ROAD TRIP: A BBM Game

[MaineWriter]

Shenandoah, TX

If you haven’t heard of Shenandoah’s colorful history during the Texas Revolution, its rivalry for county seat status, its being bypassed by the railroad, and its participation in the World Wars, don’t worry. Shenandoah had no history prior to the 1960s.

Shenandoah History

"Shenandoah ... is typical of the bedroom communities that have proliferated north of Houston in southern Montgomery County since the 1960s. Development of the subdivision, originally known as Shenandoah Valley, began in the late 1960s on a large tract of land on the east bank of Panther Creek just west of newly constructed I-45."

Leslie

[Fran]

Hussar, AB

Durum wheat field, Hussar, Alberta

Hussar is a village in the province of Alberta.  The community was named for the German settlers who had served in a regiment of the hussars.

2001 population: 181 (Source: Statistics Canada)

[jpwagoneer1964]

River Oaks, Tx

RIVER OAKS, TEXAS. River Oaks is an incorporated residential community on State Highway 183 within the western boundary of Fort Worth in west central Tarrant County. In 1941 the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce deeded to the federal government 1,450 acres to construct a plant in which to build B-24 bombers, and to build a landing field, which would become Carswell Air Force Base.qv Construction began in April of that year; also that year local residents voted to incorporate their community. The construction of the air base, which was activated by the Army in 1942, became the catalyst for community development. River Oaks had a population of 2,000 by the end of the 1940s. During the 1950s water and sewer systems were completed, streets were paved, and a library was built. In 1960 the population of River Oaks surpassed 8,000. The dramatic population increase was due to the increased activity at Carswell and to the arrival of the General Dynamics Corporation in the Fort Worth area. For the next few decades the population level remained above 8,000. During the 1980s, however, the number of residents dropped, probably as a result of decreased activity at the air base and the decline in defense contracts received by General Dynamics. In 1989 River Oaks had an estimated 7,740 residents, and in 1990 it reported 6,580.

Interesting note on the cars parked in this photo. The smaller station wagon 2nd to the right is a late 1950's Borgward. When I grew  up during the 1960's in southern California these high quaility German cars were still not an uncommon sight and apparently not in Texas either. Priced less than a Mercedes, they found a fair share of buyers during the import boom of the mid 1950's.  The company found itself in receivership around 1960-61 and the bank ordered it shut down. One of the bank board members was also a high ranking BMW offical. It was later proven there were assets to equal debts. Had it not been for a conflict on interest we might have the opportunity  to buy Borgwards Today! At that time BMW had nothing competive in the US market.

The other cars L to R are a 1950-52 Plymouth, 1955 Chevy, 1956 Chevy, 1952 Buick and 1950 Chevy.

[MaineWriter]

Sheffield, TX

 The Spanish explorer Gaspar Sosa is said to have visited the area as early as 1590.

In 1849, the Army surveyed a road from San Antonio to El Paso and they included what is now Sheffield on their route because of the Pecos Spring and the Pecos River.

The first settler, a man named John Cannon moved into the area and bought the spring. Another early settler was Will Sheffield. He had a slight advantage in having the town named after him since he was the town's first postmaster (1898).

Six years into the new century, Sheffield had all the amenities of a thriving town. The oil boom of the 20s changed the entire region - including Sheffield - permanently. Sheffield didn't experience the type of lawlessness of other oil boom towns like Ranger, Kilgore, Mexia or Freer.

On the map, Sheffield is tucked into the smallest little cranny available in Pecos County like a spider in a huge room.

Leslie

[memento]

Dot, Texas

Dot is on Farm Road 1950 four miles southwest of Chilton in western Falls County. William B. Murphy applied for a post office and suggested that it be called Dot, his daughter's nickname; the post office was granted to the settlement in 1894. Two years later the community had two churches, a hotel, a cotton gin, and fifteen residents. Its post office was discontinued in 1905, and mail for Dot was sent to Chilton. Children from Dot attended nearby Liberty School, which in 1904 had one teacher and eighty-two students; by the mid-1930s it had forty-one students. The community appeared as a school, a church, and several residences on county highway maps in the late 1940s, when its population was twenty-five. The school was consolidated with the Chilton Independent School District in 1949. From 1964 to 1990 the population of Dot was reported as twenty-one. In 2000 the population was seventeen.

(It's just a Dot on the map.)

