Anderson is a small East Texas courthouse town which has reflected the long history of Anglo-American settlements in Texas. Anderson is a remarkable historic entity in that the community contains a sizable number of intact structures reflecting the pre-Republic history of the state, as well as the periods of the Republic and the Lone Star state. This small rural community suffered an economic decline in the late nineteenth century and consequently, the physical appearance of Anderson has remained virtually unchanged since the turn of the century.

Among the more important structures which typify Anderson are the following:

1. The Grimes County Courthouse.

Erected in 1891, this brick on stone structure is the third county courthouse erected on a site donated by Henry Fanthorp. The courthouse, which is an Edwardian-Victorian structure, has hand-made red brick walls, rusticated stone quoins and entrance compositions, and is surmounted by a central wooden cupola. The courthouse contains the original Mexican land grant recording dating to 1824. Among the colorful historic events which have taken place in the courthouse was the trial of a Clyde Barrow gang member in the 1930's.

2. Fanthorp Inn.

Built in 1834 by Henry Fanthorp as a home for his third wife, Rachel Kennard, the Fanthorp home and Inn has been closely connected with events of early Texas history. The Inn is of clapboard-covered log construction. The rooms have random-width puncheon floors. The building was raised to two-stairs in height about 1850 to accommodate its usage as a hotel and mercantile establishment. The property was originally a compound of structures, none, however, except the principle structure have survived. The building was the first post office in the region. On July 3, 1845, Kenneth Lewis Anderson, vice-president of the Republic of Texas died at the Inn. The Inn has remained the property of direct descendants of Henry Fanthorp.

3. Dr. B.B. Goodrich Home.

The Goodrich Home is an unusual small two-story country Palladian style residence with a double porticoed two-story central section and flanking one-story wings. Two other residences, to the north of the Goodrich House, are of a similar style and create a most interesting and unusual cluster of Palladian, porticoed houses.

Dr. Goodrich, a medical doctor, came to Texas in the early 1800's and was a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, a delegate to the convention of March 1836, and a signer of the Constitution of the Republic of Texas.

4. Anderson Baptist Church.

The Anderson Baptist Church was erected between 1853 and 1855 on the northwest corner of Fanthorp and Johnson Streets. The Greek Revival stone structure has three entrance doors with a prominent, larger and taller, central doorway. The tower is a replacement, post-dating a 1955 fire which destroyed much of the interior of the structure. The building, in style and composition is reminiscent of New England Greek Revival country churches.

Anderson is situated on the Coshattee Trace and the later Old La Bahia Road. The Coshattee Trace was a section of the old "Contraband Road" which ran through Grimes County and which was used by smugglers of contraband goods in their illicit traffic between Alexandria, Louisiana, and the Rio Grande. This section of the road got its name from the Coshattee Indians who used it in their hunting expeditions.

The area was first settled in 1821, when Andrew Millican constructed a double log house one and a half miles west of the present community and raised one crop of corn. In 1822, Francis Holland conducted a large group of relatives from Louisiana. They came upon the log houses belonging to Millican and purchased all the improvements, locating his league on both banks of Ten Mile Creek (Holland Creek). One of Francis Holland's sons was Tapley Holland, hero of the Alamo. Tapley, according to the Moses Rose story, was the first to volunteer his life when Colonel Travis drew the line at the Alamo. For the years 1822 to 1830, Frances Holland was the only settler in the Anderson area. But, by the end of the 1830s there were no Hollands anymore. Francis, his wife, and the four Holland sons all died from disease, Indians, or war.

In 1832, Francis Holland sold the east 1,107 acres of his headright land to an Englishman, Henry Fanthorp, for 25 cents an acre. This land was known to the Spanish as Alta Mira (High View) and when, in 1833 and 1834, Henry Fanthorp began to build his home, warehouses, and inn, the name remained in use. Fanthorp first constructed a double log house quickly in 1833 for his wife. In the following year he began the famous "Fanthorp Inn." The 1833 house became a home for traveling merchants and then a grocery store after the inn had begun operation. The inn slowly grew until it reached it's largest size in 1851 upon completion of the second floor and residence wing, giving the structure a total of thirty rooms.

