Join us for the Third Annual Historic Magnolia Cemetery Tour.
Thursday, October 19th, 4:00 – 6:00
Saturday, October 21nd, 10:00 – 2:00
The purpose of this tour is to promote the rich history of our area through the lived experiences of our past residents. There are many stories, mostly forgotten over time, that we feel need to be told and remembered. We hope you will enjoy this opportunity to look back on our SETX history and will share some of the stories about the people you will learn about on the tour.
Recently, the need to recruit new members into organizations such as historical commissions, heritage societies, and local groups or clubs has become more urgent. However, attracting young members poses a challenge. It’s not that the young are not interested. The problem is that these organizations pander to their flocks. What I mean is that most of the members of the groups I belong to or support are retired, and they typically want to participate in events held between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays (some even say, “Start your event at 10:30 a.m. because I have other sh*t to do before”). Accommodating their needs is a good strategy if these individuals have the means to donate to these organizations (and some do). The problem is that when those who donate pass away, the interest in the project to save a historic house or another historic preservation effort comes to an end. Why? Because you are left with the children or grandchildren of the individuals in question, who don’t care about what mom or grandma was into. This is a significant problem not only in historic preservation but also in research. When someone who did historical research dies, there is a good chance that their family will not give a rat’s rump about saving anything in their office (“Throw everything to the street—he/she/him/her/it was a hoarder!). Did I get the pronouns right?
My beef is mainly with organizations and people scheduling their events on a Thursday or Friday morning because “It won’t clash with my grandchild’s recital,” or whatever. I work for a living, and taking time off for an event is pretty much impossible. I have to plan weeks in advance. The meetings of the Texas Historical Commission are planned six months to a year in advance.
I will say that the Beaumont Heritage Society, which I’ve had problems with in the past, is now run like a well-oiled engine. There is a reason I was a little skeptical at first, but if you put the right people in charge—people who think outside the box—you become successful. They now have a great organization. Lately, I’ve seen more organizations reaching out to their followers on social media and holding events in the evenings and on weekends, when the working class can actually attend. Kudos to all of them!
Luckily, most historical commissions hold their marker dedications on a Saturday, which is great! 10:30 a.m. it is! However, I’ve noticed that some of the older organizations that require a history test, both written and oral, to become a member (you know who you are, Sons of X or Daughters of Y) often do not consider your work schedule or personal life. The only organization I will freely call out is the Galveston Historical Foundation. I will note that they are getting better; fingers crossed. They do good work, but they also pander to their flock. However, they are getting better at pandering to their volunteer department. That was my problem with the Beaumont Heritage Society a few years back, but they’ve now seen the light. Treat your army of volunteers right, and you are unstoppable. Pull the elitist card, and your organization will die. Hey, volunteers are a valuable resource, so treat them with the respect they deserve!
An organization that I thought was defunct is actually still alive, and it is the International Concatenated Order of Hoo-Hoo. Let’s see what my chatbot (his name is Bill) has to say about them!
The International Concatenated Order of Hoo-Hoo is a unique and historic fraternal organization founded in 1892, dedicated to fostering fellowship and promoting the welfare of those in the forest products industry. Known for its distinctive traditions and whimsical symbolism—such as the use of a black cat with its tail curled in the shape of the number nine—the order seeks to unite professionals from all sectors of the timber and lumber trade under a shared commitment to ethical business practices, mutual support, and the betterment of the industry. With chapters across the globe, the Hoo-Hoo order emphasizes the importance of human values, environmental stewardship, and community service, striving to uphold the legacy of camaraderie and good humor envisioned by its founders more than a century ago.
I may qualify to be a member of this organization because, technically, there are times when I have to deal with trees. Unfortunately, I have to deal with cows, bulls, snakes, and water, as well as merchant marines, more often, but I would love to join. Below, I explain how the order started.
The International Concatenated Order of Hoo-Hoo was founded on January 21, 1892, in Gurdon, Arkansas, by a group of six men involved in the lumber and forest products industry. The men had been delayed at a train depot and, while waiting, began discussing the need for a fraternal organization that could unite people in their profession in a more informal and engaging way than traditional business associations.
Led by the journalist and lumber trade magazine editor Richard Fletcher and assisted by Bolling Arthur Johnson, the group envisioned an organization that embraced humor, fellowship, and mutual support rather than rigid rituals and titles. The founders named the new group the International Concatenated Order of Hoo-Hoo, with “concatenated” meaning “linked together.” The organization adopted unusual titles such as Snark of the Universe for its president, and it embraced a lighthearted tone while promoting goodwill, cooperation, and ethical conduct in the lumber industry. Over time, the order grew into a respected international fraternity for those working in forestry and wood-related professions.
Until I discovered that it is still active, my goal was to bring this awesome order back! Maybe buy a house in the Oaks District of Beaumont, then change its features without notifying the district. I would put Cheshire cats everywhere I could get away with it (hey, their period!).
It is nice that a third family member has reached out to me concerning research I did on a certain subject. It is especially satisfying because all three individuals agree that my research was spot on. I shared with the family what I found in all the sources. It is a plus when a relative sheds light on a few persons in their family whose stories you ignored. The Rowley Trio was unknown to me until a family member filled in the dots. I’ll leave a link to this story!
This week marks the beginning of hurricane season, and we have a few greatest hits on the list that weren’t retired. We begin with Chantal. Many here remember that Chantal was the Category 1 hurricane that wiped out the beach road between Sabine Pass and High Island in 1989. We all loved that road. No disrespect to the town of Winnie, but the Texas Department of Transportation and its determination to dig up every mile of Interstate 10 from El Paso to Orange are the devil. I would rather spend 20 minutes driving from Sabine Pass to High Island than driving for an hour on Highway 73 to Winnie, then down Highway 124 past Stowell to High Island. Shout-out to the Whataburger in Winnie. It’s my go-to breakfast stop if I have to drive to hell (Houston).
