Robertson County TX
If you can would like to add your family's
website, tombstone photos, obits or family
photos
|
TXGenWeb
Robertson County Books & Master's Theses
|
|
G H O S T L
Y H A U N T S C O L L E C T I O
N
|
|
HAVE YOU --
Heard voices in the
shadows speaking
foreign languages?
Spotted a German soldier
wandering around
near Camp Hearne?
Driven through Robertson
County's ghost
towns & abandoned communities?
Heard a train coming through
an area where
there are no tracks?
Heard voices of children and
adults
splashing around in water near Wootan Wells?
Visited nearby Port Sullivan
or
Nashville-On-The-Brazos?
|
Are
these the sights and sounds of bygone eras, the products of fertile
imaginations, or Robertson County's ghosts? To help website
visitors explore Robertson County's ghostly past, this new collection
will record information about Robertson County's "Booger", MOJO,
immigrant ghosts, ghost camp, ghost spa/resort, ghost railroads
& mule train, ghost bridge, ghost road, ghost park, ghost towns
& vanished communities, and other unusual historic places of
interest.
Robertson County's
Booger
| Booger County |
Information
on how Robertson County may have acquired this rather
unfortunate nickname is at Booger County. |
MOJO
| MOJO |
MOJO (not
his real name), was a young man from the Bryan, Texas area, who early
in the 20th century supposedly fell off a train and was killed at Mud
Creek near Calvert. His family was unable to pay the expenses
for having his body embalmed and prepared for burial.
In
a bizarre twist of fate, MOJO's
body was kept at a succession of Calvert funeral homes for eight
decades. Only recently (on 6.19.2002) was he laid to rest
at Robertson County's Chapel Hill Cemetery. |
Immigrant Ghosts
Ghost Camp
| Camp Hearne
|
| Ghosts of German and
other soldiers who were interned at Camp Hearne, Robertson County's
World War II prisoner of war camp, may be roaming the fields near the
Hearne Municipal Airport. Be on the lookout for one ghost in
particular, that of Hugo Krauss - a German inmate who was brutally
beaten to death one night by Nazi prisoners. There's lots
more information at Camp Hearne
Collection. Directions:
Outside of Hearne on the road to Cameron, near
the Hearne Fairgrounds & Municipal Airport. |
|
|
Photos to left & right
taken by
William Kent Brunette.
|
|
Ghost Spa/Resort
| Wootan Wells |
|
This
ghost spa/resort is featured in Ghost
Towns of Robertson County at
Wootan Wells. Wootan
Wells' Texas Historic Marker reads:
"Famous early health spa and resort. First well was dug 1878 by
landowner Francis Wootan. Water tasted good, but turned dishes yellow
and clothes red. Even so, it seemed to possess amazing curative
properties. Wootan soon built a hotel and in 1879 a resort town made
its debut. He formed a promotion company with T. W. Wade and more
hotels, a bottling works, dance pavilion, and school sprang up. Leading
socialites came from miles to 'take the waters'. Disaster struck in
1915 when fire swept the town. In 1921 the last buildings also
burned." Lots
of other information about this now vanished turn-of-the-century
spa/resort is at Wootan Wells
Collection. Directions:
Intersection of Hwy. 6 & FM
1373, 2.5 miles west of Bremond. Map
To Wootan Wells
|
|
|
Ghost Railroads
& Mule Train
| Calvert Ghost Railroad |
The
Calvert Ghost Railroad was a spur of the
Calvert, Waco, & Brazos Valley Railroad
that was built by the end of
1900. After operating for almost 3 1/2 decades, the
three-mile route was abandoned in 1934. This ghost railroad
appears on two Calvert fire insurance maps (Fire Map #1
& Fire Map #2). This
route (from the river bottom road up behind the Calvert County Club) is
identified as the "old railroad grade" on
Calvert Map #1. It
connected in a "Y" at the old CW&BV Railroad tracks. Calvert
Map #2 shows this route in
greater detail. |
| Bremond Ghost Railroad |
The
Bremond Ghost Railroad was a route of the
Houston & Texas Central Railway
that connected Bremond with Marlin and Waco.