A mercantile settlement developed around the inn and was named Alta Mira. Many stores and warehouses were built along with several houses. The importance of the settlement was intensified by the crossing of stage lines which went from Washington to Nacogdoches and from Houston to Cincinnati, Texas.

In 1846, Grimes County was formed which began a search for a seat of the county government. Several landowners offered land as possible townsites including Henry Fanthorp who proposed a site 1/2 mile north of the town of Alta Mira. Henry Fanthorp's offer won over the others and the new town was laid out the same year. It seems as if Mr. Fanthorp had a hand in the laying out of the townsite as the town square is Welsh in design and is the only such laid out courthouse square in the State of Texas. The concept of the design is to have the streets intersect at the courthouse itself. As a person travels toward the square, he is aiming directly at the courthouse structure which places much greater emphasis on the building than the common English style which is meant to give an angular view of the courthouse which (in most cases) gives the appearance of a larger structure than what is actually there as the viewer is seeing two sides at once.

In the same year that Grimes County was formed K.L. Anderson, last vice president of the Republic of Texas, died at Fanthorp Inn. The new town, which was to have been named Fanthorp, was named Anderson in honor of K.L. Anderson who was buried in the Fanthorp family cemetery, across from Fanthorp Inn.

The new town of Anderson quickly gained importance over the old town of Alta Mira. By the early 1850's, most of the businesses and homes had been moved to the new town. In some cases the structures were physically moved up Main Street to new sites. Anderson continued to grow rapidly throughout the 1850s and early 60s, maintaining its importance as a mercantile plus a governmental center. By 1852, an Episcopal College was begun which was quickly followed by a Baptist College and both operated successfully for several years.

In November 1853, A.S. Beardsley, whose letters and maps area a major archival resource on Anderson described the community as follows:

"...there is about 500 or 600 population in out city as it truly is incorporated and governed by Mayor, Aldermen and Co. it is more fashionable to incorporate small towns in the South than it is in the North. There is at this time about 50 families living in the limits of this corporation which is 1/2 mile square also 8 stores (dry goods), 14 groceries, 3 wagon makers shops, 3 black-smith shops, 1 gun smith, 2 tailors, 3 hotels, 2 ten pin alleys, and about 20 carpenters in constant employment."

The 1840s and `50s were a time of development of the plantation system in Texas and the growth of the town encouraged the construction of plantation homes close to Anderson, on the surrounding hills.

Anderson continued to prosper until the late 1850s when the railroad reached Navasota and put an end to Anderson's control of the mercantile industry. By the time the railroad did reach Anderson it had lot all but the county seat and would never regain the trade that once took place there.

Anderson's history spans the entire period of Anglo settlement in Texas. Heroes of the Texas Revolution lived here; i.e., Tapley Holland, Benjamin Goodrich who was a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, lived here. Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston, General Grant, plus countless others visited here. This was the outpost of culture and civilization during the Republic years with fully stocked stores, one of the earlier newspapers in the state, and well designed homes built for comfort and style. Anderson was an important mercantile center even before the Republic of Texas existed and was a major cross-road for stage lines. Anderson does have the historic significance to become a major historic center in Texas and there is a growing awareness to preserve this community from unsympathetic development. An Anderson historical foundation has been established and significant planning steps are being taken to preserve the community intact.

BIBLIOGRAPHY ON FILE IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER.

Named for North and South Bedias creeks, which in turn were named for the Bidai Indians, an agricultural people reputed to have been the oldest inhabitants of the area. "Bidai" means "brushwood", which may refer to the building material used in their dwellings. The first white settlement in this vicinity was founded 1835 by Thomas P. Plaster, and for a while it was called Plasterville. In 1903, the community of "Old" Bedias surrendered most of its population to "New" Bedias after a branch of the International & Great Northern Railroad was built to the northeast. Townspeople from Pankey and Cotton also moved here. The name "Bedias" was retained, but only after a heated struggle in which determined citizens refused to have the town named for a railroad official. A famous, early resident of the Bedias area was Sarah Dodson, who in 1835 made the first "Lone Star" flag in Texas. She lived here from 1844 to 1848 and is buried in Old Bethel Cemetery, seven miles west. One of the most unique features of this region is the large number of Tektites (also called "Bediasites") found here. These are beautiful, glassy, meteor-like stones which fell to earth 34 million years ago. Amazingly, Indians called them "jewels of the moon."