Humberto is next. Many don’t remember this hurricane because it happened in 2007. We all remember Hurricane Rita in 2005, but probably no one outside this area does because they focus on Hurricane Katrina, which hit New Orleans a month earlier. I’m not bitter; I just don’t care about what happens in NOLA. Ever! In 2005, we had the three sisters, Katrina in August, Rita in September, and Wilma in October, which hit Florida. After Wilma, no hurricanes hit the US in 2006 or 2007 until Humberto. A friend of mine, a chemical engineer by trade, used to argue constantly with me about how Tropical Storm Humberto upgraded to a hurricane over land. My friend has since passed away, and I cherish my memories of his friendship, but engineers! I showed him radar evidence and data indicating that the storm meandered off the coast and then sped up due to a cool front moving through. This is why the storm intensified and reached hurricane strength before making landfall on High Island.
I also have a couple of other stories about this storm. One concerns someone who wasn’t my friend. He was working on a house in Crystal Beach and was awakened at two in the morning by terror: winds of 80 miles an hour (but no surge). I just wish I had a video of this. I would have enjoyed this scene more than when I was in first grade and we were herded in the hallway of St. James School, with the seventh graders hunkering down because of a tornado warning. In the end, there was no tornado—just straight-line winds and dark clouds—but the terror in the seventh graders’ eyes was priceless. (As a first grader, I didn’t care about the seventh graders at all. Yes, I was not a good child. As you can figure out, I’m the same as an old person.)
The other story is as follows: On the night of September 12, 2007, I went to sleep and woke up to a hurricane at three in the morning. I checked the website of KFDM on my phone and found that the radar was in full hurricane mode. I turned on the television to see the backside of Larry Beaulieu front and center as he tried to find out why the camera was not working. At that point, Hurricane Humberto took out the radar, which meant that the station didn’t know where the eye of the hurricane was. Beaumont took more of a hit than Port Neches and Nederland. The eye passed over Port Neches when those at KFDM thought it was south of Winnie. My cat nailed it because he came from the neighbor’s house wondering what the hell was going on. We brought him in as the backside of the eye began. I remember he was very vocal on WTF was going on with the weather. This was the same cat that disappeared before we evacuated for Hurricane Rita. He stayed during that storm. When I returned after Rita, I found a female cat and kittens hanging out at the house. Since I was working out of Atascocita and not living at my house, I never saw the other cat or kittens again. I’m not saying the cat, affectionately known as Sh*thead, the cat was trailer park, no doubt!
Next up is Tropical Storm Imelda from 2019, which even TikTok users should remember. This storm damaged what Hurricane Harvey missed in 2017. However, Harvey was not a hurricane when it showed its worthless head in Southeast Texas. Harvey dropped 65 inches of rain in Nederland in five days. Imelda dropped 43 inches of rain and flooded areas that had survived Harvey. It basically finished what Harvey started.
And then there was Hurricane Jerry (1989). I remember this because I may have audio recordings of myself talking about it as it happened ( a project similar to our pirate radio days!). Jerry wasn’t much, but he did show up, which is more than most cared to do at the time.
I want to add this: All you beachgoers who are determined to bring back the beach road between Sabine Pass and High Island—I support your plea. However, we are dealing with the Texas Department of Transportation, as well as second-tier Texas bureaucrats. It will not happen, unfortunately. Both are *&^%$&, whom I despise! Good luck anyway!
Well, it looks like I’m done here for the week. Remember, it’s hurricane season, and you should grab a beer, then run like hell!
Sometimes, you spend years thinking about some historical event or process in a certain way, until a fact comes along that changes the whole scenario, or at least part of it. Some people tend to dismiss this. However, “History is written by the victors” is a quote that most need to know because it is true—history changes based on who writes it. This phenomenon applies to both major and minor historical knowledge, as well as the views of certain historical accounts. Humans tend to be human, and occasionally they do not check their facts. We are all guilty of this, whether we acknowledge it or not.
My first encounter with this problem occurred when I was researching Catherina Jeanette Stengle. On a cold Saturday morning in 2012, I was walking in Magnolia Cemetery photographing headstones of veterans with a couple of friends. That day, I was told that Catherina was a seamstress who saved all her money and purchased the twelve grave plots along with the mausoleum and the Saint Katherine of the Wheel statue. It wasn’t long before my research told a different story. If you’re interested in reading Stengle’s story, I have a link at the bottom of this blog.
In this case, the storyteller wasn’t a historian; he just repeated a story he had learned and didn’t check whether it was correct. I did. However, on a few occasions, I also did not check. Regarding this, I want to get into one story that was brought up in one of our Jefferson County Historical Commission meetings.
A member brought up the story of a shootout in Nederland in the early 1900s, and another member mentioned the story of a similar shootout in Sabine Pass that involved someone named Bradley Johnson. I’d heard the Johnson story before and thought I knew who was involved. I was certain there were a few articles written about it, but my Sunday morning research told me otherwise. I reached out to a couple of people who knew the story and might have written articles on it, but I found nothing. The only information I got was that William D. Quick mentioned it to them. This made sense because he was the authority on Sabine Pass history. I did go through Bill’s papers at the Sam Center in Liberty, where they are kept. “Maybe I saw an article about it there,” I thought, but it had been ten years. Someone who knew the story and was with me ten years ago sifting through Bill’s papers reminded me that he had a file on ALL the families and people of interest in Sabine Pass. So, it looks like my near future holds a trip to the Sam Center!
