Texas Historical Marker #03784

Old Potter's Shop. The fine, white clay mined near here was used at this shop from the 1840s to 1912 to make pitchers, jars, crocks, churns, flower pots, and ornamental urns, which were used locally and shopped out of county. In the 1870s the shop, built by Alberry Johnson, was a major industry in Pottersville (later Oletha) Wm. C. Knox later bought the plant and hired J. L. Stone as the chief artisan. John Fowler then became owner and was joined by is son E. J. Fowler about 1900. Men dug Kaolin clay from pits and hauled it to the plant, where mules provided labor to grind the clay to powder and it was fashioned into ceramics. Historically, Kaolin-- still mined today from the deposits nearby-- has been used to make fine porcelain and china. It ranks with gas, oil, and stone as a major commercial resource in Limestone County. During the 19th century, vast natural resources throughout the state were creating new enterprises. Cattle and cotton headed the list of products, which also included lumber, iron ore, stone, and salt, as well as finished articles such as cloth, iron kettles, soap, flour, brick, and matches. These businesses, although crude and not of the "luxury" type, initiated the industrial growth of Texas. 1967 #3784

FM 1245 and CR 758, Thornton, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #03786

Old Public Water Well. An early day oasis for travelers and cattle herds. Dug about 1887 by crew building Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railroad. At first artesian, lost power when well was dug nearby to supply locomotives. Local residents, who now have private wells, still use this well in emergencies. (1971) Incising on base of marker: Restored 1965 by Bluff Dale Study and Garden Club #3786

?, Bluff Dale, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #03787

Old Railroad Depot. Built 1906 by Wichita Valley Railroad Company when laying tracks into Haskell; originally located on Depot Street, this building saw service during era when large shipments of cotton, cattle, grain came through area. At train time, citizens would flock to depot to see travelers and hear news and gossip. After W. V. Railroad stopped passenger service (1951), depot was made into a museum (1963); still contains original furniture. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1968. #3787

?, Haskell, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #03788

Old Railroad Section House. Sand Hills section house. Built 1903 by Texas & Pacific Rwy., for one of its track foremen who were stationed every 20 miles along road. Section houses in Permian Basin had water and human aid for men sand-bogged or stranded in storms. (Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1965.) #3788

US 80/IH-20, Monahans, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #03789

Old Railroad Y.M.C.A.. Recreation and hospitality center for early Childress; in Spanish Mission Revival style architecture. Built 1903, after citizens, led by R.H. Norris and Dr. J.H. Cristler, attracted Fort Worth & Denver Railway shops and division offices here. Among funds donors was Helen Gould, philanthropic daughter of rail magnate Jay Gould. Use by Y.M.C.A. ceased in 1934; owned by Veterans' groups since 1938. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark-1962 #3789

207 10th Street, N.W., Childress, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #03790

Old Ramireno. Old Ramireno was located on land granted to Don Jose Luis Ramirez by the King of Spain in 1784. Part of the colonization effort of Col. Jose de Escandon, Ramirez' grant was designated as Porcion 5. A resident of Revilla (now Guerrero), Nuevo Santander (now Tamaulipas) in Mexico, Don Jose Luis Ramirez, his wife Maria Bacilia Martinez, and their children moved across the Rio Grande and established a home on their land in present Zapata County. Don Jose Luis and Maria Bacilia Martinez had ten children. Their families and descendants formed the nucleus of the community of Ramireno. The men of the ill-fated Mier Expedition of 1842 camped at Ramireno during their march to Mexico, and the settlement was also the site of United States military activity during the Mexican Revolution and border raids of 1916-17. The construction of Falcon Reservoir on the Rio Grande caused the relocation of several area communities, including Ramireno. The settlement founded by Don Jose Luis Ramirez was moved in 1953 to a site two miles from the original Ramirez Ranch. The hand-cut sandstone Ramirez ranch home was covered by the waters of Falcon Reservoir. (1988) #3790

US 83, Se of San Ygnacio, San Ygnacio, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #03792