In 1822, at the age of seven, Katy Holland migrated to Texas with her parents as a member of Stephen F. Austin's "Old 300" Colony. Her life reflects the harshness of frontier life in Texas. Twice widowed before her marriage to William Cobb in the 1840s, she was the mother of five children. Her first husband, Mill McDowell, was also a member of Austin's Colony, and a cousin, Tapley Holland, was killed at the Alamo.

Born in Kentucky in 1812, eleven-year-old Sarah Bradley and her parents arrived in Texas in 1823 with Stephen F. Austin's old three hundred colonists, settling near Brazoria. Sarah married Archelaus Bynum Dodson of nearby Harrisburg on May 17, 1835. As tensions mounted between Mexico and the Texian colonists, a call for military volunteers was circulated in September 1835, and Archelaus Dodson became First Lt. in Captain Andrew Robinson's Harrisburg Volunteers. Sarah offered to design and make a flag for her husband's company. Using blue, white, and red calico, she fashioned a flag of three equal squares, with a five pointed white star in the center of the blue square. Reportedly the first Lone Star flag, the banner was displayed in the town of Gonzales in October 1835, and in December flew during the Siege of Bexar. When the Declaration of Independence was signed, two flags were seen flying over Convention Hall. One was described as a Lone Star flag and is believed to have been the one made by Sarah Dodson. Following the Texan victory at San Jacinto, the Dodsons lived in Fort Bend County, then moved in 1844 to Grimes County. They donated the land for Bethel Cemetery (5 mi. N) where Sarah was buried in 1848. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986

Historical Marker 8571
Bedias, Texas
Grave Marker, Erected 1993
From Bedias take SH 90 N approximately 6.5 miles to CR 408; take CR 408 W NW approximately 2.3 miles to CR 1372; take CR 1372 SW approximately 2.9 miles to CR 410; take CR 410 S approximately .4 miles to gravel road; then E on gravel road approximately .4 miles to T in the road; then right at T approximately 2 miles to Old Bethel Cemetery.

(January 8, 1812-October 9, 1848) Kentucky native Sarah Bradley came to Texas with Stephen F. Austin's Old 300 Colony in 1823. She married Archelaus B. Dodson in 1835, and made a blue, white, and red flag with a single white star for her husband's army company during the Texas Revolution. Her flag is believed to be one of two which flew as the Texas Declaration of Independence was signed and is considered Texas' first tri-color Lone Star flag. The Dodsons donated land for this cemetery.

Built in 1834 by Henry Fanthorp as a home for his bride, Rachel Kennard. Enlarged for hotel purpose. Served as first mercantile establishment and first post office (1835) in the region. Here Kenneth Lewis Anderson, vice-president of the Republic of Texas, died July 3, 1845. Stage lines from Houston to Old Springfield and Nacogdoches to Austin crossed here.

Local architect, contractor and stonemason James Davern and his brother-in-law C. C. Camp built this commercial edifice in the 1880s. Constructed of cement-covered stone rubble, it was remodeled with renaissance revival detailing in the 1890s, during the ownership of the First National Bank of Navasota. Occupied by the bank until 1952, it has also housed a hotel, offices, a telephone company, and a variety of stores.

Built by Ira M. Freeman, 1856; way station and hotel for passengers on several stage lines through city. Two-story pine building housed many travelers, among them, Sam Houston. Important visitors, officers stayed here in Civil War. Coaches and teams were kept in Freeman's barns.