I found the original article from The Beaumont Enterprise about the confrontation in Sabine Pass, and I will tell you what I learned; I will also add photos of the article for you to read on the blog. There are also some odd details missing from this historical event, which I want to get into.
If you research the history of Jefferson County online, you will frequently find the name “Bradley Johnson of Sabine Pass” because there was a Bradley Johnson who fought in the Civil War. That Bradley Johnson was the uncle of the person in question. The Bradley Johnson we are talking about was Benjamin Johnson, the county commissioner’s son. The phrases “according to” and “as legend has it” both work in this case. It’s a bit complicated.
Brad Johnson was well liked in Sabine Pass, and he was a bit of a Robinhood when it came to cattle. Back then, families who owned cattle let them graze unsupervised. Most families had a brand, and that allowed them to identify their animals when it came to rounding up the herd. Apparently, though, cows went missing. Brad Johnson never owned cattle, but he had a pen with cattle in it. As legend has it, a group from the sheriff’s office went to investigate, and as soon as the lead officer tried to open the pen’s gate, a shot rang out, missing the officer’s finger. I have no idea who shot a bullet from a rifle at an officer because someone had a pen of cows belonging to others.
Apparently, some families (four) that won’t be named here (but might be named in the articles) possibly hired a guy to take out Brad Johnson. As you can read in the article, the two men knew each other, but Tom Long was not from here. He had only spent a couple of years in SETX. In the end, though, he knew to get “the hell out of Dodge!” This is a weird story that I can’t document, but it is true, even though there are facts missing.
Bradley Johnson’s story is nowhere to be found in Ancestry, Find A Grave, and Mildred Wright’s cemetery books. Then, I found a link on MyKindred that named his wife and six kids. This allowed me to do at least a little research on Ancestry, but it ended there. I wasn’t looking for whole paragraphs on him, but I thought there might be a little bit of information online since he was liked by fellow Sabine Passers. Nada! I haven’t gone down the rabbit hole regarding Tom Long, but I imagine he is also a ghost online. Who knows? And I’m sure that the families who might have paid for Long’s train ticket did not mention this event.
As far as I’m concerned, there’s now a blog on this story, with facts from a newspaper source. Until next time, don’t go around stealing people’s cattle! And if I can digress a bit, I discovered that bulls are okay with someone on a riding mower sprinting by, but as soon as you start up a line trimmer, they freak out. I never saw a bull hide behind a truck until this Monday. I’ve since named the bull in question Shirley. And yes, I’m serious!
Today is the last day of the 51st Annual Galveston Historic Homes Tour, and I hope most of you had a chance to visit the treasures on the program. The weather has been fantastic this year, and the wildflowers at the Broadway Avenue Cemeteries are as beautiful as ever. I was tempted to make another round of visits this weekend, but, alas, work calls.
I left out a couple of mentions last week because I didn’t want to spoil the stories for those taking the tour this weekend. However, since this blog drops on Sunday morning at 12:01, hard cheese! I loved the 1889 Joseph and Elisabeth Treaccar House and the story of the 1900 storm. Joseph Treaccar was a carpenter by trade, and he built this house and the house next door which was used as a rental property. (Note: The house next door is not in the greatest shape, but it’s livable. I’m sorry for blurting out “And it hasn’t been painted since!” when the porch docent told us the house was built in 1895. The porch docent was fantastic!)
The story goes that Mr. Treaccar made holes in the bottom floor so the rising water would anchor the house and not wash it away (good thing the Galveston Historical Foundation wasn’t around to stop him!). It worked, and the house still stands—with a little help from the current owners. On the tour, they pointed out the wood covering the holes that Treaccar made. You can tell it’s different from the rest, and I’m glad the current owners kept it. I’m certain it will be a good conversation piece for years to come.
As I said last week, the GHF was superb compared to previous years, and people were kept moving, even with seven houses having mandatory bootie calls! No shoes, just bare feet or booties. I’m curious to know the total number of people who took the tour. As a volunteer gatekeeper last week, I had 360 people enter my home in four hours. The record for me is 700 in five hours at the cover house back in 2022. For a Sunday, this was unheard of, but we got them through. I usually do two two-hour shifts, but we were shorthanded, and it was hot. Luckily, the Candy Lady, Beaumont History Bits (Bitsy), and I survived!
The 1899 Felix and Eva Mistrot House (the cover house) is gorgeous both inside and outside, but I wonder about a few things. According to the porch docent, the owners requested that people enter the home with booties or socks. I can understand this, and when you tour the home, you see that all the furniture is museum grade. No sitty no touchy! I’ve asked this question every year: Why does someone who owns such a home put it on the tour in the first place? They know damn well the public likes to touch and sneak a photo. I carry a camera, but the photos stop at the porch; however, I’m usually wired for sound, and I have recordings of the tours since 2012. I find it useful to review past tours and look back at some of the stories the docents added based on their knowledge.
Finally, during the Galveston weekend, I discovered the origin of the biplanes that I enjoyed watching flying over the cemetery. Apparently, they are scallywags, and they do biplane flight tours! I’ll leave a link to their site at the bottom of this blog because I think this is awesome.
Now that the tour is finished, I need to get back to doing research for the Texas Historical Commission’s atlas of cemeteries here in Jefferson County. I want to try to at least fix our side once and for all. I’m tired of the same old questions that I’ve answered before. This is what happens when you have multiple people and leads on a certain area or place. You get overlaps, and it screws things up. I get why the commission wants us to do this; the atlas does need an overhaul. Hopefully, by the new year, I will be able to answer most of the questions to satisfy them and eliminate the overlap, but it is hard to plead your case when you have little evidence to submit.
