Pioneer village of Milam County
Established as an
Indian trading post by
Major Benjamin F. Bryant,
frontiersman who had commanded
a company in the Battle of
San Jacinto.
Appointed Indian agent in 1842 by
Sam Houston
President . . . — — Map (db m286780) HM
In 1879, Central Texas Czechs organized Slovanska Podporujici Jednota Statu Texas (SPJST), a fraternal society that promoted social activities and insurance benefits for its members. SPJST members from Cameron, Marak and Buckholts established . . . — — Map (db m162267) HM
Through the efforts of fellow immigrant Joseph Russek, many Czech families came to this area of Milam County in the 1880s. The first Catholic Mass in the Marak/Maraksville settlement was conducted by a visiting priest in the Kaspar Kubecka home in . . . — — Map (db m150886) HM
The earliest marked grave in this graveyard is that of Susan F. Dilworth, who died in January 1880. John Gordon and his wife M. L. Gordon deeded two acres of land on this site to the trustees of Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church in 1882, stating that the . . . — — Map (db m150879) HM
Civil War veteran Daniel G. Davis, Sr. (1836-1927) built this structure in two stages in 1895 and 1896. The Sharp General Store, which Davis and his descendants operated here until 1985, was the area's largest mercantile facility and main outlet for . . . — — Map (db m150882) HM
Organized July 18, 1917 at Camp Bowie, Texas, the 36th Division was composed of National Guard units from the states of Texas and Oklahoma, and traced a part of its lineage to the Washington Guards of the Texas Revolution. During World War I, the . . . — — Map (db m90646) HM WM
A native of Germany, William Persky migrated to the United States with his family at the age of eight. He enlisted in the Confederate Army during the Civil War and served time as a prisoner of war. A farmer, Persky lived in Austin and Bell counties . . . — — Map (db m150877) HM
Irish Catholic settlers first came to this area in 1875. The community, first called Irish Settlement, was served by visiting priests beginning in 1879. Eight families joined together in 1885 to build a church, which they dedicated to St. Michael. . . . — — Map (db m117336) HM
Episcopal worship services were held in Cameron as early as 1860, though All Saints Episcopal Church was not organized as a mission until 1901. The Diocese of Texas purchased this property from A. J. and Jennie Dossett in 1906. This structure was . . . — — Map (db m129326) HM
(Front Panel)
Milam
(Right Panel)
Benjamin Rush Milam
born in Kentucky
1788. Soldier in the
War of 1812. Trader
with the Texas
Comanche Indians
1818. Colonel in
the Long Expedition
in 1820. . . . — — Map (db m129324) HM
Constructed in 1895 as the residence of noted Cameron physician and community leader Dr. Nathan Cass (1849-1906), this house is an outstanding example of Victorian architectural tastes. Exhibiting rich Queen Anne and Eastlake style elements, the . . . — — Map (db m286911) HM
Itinerant ministers J. W. D. Creath and David Fisher organized this church in 1853. The Rev. T. M. Anderson became the congregation's first resident pastor in 1867. Membership was extended to the community's Mexican-Americans in 1914, and in 1919 . . . — — Map (db m150936) HM
The first Girl's Tomato Clubs in Texas were organized in 1912 in Milam County to acquaint young women in rural areas with tomato production and canning techniques. At the request of the United States Department of Agriculture, Mrs. Edna Westbrook . . . — — Map (db m84662) HM
Two banks operated in Cameron prior to the establishment of the First National Bank. The Buckholts Exchange Commission, a small frontier deposit office, faltered during the Civil War, and the Milam County Bank closed during the panic of 1895. On . . . — — Map (db m129325) HM
This congregation began as part of the early Methodist missionary effort in Texas. A camp meeting was held in Milam County in 1841, four years after the first Methodist preachers came to Texas. By 1847, the Rev. Josiah Whipple had helped to organize . . . — — Map (db m129327) HM
Charles Walter (C.W.) Lawrence (1859-
1935) and his wife, Mary O. (Hayden)
Lawrence (1874-1945), built this house on
Calvert Street (later N. Central Ave.)
for their family from 1896-1901.