Situated near the Houston & Texas Central Railroad Depot, this three-story stone building was erected in 1860 by R. H. Giesel (1833-1872) and his German-born wife Fannie (1828-1881) to house a restaurant and hotel. A two-story frame porch originally extended across the front of the structure. Giesel, a Confederate veteran, served as temporary mayor in 1867, when a yellow fever epidemic struck Navasota. Fannie Giesel renamed her restaurant "The Good Morning John" in 1871. She managed the business until her death in 1881. Later owners operated the hotel as "The Exchange" and "The Hoyle".

On road used 1690 by Spanish explorer Alonso de Leon. In 1821 Andrew Millican began settlement. Henry Fanthorp opened his inn 1834, a post office 1835. Kenneth Anderson, last Vice-President, Republic of Texas, died at Fanthorp's, 1845. After his burial here town was named for him. County created and organized 1846. Named in honor of Jesse Grimes (1788-1866), a signer of Declaration of Independence and member of Congress, Republic of Texas. Anderson was made the county seat. During Civil War, 1861-1865, had a gun factory, furnished troops, food, cotton.

Historical Marker 8627
Did not locate

Created April 6, 1846; Organized July 13, 1846; Named in honor of Jesse Grimes 1788-1866; Signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence; Member of the Texas Congress; County Seat, Anderson, originally known as Fanthorp.

Unique Victorian Texas public building. Third courthouse here. Site, in an 1824 land grant from Mexico, was donated 1850 by Henry Fanthorp, first permanent settler in county. Built 1891 of hand-molded brick with native stone trim. Vault is same one used in previous buildings; has twice withstood fires. Tried here in 1930s, a Clyde Barrow gang member vowed he'd see court in infernal regions. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1965

Civil War military concentration point for troops and ordnance. Rich farm land. By 1861 densely populated. Favored secession by 907 to 9 vote. Sent 5 cavalry, 4 infantry companies to Confederate Army. Arms and ordnance works at Anderson produced cannon, cannon balls, guns, pistols, swords, sabres, bayonets, and gunpowder. Military telegraph line from Houston to Marshall crossed the county. Five men charged with treason against the Confederacy were held in 1864 in Anderson Jail, under the wartime suspension of habeas corpus, in constant peril of mob violence. People were relieved when these men were deported to Mexico by the military. Cotton, "Gold of the South", and food were produced in abundance. Cotton hauled to Mexico by local men was traded for goods vital to the Confederacy. Yet shortages occurred. For lack of paper, The Rev. George W. Baines of Anderson (great-grandfather of President Lyndon B. Johnson) suspended "The Texas Baptist", first state organ for that church. In 1865 the Piedmont Springs Resort Hotel, 7 miles to the west, became headquarters and hospital for Walker's division on its return from Louisiana where it helped prevent a Federal invasion of Texas.

Home of Rosanna Ward Britton Grimes (1803-1871) and Jesse Grimes (1788-1866). Signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the Republic of Texas; Member of the Congress of the Republic; State Senator; in his honor Grimes County was named.

Site of the home built in 1833 by Jared Ellison Groce (1782-1836) Generally known as "Groce's Retreat." Here he died November 20, 1836. The name "Retreat" was continued for a post office and village two miles to the east after the house was torn down.

Picture submitted by Sharron.

A faithful Negro slave. Came to nearby Courtney, Grimes County in 1851 with his master, John W. S. West from North Carolina. West was a prominent and wealthy pioneer planter and landowner. At the outbreak of the Civil War, West sent Kelly "to take care" of his three sons-- Robert M., Richard and John Haywood-- who joined the famous Terry's Texas Rangers, where they served with distinction. Kelly was not content "to wait on" his charges but joined them in battle, firing his own musket and cap and ball pistol. Twice Kelly brought to Texas the wounded Richard, twice took him to the front again. After war, bought a small farm near "Marse Robert", raised a large family and prospered. Died in 1890s. The courage and loyalty of Kelly was typical of most Texas Negro slaves. Hundreds "went to war" with their masters. Many operated the farms and ranches of soldiers away at war, producing food, livestock, cotton and clothing for the Confederacy. Others, did outside work to support their master's families. They protected homes from Indians, bandits and deserters and did community guard and patrol duty. At war's end, most slaves, like Primus Kelly, became useful and productive citizens of Texas.