On that note, I want to get into past historians. I am not a historian; I am a researcher. I’ve always loved history. I imagine that Mr. Gothia would disagree because I would sleep during his classes at Thomas Jefferson High School in the 1980s. It wasn’t his fault; he was a good history teacher. It must have been an after-lunch thing. I’ve always been drawn to English and Welsh history, but World War II history, especially the Pacific theater, has become a major goal for me. I want to learn about both sides of the conflict. I only began my journey on SETX history in 2012. W. T. Block had a lot to do with it at the beginning . . . but.
My first Jefferson County Historical Commission meeting took place in 2012. It was a year to the day that Bill Quick had died. Over the next couple of years, I began to learn about Mr. Quick through those who knew him. I was also honored to be able to look through his papers at the Sam Center in Liberty. I found many things that helped me with my way of researching Florence Stratton in his work. Even though I never met him, Bill taught me how to research, and although he didn’t publish any books, he was, and still is, the guide that I needed. I will always give him the utmost respect.
The Galveston Historic Homes Tour is an annual event that celebrates the rich architectural and cultural heritage of Galveston, Texas. Established in 1974 by the Galveston Historical Foundation, the tour was created to raise awareness of the city’s extensive collection of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century homes and to support historic preservation efforts. Each May, the event opens the doors to privately owned historic homes, many of which are not normally open to the public. The tour showcases a variety of architectural styles—including Victorian, Greek Revival, and Queen Anne—and offers a glimpse into Galveston’s prosperous past as a major port city. Over the decades, it has become one of the largest and most anticipated heritage events in the country, attracting thousands of visitors eager to admire the craftsmanship and history preserved in these iconic structures.
Our trip to Galveston on Friday was delightfully uneventful! It was nothing like last year when we lost power under the oaks on Ye Olde Block Farm on Thursday, followed by driving along the beach road during a lightning storm on Friday. Fortunately, this year’s storms stayed north of the Interstate 10 corridor until we settled into the Airbnb and made a trip to Old City Cemetery.
The wildflowers at the cemetery were as beautiful as ever, but the photos I posted didn’t do them justice because it was cloudy. I am currently at the cemetery this Sunday morning, taking a few photos before my shift at the 1896 James and Pauline Foster House (3523 Avenue P). Morning shots are fantastic! One note I will add is that I was pleasantly surprised by the spontaneous airshow that ensued when two biplanes began their maneuvers over the island, complete with smoke trails. I know they had fun, and I thank them for the show.
The rain moved offshore Saturday morning, leaving the atmosphere cloudy, cool, and breezy—a perfect setup as we made our way to our first home, the 1886 Richard and Eliza Walker House at 1705 Ball. We arrived twenty minutes before the start of the tour, so there was no wait, and we were the first to tour the house. In fact, I found that there was little wait for most of the tours, except for two, which I will get to later.
I thought that Richard and Eliza Walker House was outstanding, with a beautiful interior and staircase. It is well worth a visit, although you would have to “love thy neighbor” to live there, as you can almost shake hands from window to window in both homes. I will also add that seven of the eight houses require you to wear booties for the tour.
Next on the list was the 1886 Jacob and Martha Bernheim House at 1814 Sealy. There was no wait, and I really loved the original floors and wonderful porches. Note that as I write this, I’m sitting on a porch enjoying the constant breeze here in Galveston. The porch is not as attractive as the ones on the tour, but I think we can all agree that sitting on a porch in May, working or vegging out and enjoying the breeze, is almost spiritual—I digress.
1890 Clarke and Courts Building (fifth-floor loft) at 2400 Mechanic, New Jersey, designed by Clayton and Company, is accessible via stairs only—there is no elevator access. And boy, did I pay to climb this mountain. It’s a beautiful loft, but when you have a sciatic nerve problem, it’s like climbing Mount Everest. I made it—yay!
Our next adventure took us to the 1886 Mollie Walters House (Preservation in Progress) at 2528 Post Office. I will say that this was the second longest line of the day, behind only the Cover House, which I find odd. Normally, a restoration in progress doesn’t have any docents or lines of people waiting to visit, but as the last remaining bordello in the Red Light District, I hope to visit this treasure when the restoration is complete—during the Historic Homes Tour, of course! Note: This was the only house where booties were not required! I’ll stop now.
The 1896 Charles and Louisa Flake Cottage at 1901 25th Street is another treat worth visiting. I thought the lines were stagnant when we arrived, but fortunately, the crew (docents) kept the line moving. All homes on the tour did a great job of maintaining the flow!
After the usual lunch stop at Shrimp N Stuff, it was time for a visit to the 1896 James and Pauline Foster House at 3523 Avenue P, designed by Charles Bulger. If you’re reading this blog on Sunday, May 4, come by for a visit! I’ll be there from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. to sign you in. I love this house and hope to see you there!
The last two homes I want to explore next week, but the cover house, the 1899 Felix and Eva Mistrot House at 1804 35th Street (designed by George B. Stowe), was my second favorite wrapped porch after only the McFaddin-Ward House in Beaumont. The 1889 Joseph and Elizabeth Treaccar House at 2928 Avenue K has an interesting story, but I’ll leave those details to the docents on houses, as my intention here is not to tell you the whole story but to encourage you to do the tour and visit these lovely homes, where you can hear the fascinating stories firsthand while in the houses yourself.
