presentation triggered a lively question and answer session that was gratifying. 

Bill with Linda Puckett,  director-curator of the
Garza County Historical Museum in Post

The Silver Anniversary of the National Cowboy Symposium and Celebration was great fun. It is an event not to be missed, and next year it will be held September 5-8 in Lubbock. 

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For more information: www.cowboy.org 

Part of the audience at my presentation