Anthony Drew Kennard served in the Army of Texas 1835; born in Tennessee July 9, 1788; died in 1848; His wife Sallie Moore Kennard, born in Tennessee September 16, 1790; died December 6, 1877

Born in Tennessee. In 1828 he and family joined Robertson's Colony, bound for Texas. Arrived in 1830, probably having stopped to "make a crop" along the way. Lived in present Grimes County; was granted a third of a league of land in Robertson's Colony. For his service in the Texas Revolution, received additional land in Menard and Leon Counties. His mercantile business-- firm of Fanthorp, Womack & Kennard-- was the first in Grimes County.

Originally an Indian trail through Southern Texas and Louisiana; known to Spanish explorers as early as 1690, when the De Leon Expedition passed this site on the way from Mexico to East Texas. With 115 men, 721 horses, 82 loads of flour, and other supplies, Alonso de Leon, Governor of Coahuila, and Father Massanet, a Franciscan priest, entered the wilds of Texas. The purpose of the expedition was to discourage French encroachment from the north, as well as to explore, colonize, and Christianize the Indians. They followed the rugged trail from the present town of Refugio to Goliad and continued northeast to Navasota, probably following Cedar Creek through this town. Then they journeyed north until reaching the Neches River, where (near present Weches) they founded the Mission of San Francisco de Los Tejas. The church was called after the Tejas, or "Friendly" Indians, whose name was eventually given to the entire state. Although de Leon's party went no farther on the western section of the trail, known as Atascosito Road, the eastern section extended into Louisiana. In nineteenth century, the route gained importance as a cattle trail, the Opelousas Road, that moved Texas herds to market in the north and east.

This short stretch of road is the last remaining local portion of two very important early Texas roads. La Bahia Road (early 1700's) was an old Spanish military road that forked southwesterly from the Old San Antonio Road west of Nacogdoches, to Presidio La Bahia near Goliad. It was later a stagecoach road.

The Coushatta Trace was an extension of the Opelousas Road, an early immigrant road into Texas from Louisiana. it got its name from being a Coushatta Indian hunting trail. Used by early smugglers trying to avoid Spanish officials, the Coushatta Trace was called the "Contraband Road" in some early references. The upper fork merged with La Bahia Road northeast of present day Anderson. They ran together for several miles as one road, being part of Postal Route #1 after 1835.

During the Texas Revolution, this very road was used by settlers fleeing eastward from the Mexican Army, in what was later called the "Runaway Scrape".

Grimes County law partners Ben Goodrich and H. H. Boone (Texas Attorney General 1876-78), donated four acres of land at this location to trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1874 for church, school, and cemetery use by the surrounding loosely-knit farm community of Lake Grove. The community promptly built a church structure that they used for religious and school purposes. 100 students attended the Lake Grove School in 1900. The still active Lake Grove Cemetery, with gravestones dating to 1874, contains the grave of a veteran of the American Civil War.

Originally a one-story frame business house built in 1873 by Walter J. and Julia C. Peterson, this structure was enlarged in 1885. Native sandstone walls and a second story were added. John Wesley Leake (1852-1940), a builder, horse breeder, and race track owner, bought the property in 1886. He and his descendants owned the building more than 80 years. The Victorian commercial structure has housed many important firms. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1977

Eliza Johnson (d. 1876) had this building constructed in 1874 following a fire which destroyed several structures on the block. It was made of limestone rubble to comply with a city ordinance requiring all new construction to include fireproof materials. August Horst (d. 1920), a local investor, bought the property in 1877 and sold it two years later to his wife's brothers, E. P. and J. H. Mickelborough. Members of their families owned it until 1929. The building has housed a saloon, grocery, confectionary, ice cream parlor, and offices for attorneys and dentists.

Apr. 4, 1801 - Dec. 3, 1863 Born in Blount County, Tennessee, Andrew Jackson Montgomery came to Texas in 1819 with the James Long Expedition. In 1823, as the first known settler in Montgomery County, he opened a trading post at the crossing of two Indian trails. From his post emerged the town of Montgomery from which Montgomery County took its name. A veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto, Montgomery married Mary Mahulda Farris at age 43, and they had nine children.