Again, another great tour with a bunch of awesome crews. I really enjoyed this tour, sciatic nerve and all. The City Cemetery is also a stop not to be missed, especially if you are a photographer.
The 51st Annual Galveston Historic Homes Tours is here, and the Galveston Historical Foundation, along with its many volunteers, will be there to guide you, inform you, and hopefully educate you on these precious structures, but please note that there will be delays, long lines, and booties at some of the homes. Which ones, I have no idea, but I’ll definitely get into that on Sunday.
People tend to take this tour in different ways, and I want to help you as much as possible so you can have a wonderful experience visiting these treasures. First off, buy your tickets online. Keep them on your phone and/or print them. This should make it easy for you to pick up your tour book/ticket when you are at your first house. It shouldn’t be a secret that credit card machines, and the many gremlins inside their wires, like to screw with this technology. Most of the time it works, but I’ve volunteered for 11 years, so… Also, cash for tickets will be taken, but I haven’t heard if there will be cash boxes. There wasn’t last year, so we couldn’t give change. Keep this in mind. This was a new arrangement last year, so any disgruntled persons should contact the Galveston Historical Foundation. As a volunteer, I will quote Sgt. Oddball on this: “Don’t hit me with them negative waves.” My animal spirit, Yukari Akiyama (秋山 優花里), backs me up on this.
When taking the Historic Homes Tour, you should have a plan.
1. Each ticket is valid for one visit to every house on either weekend. If you can go both weekends, taking the tour with family and friends is a great experience. However, if you only have one weekend or even only one day, then it is better to take the tour with no more than three people. Long lines can be an obstacle. One year, I took the opening-day tour solo, and there was a point when I passed in front of 14 people because they only had enough room for one more person in the group.
2. Some of the houses are in the same neighborhood, so have a plan to park centrally. You will be able to walk to multiple places without wasting time looking for a parking spot for the various destinations.
3. NO HEELS! I should have put this up top. This is the one thing I’ve never understood. Why would someone wear heels on a home tour that involves walking upstairs and on lovely restored floors? If you do wear heels, you’ll end up walking through some stranger’s house shoeless. There was an instance when a homeowner had their beautiful restored floor damaged by someone who chose not to wear comfortable shoes. The money raised by the tour paid for the floor to be restored again.
4. Booties! Speaking of shoes, it is always inevitable to have one house on the tour that doesn’t want you prancing around in heels or people walking on their newly restored floors. I get it, restoration is expensive! But then why have your home on the tour? Anyway, I digress. This will undoubtedly slow down the people taking the tour. So, you may have to wait some time.
5. It may be better to visit popular homes, such as the cover house, at the beginning of the day, during lunchtime, or close to the last tour (six in the afternoon). I’ve found that these times have fewer lines.
6. Volunteers. Most of the people who check your ticket, sell you the excellent wares that the Galveston Historical Foundation offers, and are stationed throughout the properties are volunteers. This means they are not getting paid. The white shirt–black pants army is there to keep the tour rolling and help you visit these beautiful homes. I say this because when you find yourself in a line, know that most of these people are doing the best they can to give you a great experience.
7. Visit the Old City Cemetery! The wildflowers are lovely and a great photo opportunity for photographers.
8. Make sure to look for the cemetery tours hosted by Kathleen Maca. They sell out fast! The reason is that she is a great storyteller and has written several books on Broadway’s prominent cemetery.
The homes on the tour lineup look good, and I can’t wait for my annual visit to City Cemetery for the wildflower photos. Who knows, I may find Beaumont’s first mayor, Alexander Calder (c. 1806 – August 23, 1853). He is interred there, but the exact spot is a mystery. We have a photo of the broken headstone, but it was lying on the ground and may have been covered by the foliage. I mention this because a friend and fellow researcher has been trying to find all the mayors of Beaumont. I have no problem spending a bit more time walking through the Indian paintbrushes and black-eyed Susans. Trust me, the site is worth the visit, and please bring your camera with you.
I’m sure that most of you who are interested in this tour will have heard about the George Ball House fire. It is devastating for Galveston’s history. Even worse, someone died from the injuries they sustained in this tragedy. I won’t get into this more because there is an ongoing investigation, as there should be. I didn’t know the owners and hadn’t visited the house. All the same, here is a bit of history about the George Ball House.
The George Ball House was constructed in 1857 by the prominent Galveston businessman and philanthropist George Ball (1817–1884). Originally located at the northwest corner of 23rd and Sealy Streets, the house was built using sturdy pine timbers shipped from Maine, reflecting Ball’s wealth and the ambitions of mid-19th-century Galveston. In 1902, to accommodate the construction of the Rosenberg Library, the house was relocated six blocks south to its current site on 24th Street, in the Silk Stocking historic district. During the move, the house was divided. The rear section became a separate residence at 1401 24th Street; by 1903, a third house was added at 1411 24th Street, forming a remarkable architectural trio. The George Ball House was recognized as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1962 and featured in the Galveston Historical Foundation’s Homes Tour in 1977.
Under a bright spring sky on Saturday, members of the community gathered to witness the unveiling of a new marker designating Pear Orchard as a historic cemetery. During the ceremony, speakers also highlighted the recent discovery of six Buffalo Soldiers buried at the site — one from the 9th Cavalry, four from the 24th Infantry, and another from the 25th Infantry. The event served as both a celebration of local heritage and a solemn recognition of the individuals who served with honor.
