ROAD TRIP: A BBM Game

[MaineWriter]

Runningwater, TX

First called Wadsworth, the people applied for a post office under the name Running Water - to promote the town by calling attention to the fact that it did, indeed, have running water. The PO opened in 1890 and was renamed the following year. Dennis Rice is credited with founding the town.

Runningwater's "Grand Opening" (complete with barbeque) occured in August of 1892. Several planned businesses failed and then a drought and a plague of grasshoppers in the mid-1890s set the town back. New settlers were attracted to the area in 1895 and by 1907 the town had three stores, and the same number of churches.

Things were looking good for the town when the Fort Worth and Denver Railway bypassed the town in 1928. The post office moved to Edmonson Switch on the railroad line in 1937 and Runningwater was abandoned. The community was still shown on detailed county maps although no population figures were given.

Edmonson has dropped the Switch off its name and is still on the map with a population of just over 100 persons.

Leslie

[jpwagoneer1964]

Rosebud, Tx

    Rosebud, with a population of about 1,700, is a growing town with many beautiful homes, a medical clinic, a nursing home, a consolidated high school (Rosebud - Lott, located at Travis), thriving businesses, good farming land surrounding the town, 13 churches, a city-manager system of government, an efficient Mayor and City Council, a Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture - and a rosebush in every yard!

    Rosebud is now more than 100 years old, having celebrated its centennial in 1987. The leadership and citizens are determined to keep the town forever as lovely as its name.

    Rosebud was originally settled on the west bank of Pond Creed in 1878. Known as Pool's Crossing or Greer's Horse Pen in those early days, the settlement in 1884 became known as Mormon after several Mormons moved there. The post office was opened at this time also. The settlement and post office moved east a few miles to its present location, and the search for a new name began. The postmaster at the time, Allin Taylor, submitted the name "Rosebud" to the postal service because of the beautiful roses blooming in Mrs. J. L. Mullins' front yard, and on April 23, 1887, the postal service accepted the name, and Rosebud was officially born.

    There are light industrial and commercial properties in the downtown area. Since the principal industry in the locale is agriculture, there are several agribusinesses in the community to serve farmers and ranchers with their needs.

    Landmard public buildings such as City Hall, D. Brown Memorial Library, schools the clinic, nursing home and churches are interspersed in the residential areas of Rosebud. Several structures and sites have received Texas State Historical Markers.

    The homes in Rosebud convey a feeling of comfort and prosperity. Rosebud's residents possess a unique friendliness toward each other and newcomers. The neighborly attitude causes newcomers and strangers to take notice and this compliments a community that always keeps the welcome mat ready to receive new people and old friends.

    Rosebud is founded on strong religious values which can be influential to the revitalization of the town's people. Strong moral and spiritual people attract others who wish to share these good neighborly values.

    The efforts of community leadership are felt when the Rosebud "theme" is repeated . . . "There's a rose bush in every yard in Rosebud, Texas." When the popular Ripley's Believe It Or Not published this "Rosebud Theme" in its pages there was a pride that bloomed in the community. The arrival of the 100th birthday of the city caused a civic revival of the yearly rose planting to maintain "Everything's Rosy In Rosebud" motto in Rosebud, Texas. Persistent leadership can be noted when there is quality life and people practice involvement.

    Many elderly residents enjoy their retirement years in Rosebud, Texas. The elderly are a valuable asset and a source of wisdom and encouragement to help make Rosebud a unique city. These Senior Citizens are integrated into the mainstream of the economic, political and social life of Rosebud.

    Rosebud City Lake is an 18-acre reservoir used principally for an emergency source of water supply for the city. The city's water source is a contract with the Central Texas Water Supply Corporation and its treated water comes from the Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir. Rosebud's water is approved by the Texas State Health Department. Rosebud residents are provided with the finest gas, electric and telephone service available. Cable television service is also available.