After operating for
roughly a century, the Bremond to Waco route was abandoned in
1967. This route is identified as
the "old railroad grade" on Bremond
Map #1. The purple hashed line
going out of Bremond to the northwest on Bremond
Map #2 shows the former location
of this line in greater detail. |
| Sutton Ghost Railroad |
The
Sutton Ghost Railroad was outside of Sutton (between Benchley
& Hearne) on the Houston
& Texas Central Railway.
It consisted of a "Y" connection at the Houston & Texas Central
Railway tracks and extended about a mile into what is now a farmer's
pasture. This route is
identified as
the "old railroad grade" on Sutton
Map #1. Sutton
Map #2 shows the former location
of this line in greater detail. |
Wootan Wells
Ghost
Mule Train |
|
|
The Wootan Wells Ghost
Mule Train operated between the Wootan Wells spa/resort and Wootan
Wells Station (near where highways 6 and 14 branch).
Directions:
Intersection
of Hwy. 6 &
FM
1373, 2.5 miles west of Bremond.
Map To Wootan Wells
|
|
|
GHOST
BRIDGE
Iron Pillars
Marking
West End
Of Old
Brazos
River
Bridge
|
About
two miles west of Mumford, there's
a Texas Historic Marker that reads: "An 1895
engineering victory - longest Brazos Bridge in that era - spanning
heavy flow
below ford of 'Little River' [San Andres] with 'Big Brazos'. This
bridge stood
where immemorial Indian trails crossed the river. Later these paths
became part
of the El Camino Real [The King's Highway]. About a mile downstream, in
1830,
Fort Tenoxtitlan was established. In 1855, Jesse Mumford [founder of
Mumford]
operated a ferry at the trail crossing. Authorized by Commissioners
Court of
Robertson County, this landmark iron bridge served until removed by a
flood in
1899." Directions:
About 2 miles west of Mumford. Map
To Bridge Historic Marker
|
GHOST ROAD
El Camino
Real,
King's Highway,
Old
San Antonio Road,
Old San Antonio
& Nacogdoches Trail,
or OSR
|
Texas
Historic Marker one mile east of Hwy 6 at Benchley on Old San
Antonio Road reads as follows: "A trail of adventure,
opportunity, hardships, and freedom, over which history stalked into
Texas. To the Spanish, El Camino Real was a road traveled for the King
- to colonize, christianize, seek adventure, and look for riches. This
road became the most famous. Its many parts were made, discovered, or
known hundreds of years before 1691, when Domingo Teran De Los Rios,
first Texas governor, joined and marked the different trails for the
King. It was the route from Monclavia [crossing the Rio Grande near
Eagle Pass] to the missions of East Texas. Probably its trailblazers
were buffalo and Indians, or Aztecs on trading expeditions. It was also
possibly traveled, described, and changed in part by French explorer
LaSalle; by Alonso de Leon & Father Damien Massanet planting
missions in East Texas; and by the French nobleman St. Denis seeking
trade along the Rio Grande. As the years wore on, it was traveled in
1820 by Moses Austin, as well as by thousands of settlers who followed
him. San Augustine Nacogdoches and San Antonio were its principal
cities and inns sprang up along the way. Soldiers and supply trains
used it during the Texas Revolution, Mexican War, & Civil War.
It is still followed in part by this highway."
The
Handbook of Texas Online also
has information at Old
San Antonio Road.
Directions: Texas Historic Marker is 1 mile east of Hwy 6 at
Benchley on Old San Antonio Road. Map
To El Camino Real Historic Marker
|
GHOST PARK
Calvert's
Garten
Rhien
Park |
| According
to John Walter Baker on p. 534 of his book
History
of Robertson County: "The German
families in
Calvert had 'The Garten Rhien,' a ten-acre park complete with tennis
court, pavilion, horseshoe throwing courts, card tables, and a beer
barrel platform on the lawn. They met every Sunday to eat,
drink, and hear the music of their fine band, directed by Mr.
