Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > The Lighter Side
ROAD TRIP: A BBM Game
jpwagoneer1964:
Itasca, Tx
Itasca was founded in 1881, immediately following the establishment of the railroad station. G. M. Dodge purchased 100 acres and put land on sale on October 10, 1881. The first building, a general store, was built by Will I. Hooks and James H. Griffin. Rev. J. W. Lackey was the pastor of the newly built Cumberland Presbyterian Church in 1884. The town paper, The Itasca Item, began in 1900. The first school, built by Robert E. Lee Masonic Lodge, opened in 1887. The Itasca Cotton Manufacturing Company began operation in 1901. Switzer Woman's College and Conservatory of Music opened in 1902. In 1937, Hill County Electric Cooperative was founded by Earl Farrow.
MaineWriter:
Adrian, TX
Adrian, like the other towns that stretch across Texas along I-40 came into being as a stop on the Rock Island Railroad. Adrian was chosen as a stop in 1900, although the first train didn't arrive until 1909.
The town's namesake was early settler Adrian Cullen. Settlement was promoted by an Iowa company operating as the American-Canadian Land and Townsite Company.
A man named J. P. Collier, set up a printing press and dug a water well, running water pipe for the town's first infrastructure. A post office was granted and soon the town was thriving with a brickyard, blacksmith, bank, lumberyard and newspaper.
Scarce water and a long drought keep the population low. In 1915 there were only 50 persons.
A grain elevator was built in 1929 and a volunteer fire department was established in the 40s.
Although Adrian sets on the western side of the Texas Panhandle, it is the half-way point for travelers travelling the "Mother Road" of Route 66.
Here is a water tower marking the midway point of Route 66:
Leslie
Fran:
New Ulm, TX
New Ulm, on the Missouri, Kansas and Texas line at the intersection of Farm roads 109 and 1094, in extreme western Austin County, was first known as Duff's Settlement, in honor of James C. Duff, who in 1841 acquired title to the tract on which the town was founded. The community's growth was spurred after 1845 by an influx of German-speaking settlers from nearby communities such as Industry, Shelby, and Nassau Farm. In 1852 a post office was opened in the settlement, which became known as New Ulm in commemoration of the well-known city in Würtemberg, Germany, the province from which most early inhabitants had originally emigrated. During the 1850s the agricultural community had six general merchandise stores, five blacksmith shops, three breweries, three cabinetry shops, and a cigar factory. During this period local residents organized both a turnverein (see TURNVEREIN MOVEMENT), or athletic club, and a Schützenverein, or rifle club, the members of which sported light green uniforms. Arrival of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas line in 1892 further stimulated the New Ulm economy, and the town shipped cotton, poultry, eggs, and butter to markets in surrounding counties. New Ulm had 225 residents in 1898. By 1930 its population had grown to 500, and the number of businesses had increased to forty, including a bank and an English-language newspaper, the New Ulm Enterprise. The population declined to an estimated 390 by 1950. Growth resumed, however, during the 1960s, and by 1968 the population was estimated at 600, and New Ulm had sixteen businesses. In 1990 the population was estimated at 650.
jpwagoneer1964:
MERCURY, TEXAS.
Mercury is on Farm Road 502 twenty-two miles northeast of Brady in northeastern McCulloch County. It was founded by J. A. Austin in 1904, soon after the Fort Worth and Rio Grande built through the area. Mercury became a shipping point for livestock. In 1914 the town had two banks, two general stores, and 550 residents. Mercury had two disastrous fires, one in 1919 and one in 1929, and was unable to recover from them. The town was bypassed when the Brownwood-Brady highway was rerouted in 1938. The Mercury post office was discontinued in the 1930s, and the community's population declined steadily over the next several decades. The Mercury schools were consolidated with the Rochelle district in the late 1940s. The community's population fell from 489 in 1933 to 360 in 1949; it reported 166 residents in 1988 and 1990.
Of course I couldn't resist. Mercury is the automotive brand name of Ford prodices cars introduced in 1939. Throught its enties it was often in danger of being discontinued its products to similar to the Ford lineup. Unfortunatly this is true today more than ever. Until 1967 Mercury offered a line of trucks the same as Ford but with Mercury nameplates. Note the 1966 model the same as what Ennis had but a Mercury.
Meryl:
Yautepec, Mexico
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