[memento]

Devine, TX

Devine, Texas was established in 1881 as a result of the rail extension of the International-Great Northern Railroad from San Antonio to Laredo. The town was named after Judge Thomas Jefferson Devine from San Antonio, who was a jurist and attorney for the railroad. Devine was incorporated in 1904, and boasted a population of 504 at that time. The population doubled to 1,000 when irrigation became possible in 1915 through the Medina Irrigation Company. The town's principal crop also shifted from cotton to vegetables, corn and small grains.

The town's close proximity to San Antonio has made it a choice location for those wishing to live near the city, but who still want to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere that a rural community can bring. In 1988, the population was 4,016. Devine has a municipal airport, public library, golf course, public swimming pool, and two nursing homes.

In 1990, the Devine ISD had an enrollment of 1,400 students, and Devine had a total population of 3,928.

[MaineWriter]

Earlywine, TX

Named for John W. Earlywine, former postmaster of Wren, Texas.

The Harris Spring ME Church in Earlywine



Leslie

[jpwagoneer1964]

East Bernard, Tx

EAST BERNARD, TEXAS. East Bernard is on the west side of the San Bernard River at the intersection of State Highway 60 and U.S. Highway 90A, fifteen miles north of Wharton in northeast Wharton County. The community was originally on the east side of the river, where Jethro Spivi built the first residence around 1850; hence the name East Bernard. Settlement was slow until 1859 and the arrival of the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado Railway. A bridge was built, and the depot, Bernard Station, though originally located on the east bank of the river, was moved by 1869 to the west side, to the site of East Bernard's future Main Street. The rest of the town grew up around the railway. The first post office was established in 1866, but the community was probably not officially named East Bernard until 1874. After the Civil Warqv the community began to grow rapidly, as new settlers arrived with British surnames. Although Joseph Habermacher operated a store and saddle shop in Bernard Station some time before 1867, the main influx of German and Slavic immigrants came after the 1880s. In the mid-1890s the farming community had a population of 150, and businesses included a steam gin, a gristmill, a telegraph office, and two general stores. The first church in East Bernard was established in 1893, when German Methodist settlers dismantled their church in Content, three miles south of Weimar, and moved it by rail to East Bernard, where it was rebuilt in 1909. Catholic and Baptist congregations started holding services in private homes around 1900; their sanctuaries were completed between 1905 and 1907. The present Catholic church, built in 1925, has stained glass windows from Czechoslovakia, mosaics from Munich, a statue of St. Anthony from Italy, and statuary carved in the German Tyrol. An Assembly of God congregation began Pentecostal services in a private home in 1970 and moved into a new building by 1978. The first school building was erected around 1888 one mile north of the depot; by 1912 a brick high school had been built in town. Around 1916 East Bernard became an independent school district, and by 1956 nearby schools in Nottawa, Muldoon, Bernard Prairie, and Lissie were consolidated with the East Bernard school. A Texas historical marker now marks the site of the original school. East Bernard has had several newspapers, the first of which, the East Bernard Tribune, began in the 1920s. In the late 1980s the town was served by a weekly paper with the same name. Riverside Hall, built in 1927 on the east bank of the river, became a popular dance pavilion, where Paul Whiteman was once featured. In the early years of the settlement pioneer merchants H. P. Stockton and John G. Leveridge had operated a banking business in the back of Leveridge's General Store; by 1907 they had organized the Union State Bank. R. B. Boettcher purchased the controlling stock in 1911. In 1960 J. R. Peace, owner of a large furniture company, helped organize a chamber of commerce, which, since East Bernard is unincorporated, performs much of the duties of a city government. In the 1980s East Bernard's economy, though centered on agriculture, also included a gas pipeline company, a major kite-manufacturer, and several research corporations. In 1988 the population of 1,500 was served by sixty-three businesses. In 1990 the population was 1,544, and in 2000 it had grown to 1,729.

This lovely 1700 square foot home is offered at $150,000. a quarter of what it would be here in San Diego.