Believed to have been built by local
lumberyard owner . . . — — Map (db m286863) HM
A soldier of the
Texas Army stationed
at the camp at
Harrisburg April 21, 1836
First chief justice
(county judge)
of Milam County.
Died in 1882 — — Map (db m150846) HM
A part of Robertson's colony in 1834 and a part of the municipality of Viesca, 1835. Created in 1836 and named for Benjamin Rush Milam killed Dec. 5, 1835, in San Antonio.
When created, it contained one-sixth of the original land area of Texas. . . . — — Map (db m286776) HM
Created in 1835, Milam County's original boundaries extended north and west to include parts of 34 current Texas counties. Government offices were at Nashville-on-the-Brazos and Caldwell before Cameron became county seat in 1846. Two frame buildings . . . — — Map (db m129398) HM
This is the fourth structure to serve as the Milam County courthouse. The local Masonic Lodge laid the cornerstone for the building on July 4, 1891. Designed by architect A.O. Watson of Austin, the courthouse at one time featured a Second Empire . . . — — Map (db m201936) HM
When the 1875 Milam County Jailhouse grew too crowded in the 1890s, it was removed to make room for larger facilities. In March 1895, the Milam County Commissioners awarded a contract to the Pauly Jail Building and Manufacturing Company of St. . . . — — Map (db m305377) HM
Pioneer leader of Texas women in rural club work. While serving as principal of a school near Milano, Mrs. Trigg was asked by the United States Department of Agriculture in 1911 to supervise Texas' first Girls' Tomato Club. Her role included . . . — — Map (db m129323) HM
Early efforts to serve the educational needs of Cameron's African American students centered on church instruction at a place called "Little Rocky" Church in the Marlow Community. In 1923, Oscar John Thomas (1894-1977) joined the district to serve . . . — — Map (db m150904) HM
In 1851, Reuben Anderson encouraged development of a townsite on Augustus Sullivan's land; two of Anderson's sons bought the first lots sold in Port Sullivan. The town benefitted from river navigation and grew to include stores, a sawmill, a . . . — — Map (db m292108) HM
Boyhood home of L. S. "Sul" Ross (1838-1898), Texas Governor from 1887 to 1891. His father Shapley P. Ross, Indian agent and Ranger, built house after moving here about 1841; he chose this site because it had a good spring. L. S. Ross, who was a . . . — — Map (db m129329) HM
Founded in 1883, the congregation of St. Monica's Catholic Church erected this structure in 1927-28 after a fire had destroyed their previous place of worship. The building exhibits influences of both Palladian and Italian Romanesque architectural . . . — — Map (db m150905) HM
In the winter of 1850-1851
with Captain Basil M.
Hatfield, Commander, the
Steamboat Washington
landed here
with a shipment of merchandise
from Washington-on-the-Brazos
to J. W. McCown and Co., mer-
chants at Cameron. The . . . — — Map (db m74414) HM
In 1883, Benajah Jefferson "B.J." Baskin moved to Cameron with his wife, Anna Lou (Pitts), and extended family from Alabama. Baskin and his brothers-in-law bought a mercantile; he also ventured successfully into farming and ranching. Anna died in . . . — — Map (db m150950) HM
Albert J. Matocha was born in Austria-Hungary in 1876 and immigrated to Texas with his family as a young boy; the family made their home in the nearby community of Burlington. As a young man, Matocha began working for the Law and Sprinkel Hardware . . . — — Map (db m150907) HM
A Presbytery consisting of W. Beasley, L. Williams, P. T. Corneal, and E. Allison met at Mumford Springs, Milam County, Texas (present day Davilla) to organize Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church in 1866. From 1868 to 1870 the congregation held . . . — — Map (db m147942) HM
In 1936 the Sarah McCalla
Chapter, DAR, of Cameron,
created a park
(about 3/4 mile upriver)
at the site of Old Nashville,
to commemorate the
Texas State Centennial.
The red rock DAR monument,
to the left, was in that park
which . . . — — Map (db m129401) HM
In 1877, a group of settlers gathered to found Gause Baptist Church. W.T.N. Beasley of Rockdale served as pastor. In 1889, services were discontinued but Sunday School remained active. In 1893, the congregation was reorganized and services moved to . . . — — Map (db m267510) HM
Surveyed in the fall of 1835
as the capital of
Robertson's colony
Named for Nashville, Tennessee
where Sterling C. Robertson and many
of his colonists had formerly lived.