The dedication ceremony was the result of ongoing research and planning by Historic Sacred Spaces, a nonprofit organization “dedicated to preserving, protecting, and honoring Military Veteran and historic resting spaces and graveyards, both marked and unmarked,” according to their Facebook page. Their efforts not only bring attention to Pear Orchard Cemetery, but also to Nona, Blanchette, and Haven of Rest cemeteries. If you would like to join, volunteer, donate, or learn more about Historic Sacred Spaces, I have included a link at the bottom of this blog.
Now, I’m going to get into something that has nothing to do with Southeast Texas history. It’s something that irritates me more than when Hormel discontinued Little Sizzlers. I want to talk about Oscar Myer’s discontinuation of Olive and Pickle Loaf. I damn them to the nether regions (I’m channeling Kate Dorman here). Yes, this is a big problem for me because I’m not a torta-de-jamón person. Ham and cheese sandwiches are not my go-to. Ask my doctor! She would just tell you I’m a lost case.
Like a junkie, I get my fix from an undisclosed source (we’ll call him Henry Butt, though I call him Harry because I’m nine)—not the Eckerd over-the-counter type, but the Usinger’s brand from the deli. I accumulate Olive and Pickle Loaves like I accumulate Bitcoins or gold. It is an addiction. I’ve always been addicted to olives. It’s probably my 24 percent Spanish heritage—I have never understood what Spaniards eat besides olives.
I will have a blog on Friday about what to do on the Galveston Historic Homes Tour. It will be about the dos and don’ts of the tour. Until next week.
For centuries, those who traveled to and resided along the Neches River eventually expired, and their offspring laid them to rest, usually on a bluff because it was the highest land they could find, and it was safe from flooding. The original residents—the Atakapa, Karankawa, and Nacazils—made their homes on bluffs, along what is now the Port Neches area. During the 1,500 years of history that these tribes lived here (archaeological records go back between 10 and 12 thousand years), six burial mounds were built along the bluffs. According to a W. T. Block article, these burial mounds were 60 feet (18 m) wide, 20 feet (6.1 m) tall, and 100 yards (91 m) long.
When Joseph Grigsby arrived in 1827 (we’ll talk about Grigsby Cemetery later), he tore down one mound to build slave quarters and other structures on his farm. According to W. T. Block, “between 1841 and 1901, all six of the mounds disappeared due to human actions.” At least two of the clam-and-sea-shell burial mounds ended up on the muddy Beaumont streets. There is no mention of where the seven-foot Indians they pulled out of the mounds were reinterred (because they weren’t). Good or bad, history is messy.
One note: The Native tribes of our area take me to the writings of Mrs. Bruce Reid, as Florence Stratton would introduce her. Bessie Reid from Port Arthur was a birder who wrote extensively on Native American tribes. She was the primary researcher on Florence’s last book, When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indian Legends. Bessie also wrote the legendary story of Kisselpoo, which was published on July 1, 1923, in The Port Arthur News. This story was a compilation of what you can find in the abovementioned book, with a twist. Reid took many tales and myths from around Texas and used them to create one of her own. This story, or legend, lived for many decades, but fact and fiction tend to become fuzzy after many years, and history gets lost in time—until someone points it out (I digress).
Over the years, I’ve discussed several stories of cemeteries that have reached the “whereabouts unknown” status, but once you start delving into an area’s history, you find more questions than answers. God help those at the state level (I’m referring to you, Texas Historical Commission!), but I’m at the county level (the Jefferson County Historical Commission) or, actually, at the multicounty level, so I may be of help in some ways. Free of charge, by the way. You’re welcome! No taxpayer dollars were spent or harmed during my research. It’s called volunteering.
For the past 18 months, the Texas Historical Commission has been updating its Texas Historical Sites Atlas and reaching out to all county historical commissions and the public for help. This is needed especially when it comes to cemetery sites. Luckily, in Jefferson County, we had a trooper who compiled a lot of information on the county’s cemeteries and put them in three books, which you can download for free on the website of the Jefferson County Historical Commission. I’ll leave a link at the bottom of this blog.
The trooper in question was Mildred Wright, who was known as the Cemetery Lady because of her years of hard work researching on the county’s cemeteries as cemetery chair on the commission. Her work gives those who came after her a head start, but still not all the answers. I’ll reference Lewis Cemetery here, which is in Mildred’s books. We have a general idea of where it was located—between 19th Street and 23rd Street in Beaumont. I also know this cemetery because I went through the files of the historian Bill Quick, which are kept at the Sam Houston Center in Liberty, Texas. Quick had an article from the 1930s about a cemetery located on the Lewis tract, around 200 yards from the end of Calder Avenue. At the time, Calder Avenue ended on 11th Street (remember, there was no interstate back then!).
Here in Mid-Jefferson County, along the Neches River, there are a few modern, uncharted cemeteries that have been forgotten or just blatantly desecrated. I say “modern,” but the time frame is 200+ years. Joseph Grigsby died in September of 1841, and he is supposedly buried at the end of Grigsby Avenue, where his house was. In terms of research, this is hearsay and legend. We can’t confirm where he is buried, but we do know that many pioneers were interred along the banks of the Neches River.
The headstone of Sebron Berry is the only one located at Sunoco Partners Marketing and Terminals, but there are other possible burials in the vicinity. The company reached out to the Jefferson County Historical Commission before running a pipeline through this unknown area. Thanks to those on this project for caring and taking the time to tell us, as well as for moving their project away from a cemetery. There are many other stories with no happy endings like this one.
Remly-Hillebrandt Cemetery is a site W. T. Block wrote about. I’ll link his article at the bottom of this blog. When you read it, you can tell that he was ticked off. The cemetery, located on the southeast corner of the Dearing and Rachford Streets intersection, was bulldozed and concreted in the 1940s. W. T. discovered this after he returned from serving in the army during World War II.