Jietsch. They had maple lanes for playing tenpins that were
built by the Lang brothers, and for their amusement they also had their
own Negro band." So, if you hear voices speaking in German in
the shadows on a Sunday afternoon in Calvert, these may be coming from
the former location of Calvert's Garten Rhien Park.
Directions:
Does anybody know where this park was? If so, please contact Shirley Cullum. |
|
|
GHOST TOWNS &
VANISHED COMMUNITIES
| Box Quarter |
Have
you ever heard of Box Quarter, Robertson County, Texas?
The Handbook of Texas Online has
an article about it at
Box Quarter. Directions:
Does anybody know where Box Quarter actually was? If so,
please contact Shirley Cullum. |
| Englewood
|
| This
ghost town is featured in Ghost
Towns of Robertson County at Englewood.
The Texas Historic Marker at Englewood reads: "Settled by
people of
Tennessee under an 1822 contract held by Sterling
Clack Robertson [1785 - 1842] who later signed the Texas Declaration of
Independence. Colony and county were named for him. County was created
December
14, 1837; organized March, 1838. County seats: Old Franklin 1838 -
1850; Wheelock, 1850 - 1855; Owensville, 1855 - 1869; Calvert, 1870 -
1879; Franklin,
since 1879. Sent five troop companies into Confederate service in Civil
War.
Established mill to make flour, cotton, and wool cloth. Furnished
cotton, cards,
medicines, bacon, and salt to soldiers' families."
According
to Post
Offices Of Robertson County, a
post office existed at Englewood from 6.12.1871 - 4.26.1880.
Directions: On highway 79
near where the roadside park between Franklin & New Baden
currently is. TopoZone
Map |
|
|
| Fort Tenoxtitlan |
Have you ever heard of
Fort Tenoxtitlan, nearby in Burleson County, Texas?
Fort
Tenoxtitan has two Texas Historic Markers. Marker #1
reads: "2000 feet south, site of
Fort Tenoxtitlan established by the Mexican government in July, 1830,
in an attempt to stem Anglo-American settlement. Named in honor of the
Aztec capital, now Mexico City. Abandoned by Mexican troops in 1832. In
the town which grew up after 1834 many prominent Texans lived. The
place passed from the map after 1860"
Marker #2 reads: "Founded by Mexico as a
bulwark against Anglo-American immigration, this fort and its nearby
city were twice proposed for the capital of Texas. Alarmed by the
influx of Anglo settlers into Texas, Mexico in 1830 sought to erect a
line of forts to keep out the intruders. The ancient Aztec name for
Mexico City [originally pronounced "Tex-ox-teet-lan"] was given this
site; it means "prickly pear place". So hopeful of the fort's success
was the military commandant of the region that he envisioned it as the
capital of Texas. But Anglo immigration did not cease. Instead it
thrived on the friendship of the local soldiers and incoming pioneers.
The colonizer Sterling Clack Robertson introduced scores of settlers.
In 1832 the soldiers were withdrawn and the fort finally defaulted to
the Anglos. Subsequently it was a supply center and mustering point for
expeditions against the Indians. During its brief life many Texas
patriots lived here, including 5 signers of the Texas Declaration of
Independence, a martyr of the Alamo siege, and 7 soldiers of the Battle
of San Jacinto. Tenoxtitlan was again suggested for the capital of
Texas during the Republic, but Austin won out. In 1841, after many
Indian raids, the site was abandoned." The
Handbook of Texas Online has an
article at Fort
Tenoxtitlan.
Directions: From
Caldwell, take SH 21 E about 6 miles to FM 1362, go N about 8 miles to
CR 338, go E about 1.5 miles to double gate - marker is about 1/2 mile
S across creek. Map
To Fort Tenoxtitlan |
| Hayes |
Have
you ever heard of Hayes, Robertson County, Texas? The
Handbook of Texas Online has an
article about it at
Boone Prairie/Hayes.