Seat of justice
Milam Municipality, 1836
Milam County, . . . — — Map (db m129321) HM
The Sugarloaf Bridge is a 234-foot long, pin-connected Parker through truss bridge located over the Little River near historic Sugarloaf Mountain in Milam County. Parker trusses such as this one, were developed by C.H. Parker in a series of patents . . . — — Map (db m267513) HM
Sugarloaf Mountain is located near the confluence of Little River and Brazos River and is capped with a red sandstone rock. A large American Indian group lived in a village known as Rancheria Grande de los Ervipiame. Remnants of twenty-two . . . — — Map (db m267511) HM
William J. Gause (1829-1914), born in Alabama, moved to Texas in 1849, to the Brazos region in 1856, and to this locality in 1872. Buying lumber in Montgomery, he gave his friend Dan Fowler half in return for hauling it here. The two . . . — — Map (db m129322) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m84664) HM
Organized in 1849 with eight members. Met in local homes for worship. First building was a small log cabin. Church grew as settlers entered area. In 1855 70 members joined congregation following a three-day revival. Church was center of social life . . . — — Map (db m286912) HM
Constituted in 1866 with eight charter members, New Providence Primitive Baptist Church has served this rural area of Milam County for over a century. Elders William Thomas and G. W. McDonald were the church's original preachers. Members first held . . . — — Map (db m286921) HM
The crossing over the San Xavier (San Gabriel) River in Milam county has been used as a passageway for centuries. Evidence shows that the area has been inhabited by humans for at least 10,000 years. During the eighteenth century, the land was . . . — — Map (db m84807) HM
The community of Bushdale was founded in this area of Milam County by German immigrants in the 1870s. Within ten years the population of the county doubled and the Bushdale area developed into a thriving farming community.
A community cemetery . . . — — Map (db m286909) HM
Beginning in the late 1920s, the use of petrified wood in construction became popular in Texas and throughout the American Southwest. This was due in part to the design of National Park Service Buildings in the West which utilized natural materials . . . — — Map (db m210587) HM
The community of Rockdale sprang up around a railroad camp in 1873. The Rev. B.B. Baxter arrived in 1874 and established a Baptist church with 18 charter members. The Rev. Mr. Baxter conducted services in a room above a dry goods store shared with . . . — — Map (db m210599) HM
Organized in 1887, this church was first served by the Rev. A.J. Bush, Sr. (1846-1920), a Civil War veteran who was instrumental in establishing Christian churches in many areas of the state. Previous buildings on this site were replaced in 1958 by . . . — — Map (db m210588) HM
The son of Andrew and Laura Perry, George Sessions Perry was born May 5, 1910, in Rockdale. In 1933, he married Claire Hodges of Beaumont. Four years later, he published the first in a long line of fiction and non-fiction stories and novels, many of . . . — — Map (db m210601) HM
From 1872 until the late 1960s, the East Ward supported a vibrant African American business community with upwards of 50 churches and thriving businesses that served both the neighborhood and the surrounding area.