Site of a munition factory of the Southern Confederacy. Established in 1861. In operation until 1865. Cannon, cannon balls, guns, pistols, swords, sabers, bayonets and gun powder were manufactured.

View the narrative here Navasota Commercial Historic District

Organized April 8, chartered June 30, 1842. Pioneered in education. Operated Masonic Collegiate Institute, 1846-1851. Reserving lodge room, gave school to St. Paul's Episcopal College, which was in operation until 1856. Later plant was used by various schools. In 1905 it was sold, and lodge relocated here.

The three story structure is constructed of rough lime stone rubble with cast iron facade at the first floor and cast iron sills and arched decorative lintels on the second and third floor. The front facade is capped with a pressed tin cornice. The openings on the north and east facades have stone segmented arch lintels and cast iron sills. The east or rear facade has been stuccoed. All of the exterior windows are six over six lights.

The building measures approximately 50' by 80'. The walls are solid limestone and about two feet in width at the first floor reducing to 12 inches at the third floor. The first floor has been modified to accommodate various commercial establishments, but still retains the central stairway. The original hotel room organization is preserved on the second and third floor. This room organization consists of a central hallway from front to rear with rooms to either side. A smaller hallway, also running from front to rear, is found along the south wall and provides a back access for the rooms on that side. Natural light illuminates the central halls on the second and third floor from a roof skylight and lightwell. Other interior features include wainscoting in the halls, balustrated stair opening and lightwell and feather-graining finish on the paneled doors which still retail their painted room numbers.

The original canopy at the first floor exterior was supported by columns at the street and offered protected access to the nine sets of double doors. The canopy was later lowered and suspended from iron hangers imbedded in the wall. The original skylight cover on the roof was a small frame structure with double hung windows on all four sides. The windows could be raised and the air on the interior would be naturally drawn from the second and third floor through the lightwell and out the open windows in the skylight structure. Access to the skylight structure was provided by a small set of interior stairs. The stairs to the roof still remain but the functional skylight cover has been replaced with a sealed metal and glass cover.

The Grimes County Historical Survey Committee presently owns the building and is in the process of raising funds for its restoration. The first floor will continue to be used for commercial tenant space, the second floor will be used for community meetings and events and the third floor will be used for small private meeting rooms.

Although 19th century commercial architecture abounds in other Texas cities such as Galveston. The P.A. Smith Hotel in Navasota stands as a unique Texas blend of native lime-stone construction with the sophistication of cast iron detailing. Built in 1876 by Captain Philip Aurene Smith, the structure served as a hotel until the death of his wife in 1890. After that time, the upper floors were used as the private residence of the Smith family while the first floor was leased as commercial space. The building was maintained by members of the Smith estate until 1944 when it was sold to martin Allen. It was later sold to Eddie Coneley who deeded the property to the Grimes County Historical Survey Committee.

P.A. Smith was born in Lewis County, New York on March 21, 18?. He studied to be a schoolteacher and first accepted a job in Springfield, Illinois. A good friend of Smiths, Abraham Lincoln, failed to persuade him from his Copperhead (Northern Democrat) politics and Smith traveled south to join the Confederate Army, Company A, 12th Regiment, Parson's Brigade. By 1868, Smith, after having returned to school-teaching, settled in Hillsboro, Texas.

Smith soon found his way to Navasota in 1869 where he engaged in many business adventures. As well as building and operating the hotel, he organized the Navasota Weekly Tablet, a newspaper catering to the politics of the conservative Southern Democrats. In addition to a furniture store, a cotton business and extensive real estate, Smith built the Navasota Opera House that brought many plays and larger stage companies to Navasota. Smith is recognized in local history as a man whose public-spirited manner contributed greatly to the cultural enlightenment and commercial success of Navasota.

BIBLIOGRAPHY ON FILE IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER.