Another Port Neches cemetery that is lost is the original Block Cemetery. It may have also been called the Block-Merriman Cemetery because—I believe—the Merriman family purchased the land. W. T. mentions that his grandfather and his uncle Earnest died the same year and were buried there in 1893. The cemetery was located somewhere between Llano and Merriman Streets, which run parallel to each other. I’ve added a map to show where this cemetery would have been, or might still be, because in 1905, when the Merriman family “began building streets and surveying their property into town lots, Dad and Uncle Martin (fearing the original Block Cemetery would not survive) had Grandpa Albert’s and Uncle Earnest’s bodies disinterred and re-buried in the new Block Cemetery, now Oak Bluff.”
That quote was from W. T.’s autobiography. I’m glad he mentioned his uncle Martin because I have a spiritual connection to him. As I’ve said before, I live under the oaks on Ye Olde Block Farm, where Martin was the first farmer. I thank him for planting these beloved live oaks before 1908. I love these trees!
Hoppy Easter to those who celebrate! Until next time . . .
The Beaumont Heritage Society will be hosting a happy hour at Magnolia Cemetery on Thursday, March 20th, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sources say that this is the most requested place to host their event, and I believe them. There have been at least two happy hours at the cemetery, and both went well. Actually, they went very well after most of the guests indulged in their second beer on tap. Most of them went walkabout and did their own tours, while we had a significant number of people on the official tours. This year, we are doing 20–25-minute tours beginning every 20 minutes, so you don’t have to be there at the start. But get there early so you can partake in the craft beer that is offered.
In 2016 and 2017, Magnolia Cemetery and the Beaumont Heritage Society hooked up to do the same kind of event, and on both occasions, it was a success. We did a two-hour walking tour back then, and it still worked! On a side note, I’m up for a two-hour tour if you want, as long as it doesn’t clash with my work time. Have a group? Email me at rediscoveringsetx@gmail.com!
Galveston’s Historic Homes Tour is approaching fast (the first two weekends of May), and I already have my marching orders for Sunday, May 4, with the Candy Lady! I’m certain that there will be many “May the fourth be with you” references, especially because it’s a Sunday—I digress. I’ll be at the 1896 James and Pauline Foster House from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., then off to Mama Theresa’s before I board whatever boat is running to Bolivar Peninsula. I always seem to get the Robert H. Dedman. So, the song “Down Among the Dead Men” by Flash & the Pan usually plays. Yes, I’m a bit demented. Shout-out to the Titanic’s band, which continued to play!
The fifty-first Historic Homes Tour looks good; we’ll be doing it on Saturday, May 3rd. As usual, we will give you a heads-up regarding long lines and traffic, but when taking the tour, it is always good to have a plan, especially if you want to do so in one or two days. We’ll post the “What to Expect” on Friday. I also intend to make my yearly visit to Old City Cemetery that Friday evening to photograph the wildflowers and look for the resting place of Beaumont’s first mayor, Alexander Calder, who died in 1853.
I’ve been hibernating this winter, but I have received a few calls from a friend to offer some help concerning Magnolia Cemetery. He had a few questions about veterans and finding former mayors of Beaumont. My friend is determined. He has done a lot of volunteer work on the database to find all the World War I Beaumont Boys in order to inscribe their names on the World War I memorial, which The Beaumont Journal intended to do in the 1930s. He hates it when I put him on a pedestal, but the fact is that he goes above and beyond in his research. He is awesome, and I will call him Don in my praise so I don’t ruffle his feathers by stating his full name. He is one of the Smart est people I know when it comes to doing research, and I am constantly in awe when he brings history to life at our yearly Historic Magnolia Cemetery Tour!
Speaking of the Historic Magnolia Cemetery Tour, I’ve stated that we will be starting the tours at the front entrance of the cemetery, which is where we begin our yearly tour in October. We usually plan our tour to ensure that the public can participate, with all our presenters on Thursday evening and Saturday morning. This is difficult because the cemetery is eighty acres, and we have more than thirty thousand stories to tell. This is why we stick to the older parts at the front, but there are many tales to tell in other sections, such as Sections W and X. These areas have many tales to tell, and you’ve heard a few of them.
On our tour, you’ve seen one of our presenters, Katherine Leister, talk about the story of Florence Stratton, a.k.a. Susie Spindletop. Florence and family are at the top of the road, catacorner from the Herring Coe plot, which, as you may know, is located near Pine Street in Section T. As we travel through Sections W and X, you’ll notice many people who perished in 1918–1919. I would assume that some of these deaths have to do with the Spanish flu; there are also a few Beaumont Boys who died in World War I.
One grave that I checked, which usually isn’t widely known, is the Mayumi child. He is the only member left of the Mayumi family, which grew rice in Fannett. Unlike the Kishi family of Orange County, which stayed in our area, the Mayumis sold their land in 1924 due to the negative sentiment toward Japanese people that was prevalent in the 1920s. Here is their story!
In December 1917, Toshiko, Yasuo’s wife, bore her and Yasuo’s first child; unfortunately, the baby was born premature and lived only for one day. In a Beaumont Enterprise article, Gwendolyn Wingate wrote the following:
One evening in early December, Mayumi rode horseback up to the Bailey Wingate home. For days, it had been raining a cold drizzle, and the roads were underwater. Apologizing for what he said was an intrusion, Mayumi explained that his first child, a son, had been born, but after only one day of life, the baby was dead. Mayumi needed help.