Mark

[Meryl]

Deadmans Corner, WY



Glendo Dam (less than 10 miles from Deadmans Corner)

[MaineWriter]

Rankin, TX

Established in 1911, Rankin is the oldest town in Upton County.

Named after rancher F. E. Rankin, the town came into being when the former county seat of Upland (11 miles North) was bypassed by the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway.

A post office was established in 1912 and most of the population moved to town from Upland. Rankin however did not officially become county seat until 1921.

With the discovery of oil in the twenties, the population rose to an estimated 1,500 by 1928 and the town was incorporated that year.

The boom created funds to expand Rankin's infrastructure and explains the presence of the over-sized Yates hotel (now the Rankin Historical museum).

The boom also funded a brick school, the courthouse and a two-story office building.

Oil close to Rankin was not found (at that time) and the population moved on to new fields. The population declined to 935 by 1931 and declined further during the Great Depression.

By 1940 the population was a mere 672 but an oil discovery north of Rankin came in building the town anew and bringing the population nearly up to what it was during the first boom.

Rankin has retained a population between 1,000 and 1,500 from the 1950s through the 2000 census with oil, sheep and cattle remaining the economic base.

Leslie

[jpwagoneer1964]

Nesbitt, Tx

NESBITT, TEXAS (Robertson County). Nesbitt, just west of Farm Road 46 and seven miles southeast of Bremond in northern Robertson County, was established in the late 1880s. By 1892 it had a cotton gin, a gristmill, a schoolteacher, and a physician. A post office operated there from 1886 to 1905. In the 1940s Nesbitt had seventy-five residents, two stores, a church, a school, and several scattered dwellings. In the 1970s and 1980s county maps showed scattered dwellings and a cemetery in the area.

Mark

[belbbmfan]

Toledo, Texas

[MaineWriter]

Old D'Hanis, TX

Also known as New D'Hanis, the designation doesn’t mean as much to travelers as it does to local residents. “Old” D’Hanis which is just over a mile east of what travelers today regard as D’Hanis. The colony was Henri Castro’s third settlement in Texas and was named to honor his European agent, William D'Hanis.

When it was formed in 1847, twenty-nine Alsatian families formed the nucleus of the town. Each family was given a twenty-acre farm and a town lot. In 1850 the entire town was a mere twenty buildings and when compared to safe and secure Castroville, D’Hanis was a primitive and crude outpost. Two years after the settlers arrived, Fort Lincoln was established to protect them from frequent Indian raids. Several tombstones in the old cemetery testify to the violence.

A post office was granted in 1854. The town became a stage stop along the San Antonio-Rio Grande road and St. Dominic Church was formed in 1847. The church building was abandoned in 1914 when the congregation moved to New D’Hanis. The sandstone arches that form the ruin seen today are from the original construction of 1853. Other stones are from an 1869 extension.

The Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway built through Medina County in 1881 and bypassed the town creating “New” D’Hanis (a mile and a fraction west) in the process.

D’Hanis endured floods in 1894, 1919, and 1935.

The kilns of the D'Hanis Brick and Tile Company (founded 1883) are featured in T. Lindsay Baker’s excellent Building the Lone Star – a book on civil engineering marvels around Texas. Seco Pressed Brick, which opened in 1910, became D’Hanis’ second brick manufacturing company.

D'Hanis had a weekly newspaper from 1908 until 1923.

Our Lady Queen of Peace, was built in 1924 for the town’s Mexican-American congregation.

The population of the town has never exceeded 600 people.

The old D’Hanis Cemetery and the ruins of St. Dominic Church are worthy of a stop for anyone traveling US 90. They are just east of the high school, a quarter of a mile south of highway 90.

The townspeople stopped using the cemetery in 1893 due to a Diphtheria epidemic, but the old-world artistic inscriptions and the wrought-iron markers make the Old D’Hanis Cemetery one of the most interesting in Texas.

Leslie