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In operation as early as 1850 as health spa and resort because of three nearby sulphur springs (varying in taste from mild to strong). Numerous drinking places and bathhouses allowed guests to move freely about grounds. Grand four-story hotel with 100 rooms, built about 1860, was social center for area, where guests enjoyed billiards, poker, horse races, and Gen. Sam Houston once danced the Minuet. In 1865, hotel became hospital, headquarters for John G. Walker's "Greyhound Division", Confederate Army. Owner closed the building after losing money in panic, 1870s. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1967

Settlers from the southern United States began arriving in this area as early as the 1830's. A post office opened in 1856 as Plantersville, a name suggested by Sarah Greene to honor local planters. Members of her family are buried here.

This site was used as early as 1864 as a burial ground when young H. G. Jameson was interred here. His is the oldest marked grave. At least three other gravesites date to that same year and there may be earlier ones unmarked. In 1866, landowner and postmaster Peter Walton donated the land for use as a community cemetery, later enlarged in 1911 and 1958.

Today this burial ground is the final resting place of pioneers and their descendants, military veterans and notable Texas families. Mary Durst Blake (1830 - 1864), daughter of Texas Revolution figure John Maxie Durst and her husband Gen. Thomas Walter Blake (1822 - 1905), a circuit rider and lawyer, were both buried here. He was later reinterred in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin. Still in use, the Plantersville Cemetery remains a link to the community's history.

Henry Schumacher (1832-1901), a native of Germany, opened one of the first cottonseed oil mills in this region in 1873, assembling the machinery with only the aid of an old encyclopedia. The oil works produced cottonseed oil, meal, and cake, and processed about 1500 tons of seed per year. Schumacher was honored for his contributions to the cottonseed oil industry about 1883 with a dinner at the White House given by President Chester A. Arthur. The first mill burned in 1910, but was soon rebuilt, complete with modern machinery. The oil works ceased operation in 1954.

Miss Sally Thompson School Building, about 1840. Blue-back speller taught here. Fee: $3 a month. Now Allen Home. Recorded Historic Landmark, 1965

(BACK) In memory of Tapley Holland, John Camp Goodrich, Alfred Calvin Grimes, Martyrs of the Alamo; Anderson Buffington, Benjamin Fort Smith, Heroes of San Jacinto; Francis Holland, Michael Kennard, John F. Martin, Dr. Verplank Ackerman, William P. Zuber, Soldiers in the Army, 1836; Robert Holman Dunham who was massacred in Mexico, 1842; Kenneth Lewis Anderson, Vice President of the Republic, who died in Anderson, July 3, 1845; William Carley, Veteran of the Mexican War, 1846; And all other pioneers who lived in this vicinity during the days of the Republic. (FRONT) In memory of Colonel Benjamin Fort Smith, Dr. Robert C. Neblett, Veterans of The War of 1812; Colonel Benjamin F. Smith, Veteran of the Black Hawk War, 1832; Jared E. Groce, Joshua Hadley, William Robinson, delegates to the First Convention of Texas, 1832; Jared E. Groce, Francis Holland, Jesse Grimes, delegates to the Second Convention of Texas, 1833; Joshua Hadley, Dr. George M. Patrick, delegates to the Consultation, 1835; Benjamin Briggs Goodrich, Jesse Grimes, signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence, 1836; Francis Holland, Anthony Drew Kennard, soldiers in the Army, 1835; Sarah Rudolph Dodson, who made a flag for a military company, Army of Texas, 1835.

As communities were developed by early settlers in Texas, small rural schools were established. Primarily serving farm families, the schools were often closed when children were needed to help harvest crops or perform other farm chores. A number of such rural schools were established in Grimes County. White Hall School opened in 1913, following the consolidation of three earlier schools: East Academy, West Academy, and Retreat. Located at this site, the first White Hall School building was a two-story frame structure. A community gathering place, it hosted civic as well as scholastic activities. Many local residents credit the school with promoting a sense of community when the children of pioneer Anglo families and those of German immigrant families attended classes together during the time of the first World War. After serving the community through the difficult years of the Depression and two World Wars, White Hall School was closed in 1949. The school building was acquired by the White Hall Taxpayers Association in 1954. It was razed and a new community center was erected on the site in 1959.