Wingate’s sturdy widowed mother, Artemise, who had borne nine children and had seen three buried, bundled up against the cold and rode back to the Mayumi place with the men. She found Mayumi’s wife with the dead child in her arms, rocking back and forth in mute grief. She tried to comfort the woman who spoke no English and helped prepare the baby for burial.
Hope to see you on Thursday, March 20th. I want to remind you that there will be alcohol! Cheers! Come join the fun!
On Wednesday, February 12, I attended the Cemetery Preservation Workshop and African American History Harvest, where I enjoyed the presentations by Carlyn Copeland Hammons, Jenny McWilliams, and Alan Garcia from the Texas Historical Commission. I also want to give a shout-out to the Jefferson County Historical Commission (JCHC) and the Tyrrell Historical Library for organizing this event and making it free to the public.
I loved seeing a few friends and fellow historical researchers that I hadn’t seen in a while. This was a plus, especially during the cemetery inventory talk, which took place after lunch. During this talk, we had some questions answered, and we received a couple of new assignments that I need to research. One topic that was discussed was multiple headstones, or headstones that were thrown away because the family bought a new one. This is definitely a thing. Every year, the JCHC gets a few calls asking whether there is a grave on properties in the county. Ninety percent of the time, the headstone was discarded from a cemetery because the family bought a new one. An attendee also brought up the subject of Anthony Cemetery. It seems that there are some headstones in a wooded area off Gill Street, which I need to investigate. If you have any information on Anthony Cemetery that you would like to share, please email me at rediscoveringsetx@gmail.com.
It rained while we did the walk-through at Pear Orchard Cemetery, but all in all, I think the event was a success! Hopefully, we can have a practical workshop at the cemetery to teach how to repair a headstone.
Finally, I want to give a shout-out to Chuck’s Sandwich Shop at 493 Pearl St. in downtown Beaumont. A friend recommended this place for lunch, and I WILL BE BACK! Support local businesses, especially if they are as excellent as Chuck’s Sandwich Shop!
Last weekend, a colleague brought to my attention a possible abandoned cemetery about 300 yards from Sarah Jane Bridge in Groves. He was told by someone that when they camped in the woods years ago, there were a couple of vaults near the waterline of the swamp in the area. This was before Jefferson Chemical (now Indorama) purchased the land in question. My colleague was also told that the vaults may now be under water. To be continued.
Also, last Saturday, I was out of town attending a wedding in Crosby. The venue was beautiful and surrounded by cows. Everything was perfect (except for the rain). The only thing I would suggest is knowing your clients. Play the right music when no one is dancing, and you keep edging them on. Both sides of the family were pro-Los Tucanes de Tijuana and didn’t want to listen to “Brown Eyed Girl”—I digress. “La Chona” it is!
Sunday was a good day for digging into my Florence Stratton files for someone who is writing an article on her for their newsletter. Once it’s out, I’ll share the link. On Monday, I was the Uber driver for some members of our family who took a cruise; I brought them to George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Of course, I gave them lots of information on Galveston’s history. I’m not Kathleen Maca, but after 14 years of visiting and volunteering there, I can pretty much fake it. And yes, I did drive through Old City Cemetery. I also want to give a shout-out to our lunch stop, Taco Mezquite at 422 Aldine Bender Road in Houston. Five stars!
When I began my research on Florence Stratton, a.k.a. Susie Spindletop, in 2012, I knew nothing about her. After more than 12 years, you’d think that I’m an expert on the subject. I would say yes and no. Every time I look into something, I find more information to file. This doesn’t include all of Florence’s family members and friends, who are relevant to telling her story. It’s a massive undertaking. My research on her is ongoing. I will keep the lines open for more info about her to come in. Her story will be told. Also, when I find an error in my research, I change what I’ve said. Unfortunately, some errors come from past information found by other researchers, but some are my fault. We’ll deal with two of my mistakes first.
On Wednesday, I was still trying to understand why Florence had taught at Miss Anne’s Private School around 1903. I found this detail in one of her obituaries from The Beaumont Enterprise, which was published on January 29, 1938. My copy from the relevant microfilm is mostly illegible. I visited the Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center in Liberty to get a scanned copy of the obituary, and the one I got is better than my microfilm copy, but it’s not perfect. I also checked the Beaumont directories from 1903 and 1904, and there was no Miss Anne’s Private School. Basically, what happened was that I misread the obit—I thought it said “Miss Anne’s Private School” when it was actually “Miss Austin’s Private School.” This changes everything because we know that Florence also taught at Bell Austin’s Private School around that time. So, I can say for sure that Miss Anne’s was, in fact, Bell Austin’s.
My second mistake is not due to an error of mine but to the possible misnaming of a high school or a nickname used for it. In a few places, it is stated that Florence taught English at Central High School, but as we all know, this school did not exist in 1904. In an article from The Beaumont Enterprise dated September 2, 1903, we learn that Florence taught Grade 6 in North End (at the Millard School). Another article, dated September 19, 1904, states that Florence was teaching grammar at the high school. This article also mentions teachers from the other four Beaumont schools, the two in North End (one for Whites and one for Blacks both part of the Millard School) and the two in South End (one for Whites and one for Blacks). I’m 90 percent certain that Central High School was Beaumont High, but you never know what will suddenly appear and prove you wrong.
Well, I believe that the battleship Texas has found a home. It appears that BB-35 will be moored at Pier 15 near the Royal Caribbean International Terminal. I’ll leave it to the followers of the Battleship Texas Foundation’s Facebook page to decide whether this is a good or bad site because I have a life—I don’t have time for this jibber-jabber.
Until next time, my forecast has no cows, weddings, or family taxi services this weekend. “La Chona” it is!