According to Post
Offices Of Robertson County,
Hayes had its own post office from 5.24.1880 - June 30, 1906. Map
To Hayes |
| Lake, Lake Station,
Kirkpatrickville, or Acorn |
Have
you ever heard of Lake, Lake Station, Kirkpatrickville, or Acorn,
Robertson County, Texas? The
Handbook of Texas Online has an
article about different names for this same town at
Easterly
&
Lake.
According
to Post
Offices Of Robertson County, the
following post offices existed: Lake
(3.4.1872 - 12.31.1903), Lake
Station (11.23.1876 - 12.16.1878), Kirkpatrickville (2.5.1879
- 4.1.1879), Acorn (5.17.1881 - 3.24.1890), & Easterly
(6.6.1894 - 1.12.1929). |
| Mount Vernon |
This
ghost town is featured in Ghost
Towns of Robertson County at Mount Vernon.
The
Mount
Vernon Cemetery is about all
that is left of this community. Directions:
6 miles east of
Calvert on the Calvert to Owensville highway.
Map
To Mount Vernon
|
| Nashville-On-The-Brazos |
Have you ever heard of
Nashville, nearby in Milam County, Texas?
Nashville's Texas Historic
Marker
reads: "Surveyed in the fall of 1835 as the capital of
Robertson's colony. Named for Nashville, Tennessee where Sterling Clack
Robertson and many of his colonists had formerly lived. Seat of justice
Milam municipality, 1836; Milam County, 1837. First home in Texas of
George C. Childress, chairman of the committee which drafted the Texas
Declaration of Independence."
The Handbook of Texas
Online also has information at Nashville-On-The-Brazos. Directions: Just across
the Brazos River Bridge on US 79 at road side pull-off on the
west side of highway. Map
To Nashville-On-The-Brazos |
| Old Franklin
|
| This
ghost town is featured in Ghost
Towns of Robertson County at
Old Franklin. The
Handbook of Texas Online also
has information at
Old Franklin. According to Post
Offices Of Robertson County, Old
Franklin had its own post office from 5.22.1846 - 10.20.1851.
Even the
Old Franklin Cemetery is now
gone. The bodies
of ten Robertson County men who lost their lives in a battle with
Indians on January 16, 1839 at Morgan's Point (near present-day Marlin,
in Falls Co., TX) were brought back to Robertson County and buried in
the small Old Franklin Cemetery. There were other burials at
this lost cemetery as well.
Directions:
Old Franklin was on the headwaters of Mud Creek
about 1 1/2 miles southwest of the present town of Franklin. Map
To Old Franklin |
|
|
Owensville
|
| This
ghost town is featured in Ghost
Towns of Robertson County at
Owensville.
Owensville's Texas Historic Marker reads: "Site
Of Owensville. Robertson County's third county seat was located here,
1855 - 1869, on land given by D. H. Love [1816 - 1866]. The town was
Owensville, named for Harrison Owen [1803 - 1896], who was the first
county clerk, 1838 - 1847. Public officials, doctors, lawyers,
businesses moved here and town thrived. It was on the Houston-Waco
mail, stage, and freighting road. As Civil War county seat [1861 -
1865] this place armed and dispatched soldiers and cared for civilians.
After Houston & Texas Central Railway bypassed Owensville in
1868, county records were moved to Calvert. Owensville Cemetery, oldest
in the county, marks townsite." According
to Post
Offices Of Robertson County,
Owensville had its own post office from 9.19.1856 - 2.1.1871 &
from 3.20.1895 - 1.9.1897. Additional information is at
Owensville Article
&
Owensville Cemetery.
Directions: North of
Franklin, at the junction of
FM 979
& FM 46.
Map
To Owensville |
|
|
Sketch to left
from
Owensville Marker Dedication brochure. Color photo to
left taken by Dr. Habib U. & Martha Jean (Baxter) Rahman. Photo
to right is from
History Of
Robertson County,
p. 133.
|
|
| Port Sullivan |
All
that remains of this once bustling trade center just across the
Brazos River in Milam County is its historic cemetery. John
Martin Brockman has recorded this ghost town's history at
Port Sullivan.