Captions . . . — — Map (db m211847) HM
Three rail lines largely contributed to Rockdale's early commercial development, and of the three, the International & Great Northern (I&GN) made the biggest impact. This former I&GN passenger depot opened in 1906. It survived various changes to the . . . — — Map (db m74421) HM
The International & Great Northern Railroad reached the new town of Rockdale in January 1874. Among the early residents were brothers Benjamin and Joseph Lowenstein, who opened a mercantile from a tent before the railroad arrived. They and their . . . — — Map (db m74398) HM
Jose Leal received six leagues of land in this area in 1833. In 1867, coal was discovered, and the railroad reached Rockdale in 1874. Not until 1890 did the first coal mine, owned by Herman Vogel, begin operation. Others opened, and more settlers . . . — — Map (db m74393) HM
In January 1909, Mary Ann (Coffield) Perry organized the Matinee Musical Club on the front porch of her home at this site. Pearl Cauthon served as the first president of the club, which met regularly to study and perform music. Yearbooks document . . . — — Map (db m74412) HM
Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, organized in 1872 (4.5 mi. W), and Fellowship Baptist Church, formed about 1877 in Minerva (2 mi. N), merged in 1895 to form Mount Zion Baptist Church. The Rev. N. J. Dyer served as first pastor. Services were held in . . . — — Map (db m150955) HM
Originally known as Rockdale Cemetery, Old City Cemetery was established the same year that Rockdale was founded in 1874. Many of Rockdale's early residents and businessmen who helped shape the city are buried in the Old City Cemetery. The . . . — — Map (db m210605) HM
Rockdale owes its founding to the International & Great Northern rail line, along which the town was laid out in 1873-74. The railroad gave area farmers access to markets for their crops, and Rockdale became a shipping point for farmers and other . . . — — Map (db m74406) HM
In the first decades of the twentieth century, affordable roadside accommodations began with campsites equipped with amenities. These eventually developed into cottage style courts in the 1920s. Nathan Monroe (N.M.) Bullock, a member of the State . . . — — Map (db m286862) HM
Established by Franciscan missionaries in 1749 with the hope of civilizing and christianizing the Coco, Mayeye, Orcoquiza, Karankawa, and other tribes of Indians. The martyrdom of Padre Josι Ganzabal and the circumstances connected therewith caused . . . — — Map (db m84661) HM
The Mundine Hotel stood on this site from its construction in 1880 until its destruction by fire in 1888. Completed six years after Rockdale incorporated along the International & Great Northern rail line, the hotel was built near the depot to . . . — — Map (db m210603) HM
Established by Franciscan missionaries in 1749 with the hope of civilizing and christianizing the Coco, Mayeye, Orcoquiza, Karankawa, and other tribes of Indians. The martyrdom of Padre Josι Ganzabal and the circumstances connected therewith caused . . . — — Map (db m84618) HM
Established by Franciscan missionaries in 1749 with the hope of civilizing and christianizing the Coco, Mayeye, Orcoquiza, Karankawa, and other tribes of Indians. The martyrdom of Padre Josι Ganzabal and the circumstances connected therewith caused . . . — — Map (db m84617) HM
Members established this church in 1872, under the guidance of the Rev. Riley Williams. Though buildings have changed, the congregation still gathers on the same land they met on that year. Members have emphasized outreach through both local . . . — — Map (db m210611) HM
In 1947, E.L. Bryan and the Foy Arrington family bought a surplus quonset hut, one of the thousands of the all-purpose metal buildings made during World War II. The hut was moved to Rockdale to become the core of the second movie theater in town. . . . — — Map (db m74395) HM
In the early 20th century, Milam County was growing in
population and developing rapidly thanks to an
agricultural economy fueled by cotton and other crops.
Most smaller rural communities depended on good roads
and infrastructure to get . . . — — Map (db m286933) HM
This church traces its history to 1872, when the Mt. Herman Cumberland Presbyterian Church was founded. It was divided into the Davilla and Leachville congregations in 1893. The Leachville church was renamed Sharp in 1902, the same year this . . . — — Map (db m117611) HM
Abigale (Abigail) McLennan Fokes acquired a Mexican land grant here in 1835. Peter M. Mercer established a blacksmith shop in this area in the early 1840s. His burial in 1844 is the first recorded in this cemetery. Fokes later set aside this site . . . — — Map (db m150843) HM
Noted for its many streams and fertile soil, this area of Texas has long been inhabited. Early European institutions included three 18th-century Spanish missions, as well as a presidio. The following century brought many changes. In 1835, the . . . — — Map (db m150885) HM
A farming and ranching community, Sharp traces its origins to the years immediately after the Civil War when settlers, attracted by the fertile black soil, began arriving in this area. The first business, a store, opened in 1892. It was soon joined . . . — — Map (db m290780) HM
Although members began meeting in January 1902, St. John Lutheran Church formally organized December 26, 1903, under the leadership of the Rev. Carl Roth. The congregation was part of a three-church parish in 1915, members built a sanctuary in the . . . — — Map (db m210584) HM
August Polnick and his family moved from Lee County to Thorndale in 1881. The family were the first recorded Germans and also the first Lutherans in this area. Their former pastor, G. Birkmann, made ministerial visits to Thorndale over the next five . . . — — Map (db m210586) HM