Ranger Post Office. --- #3792

205 Main St., Ranger, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #03793

Old Riedel Dam and Early Industries. 250 yards west lie the remains of a pioneer dam built in 1869 by Carl Edward Riedel to supply the power for his sawmill, gristmill and cotton gin. That year another German immigrant, Max Krueger, helped install Riedel's gin-- first steam cotton gin in Karnes County. Shortly before, Krueger had built the barracks to house 50 U.S. Cavalrymen near Helena. Within 2 years a town grew up near Riedel's industries and was named Riddleville in his honor. On June 9, 1871, the U.S. postal records were moved from Ecleto post office (3 miles up the creek, where Kelly's Stage Stand stood) to the post office here. Between 1870 and 1886 Riddleville was one of the 5 principal towns in Karnes County. It was located at the crossing of the Helena-Gonzales Road and the Yorktown-Sutherland Springs Road. In 1876 its population was about 75. In 1905 the name of the town was changed to Gillett. With lumber from his mill, Riedel had built a hotel, which was destroyed by fire about 1905; but he immediately built a second hotel. Many homes and business houses in this area were constructed of Riedel's lumber, which can still be found today in existing Karnes County buildings. (1969) #3793

?, Gillett, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #03794

Old Ringgold Barracks Hospital. Architecture Moorish; wide surrounding porches ornamented with 15' arches. Built according to plans of surgeon general. First occupied Nov. 25, 1870, and used for 75 years until post was inactivated in 1944. #3794

US 83 at Fort Ringgold, Rio Grande City, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #03795

Old Rock Baptist Church. Organized as Medina Baptist Church in April 1857 at Mann's Crossing, near Macdona. Until 1866, when members built an arbor here near Old Somerset, the services were held in homes or in a schoolhouse. Site for meetinghouse and cemetery (2.5 acres here) was bought for ten dollars in 1867 by committeemen F. M. Avent, Elisha A. Briggs, and W. D. Johnson on behalf of Medina Church. This committee also drew the plans; Briggs, a settler from Massachusetts and a stonemason, did much of the construction. Worship began here in 1869 as soon as house had roof and walls--although door and window spaces were empty and there was no floor except bare ground. In those early days, four ordained ministers took turns as unpaid pastors. Avent was clerk and sexton. Medina Church membership was racially integrated. Some of the Negro members lie buried in honored graves in the cemetery. In 1892 Medina Church relocated at Bexar. Cemetery maintenance was continued here; "Old Rock" was used at times for funerals or worship. In 1921, after local petroleum discoveries, Grayburg Oil Company and some of its employees helped renovate the meetinghouse. Congregation renamed itself for the Old Rock Church and regular worship has continued here ever since. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1971 #3795

?, Somerset, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #03796

Old Rock House. This site was claimed in 1857 under a Republic of Texas land certificate held by former State Representative Darwin Stapp of Victoria County. In 1869 he sold the tract to another absentee owner. By tradition, this house was built in the 1870s by John J. Brestow, a squatter who came to this area for his health. The one-room cabin was constructed of stone from the nearby Santa Anna Mountains. Later owners, including Mrs. Sarah Himmins, rented the property to tenant farmers. Mr. and Mrs. C. D. Bruce, who purchased the land in 1947, restored the Rock House and maintain it now as a museum. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1975 #3796

?, Santa Anna, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #03797

Old Rock Schoolhouse. Constructed of locally quarried red sandstone, the Old Rock Schoolhouse was built in 1874 with funds pledged by citizens of Pleasanton. Once completed, the building was deeded to the county for free public school purposes. In addition to its educational function, the schoolhouse also served as a place of worship for the First Baptist Church from 1875 to 1883. A storm cellar in the school yard served as a sanctuary against Comanche Indian raids on many occasions. Children attended classes six months of the year at no charge, but paid tuition for the remaining three months of the term. The Pleasanton Normal School, a training institute for teachers, operated in the schoolhouse during the summer months. After the city built a new public school on Main Street about 1913, the Old Rock Schoolhouse was closed. It later served as a store, a private residence, and an apartment building. Purchased by the First Baptist Church in 1986, it later was renovated to serve once again as an educational facility. Known for many years to local residents as the "Red Rock Schoolhouse," its original sandstone exterior was concealed under a coat of plaster and paint. (1991) #3797