Port Sullivan's
Texas Historic Marker reads: "Early important trade and
educational center. Established by Augustus W. Sullivan in 1835. River
navigation extended to this point for many years. The Austin-East Texas
and the Houston-Waco roads crossed here. On this spot was located Port
Sullivan College. Established in the early fifties. Incorporated
December 16, 1863. Destroyed by fire in 1878." The
Handbook of Texas
Online also has information at
Port Sullivan as well as at
Fort Sullivan. Directions:
Located off of FM
485 / CR 260, 1 mi. to county road 259 approx. 1.3 mi. on south side
of dirt road.
Map To Port Sullivan |
| Staggers Point |
This
ghost town is featured in Ghost
Towns of Robertson County at
Staggers Point.
The
Staggers Point
Texas Historic
Marker reads: "Earliest
large community in Robertson's colony. Settled by Irishmen who came to
America in 1821; lived in South Carolina and then in Alabama; and in
1829 sent west an emissary, Robert Henry, to find a permanent location.
In 1833, their ox-wagon train arrived, and log cabins were built. By
1836, kinsmen had joined early arrivals to strengthen settlement.
Community name, meaning "Strivers' Point" in dialect, was probably
given for rugged zeal of settlers in face of hardships. James Dunn
built a fort, to give neighborhood a refuge during Indian raids. In War
for Independence, 1835-36, Staggers Point men fought in major actions,
including the April 21, 1836, Battle of San Jacinto, which freed Texas
from Mexico. In 1830s and 40s, the Irish were compelled to keep up
their defenses against the Indians. Women as well as men earned respect
for skill with "long guns." In time their village had a church, stores,
cotton gin, race track, and taverns, and was invaded by gamblers and
ruffians drawn to the races. Until the settlers subdued the lawless,
duels and gunplay were common. This remained a progressive community
until 1868, when Houston & Texas Central Railway bypassed it,
and business waned. Descendants still honor the settlers. Original
settlers: William Henry, Mary F. Henry Dixon, James M. Dixon, Ann
McMillan, Henry & Sarah Fullerton, Robert & Elizabeth
Henry, George H. Fullerton, John R. & Sarah Peyton, Jimnive
Henry Rice, William Fullerton, Hugh & Elizabeth Henry, James A.
Henry, Bradford & Mary Henry Seale, Columbus &
Elizabeth Henry Seale, James & Isabella Dunn"
The
Handbook of Texas Online also
has information at
Benchley/Staggers Point. Directions:
1 mile east of Hwy 6 at Benchley on Old San Antonio Road. Map
To Staggers Point |
| Sterling
|
This
ghost town is featured in Ghost
Towns of Robertson County at
Sterling.
The Texas Historic Marker at the Sterling Cemetery reads:
"Burial place of some 400 Texas pioneers and descendants. On land
granted [1835] to A. J. Webb; bought in 1850 by Judge Robert Calvert, a
civic leader in Sterling, a town named for empresario Sterling C.
Robertson. Calvert dedicated 11.1-acre cemetery and built adjacent
Cumberland Presbyterian Church of his own plantation timber. In 1867,
Judge Calvert died and was buried near cemetery gate. The church
building was moved by oxen to new town of Calvert [2 mi. E]. In 1868,
his wife, Mary Keesee Calvert, and their three daughters deeded
cemetery site to the Cumberland Presbyterians."
The
Handbook of Texas Online also
has information at
Sterling. Burial
information is at Sterling
Cemetery.
Directions: Two
miles west of Calvert on FM 979 to CR 116.
Map
To Sterling
|
Back to Robertson County Main Page
Page
Modified:
19 April 2012
Copyright © April 2011-present by
Jane Keppler.
This
information may be used by individuals for their own personal use,
libraries and genealogical societies. Commercial use of this information
is strictly prohibited without prior written
permission
from
Jane Keppler.
If material is copied, this copyright notice must appear with the
information and please email me and let me know.
Neither the Site Coordinators nor
the volunteers assume any responsibility for the information or material
given by the contributors or for errors of fact or judgment in material
that is published at this website.
|