[jpwagoneer1964]

Tomball, Tx

The area that is now Tomball, Texas was originally settled by German and European settlers in the early 1800s. The land now known as historic Downtown Tomball was originally granted to William Hurd in 1838.

Settlers came to Tomball mainly to promote agricultural activities, lured by its peaceful streams, its rolling pastures and beautiful pine trees.

In 1906 the area became the town of Peck, Texas. Shortly after, in 1907, the town was renamed after Senator Thomas H. Ball who helped the area thrive by running the railways through town, which was extremely important to the prosperity of the agricultural businesses in the area.

Tomball Texas Historical Info
In 1933 the Humble Oil & Refining Co. found Oil in Tomball. As a result, Tomball became known as "Oil Town USA," and the citizens benefitted from an unusual deal with the oil drilling company: The town was given free natural gas to all residents for ninety years!

Today Tomball is known for its small town atmosphere and as a peaceful home to thousands who want to get away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Houston.

[Fran]

Lougheed, AB

Lougheed is a village in the province of Alberta.  The village was named for Sir James Alexander Lougheed, lawyer.

[MaineWriter]

Dripping Springs, TX

A timeline of significant events in Dripping Springs’ history:
1849: a man named Fawcett is thought to be the founding settler. In the 1850s, other settlers arrived and began farming. The town became a regional center shortly before the start of the Civil War.
1857: Dripping Springs was granted their post office.
1881: The Dripping Springs Academy opened
1884: The town’s population reaches 130.

Dripping Springs was right on the road between Austin and Fredericksburg. That and its water granteed a prosperous future.

In the first part of the 20th century, Dripping Springs became northern Hays County’s principal town.

In the mid-1980s the population was just over 600. By 1990 its population had risen to over 1,000.

Having the word Dripping in your town’s name has contributed some amusing anecdotes over the years. Locals are used to it, but outsiders do a double-take when they read a headline stating: “Dripping Native to run for Office.”

Leslie

[jpwagoneer1964]

Seagraves , Tx

SEAGRAVES, TEXAS. Seagraves, at the intersection of U.S. Highway 62/285 and State Highway 83, in northern Gaines County, was promoted in 1916-18 by the Spearman Land Company of the Santa Fe Railroad. The original settlers were the J. C. Sartin family, who arrived in 1905 with nearly 800 cattle. Originally the town was called Blythe for the Blythe Ranch, on which the post office was located in 1911. A name change was mandated because the Santa Fe had a station named Blythe in California, so the town was named for Santa Fe official C. L. Seagraves in 1918, after a railroad extension to Lubbock in 1917 made it a cattle-shipping center. In 1928 the town suffered a disastrous fire, but with regional oil production beginning in 1936 it boomed considerably. Seagraves was incorporated in 1925 and 1928. In the 1930s the chamber of commerce adopted the slogan "The City that Oil Built," and in 1955 its letterheads featured "The Caged Egg Production Center of the World" to promote its egg industry. The population jumped from 505 to 3,225 between 1930 and 1940, then declined to 2,090 by 1950. Seagraves was the county's largest town until 1950, when it was surpassed by Seminole. In the late 1960s and early 1970s Seagraves established a housing authority for aged and low-income families with federal help through HUD funds. The Seagraves Progress, which published its first edition in April 1923, later became the Signal and in 1932 the Gaines County News. Cedar Lake is seventeen miles southwest and attracts tourists. At the Seagraves-Loop Museum and Art Center, items used by early settlers are displayed; the museum sponsors an annual arts and crafts show. Seagraves is a market for a three-county area and has a carbon black plant, a sewing-machine factory, and a state mental-health clinic. In 1980 the population was 2,596. In 1990 it was 2,398.


Drop the 's' and Seagrave is a well know fire engine company with a  history of over 125 years. Perhaps the engine in your communityu are supplied from Seagrave.

Seagrave Fire Apparatus LLC is a manufacturer of fire apparatus that specializes in pumper and rescue units, as well as aerial towers. In addition to manufacturing new equipment, they refurbish, repair and upgrade older Seagrave apparatus, including National Fire Protection Association updates to equipment.[1] They are a major supplier to the New York City Fire Department.

Seagrave was founded in Detroit, Michigan in 1881 by Fredric Seagrave and moved to Columbus, Ohio in 1891. It was acquired by the FWD Corporation in 1963 and moved their corporate headquarters to Clintonville, Wisconsin

[Fran]

South View, Alberta