201 College Street, Pleasanton, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #03798

Old Rock Schoolhouse. This Italianate schoolhouse was built in 1904 to provide improved educational facilities for a growing population. Rockmason T. S. Hodges of Lockhart used native rock from a quarry east of town to craft the two-story building. Originally housing the entire school system, it later served as a junior high facility and elementary school. A 1914 addition to the south end of the building, also built by Hodges, complements the original structure. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark--1990 #3798

300 block of College St., Sonora, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #03799

Old Rock Store. Built about 1865 by Pat Cavanaugh, Irish stonemason, assisted by Dick Barker. Site of gun battles in Dog Town (now Tilden), "wide open" during lawless era of the 1860's and 1870's. Preserved since 1929 by Clifton Wheeler, owner. Recorded Texas Historic Lankmark, 1966. #3799

?, Tilden, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #03800

Old Rock Store. Utopia's first building. Erected 1873 of native rock; for R. H. Kincheloe, owner; by Joe Hastler, stonemason. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1967. #3800

E Main Street, Utopia, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #03802

Old Roscoe, Snyder & Pacific Railroad Engine No. 5. A Baldwin locomotive of the Roscoe, Snyder & Pacific--the railroad that reached here in 1908 with passenger and freight service, and contributed greatly to growth of city and area. This engine (a coal burner converted later to fuel oil) was built in 1920 in Philadelphia; placed in park in 1956. (1967) #3802

Towle Park, 1600 25th St., Snyder, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #03803

Old Saint Mary's Cemetery. Joseph F. Smith, Nephew of Texas provisional governor Henry Smith, founded the town of St. Mary's in 1857. Ten acres were set aside for this burial ground, in which the earliest marked grave is dated 1860. The cemetery served the thriving community until an 1886 storm destroyed business and homes, causing residents to move away. IN 1909, with the return of land development to the area, the cemetery was again used. The burial site of war veterans and pioneer area settlers, the cemetery serves as a reminder of the important early coastal town of St. Mary's. #3803

ST. Mary's Cemetery Rd., Off FM 136, Bayside, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #03804

Old San Antonio National Bank Building. This structure was built to house the San Antonio National Bank, organized by George W. Brackenridge and others in 1866 as the first federally chartered banking institution in the city. Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz, A New York architect, designed the building using limestone mined from area Quarries. Completed in 1886, it served as the fourth structure for the bank. The victorian design features moorish arches, ornate ironwork, and a decorative southeast corner tower. The bank occupied the facility until 1970. #3804

239 East Commerce St., San Antonio, TX, United States

Subjects

Texas Historical Marker #03805

Old San Francisco Historic District. Composed primarily of early twentieth-century residential apartment buildings, this historic neighborhood was developed during a period of major growth in El Paso. Most of the structures were built of brick, stone, or wood between 1908 and 1923 and feature similar architectural elements. The name of the district is taken from the likeness of the hilly terrain to that of San Francisco, California. In addition, the area was developed on what was the northern side of the El Paso - San Francisco Stage Route during the 1800s. (1984) #3805

?, El Paso, TX, United States

Texas Historical Marker #03806

Old San Pedro. Old San Pedro Springs--near this site--noted camping spot 5 miles from city. Used by U.S. Army, Mexican War, 1846-48. Often scene of summer picnics and political speeches, 1850's. On surrender to confederate Texas of all federal troops in state, it was site of prisoner of war camp for a short time. For Quarters, prisoners built dugouts and brush arbors. Later, campsite for confederate soldiers moving toward western frontier, for troops of Arizona-New Mexico campaign, for units coming from the Rio Grande to new assignments, and for raw recruits in camps of instruction. #3806

?, San Antonio, TX, United States