The families of Isaac Crow, R. T. Spivey, Dr. W. R. Callaway, T. P. Camp, J. E. Watkins, Isom Ferguson, L. B. Pittman, and others began a farming settlement here in the 1860s. John James donated land for a schoolhouse (1872), where church services . . . — — Map (db m208001) HM
This area located west of Floresville was one of the largest ranches in the cattle-driving era. During the 1700s and 1800s, the area, being prime cattle ranch land, dominated the pre-Wilson County economy and served as a gathering point of small . . . — — Map (db m205711) HM
A fearless, colorful, cultured man whose honesty and diplomacy often prevented bloodshed. An 1890's Wilson County Deputy Sheriff. In Frontier Battalion, Texas Rangers. Sheriff, Wilson County, 1902-1917. At request of Texas Adjutant-General, he . . . — — Map (db m192189) HM
Founding officer, Co. D, Texas Rangers.
Had uncles, brother, sons in Rangers and Border Patrol.
Wilson County deputy sheriff, 1896-1900; sheriff, 1902-1917.
While in office reared his family in the jailer's quarters.
Always was armed. . . . — — Map (db m118698) HM
Home of Don Erasmo Seguin
who died here in 1857
By appointment of
the Spanish governor he inducted
Stephen F. Austin into Texas, 1821
Texas Deputy
to the Mexican Congress, 1824
On October 13, 1834
in a convention in Bexar
he . . . — — Map (db m130344) HM
Predates church built 1732 by colonists who arrived 1731, led by Juan Leal Goras. They farmed and raised stock. Their villa, San Fernando, was first municipality in Texas.
Among unmarked graves is that of flamboyant Dona Maria Cavillo. . . . — — Map (db m77412) HM
This cemetery, located on the high east bank of the San Antonio River, served residents of the trading community of Lodi, which declined in the 20th century. Nemencio de la Zerda, Sr., born in San Antonio in 1808, was a rancher, businessman and . . . — — Map (db m206866) HM
Organized before 1876, holding services in schoolhouse until building site was given by W. F. and Jennie Mitchell and J. F. and Martha Prewitt. A small red rock meeting house was built, serving until wrecked by tropical storm in 1886. In 1891, . . . — — Map (db m206892) HM
This congregation was established by The Rev. John Washburn, who came to Texas from Illinois in 1877. He moved to Floresville to become superintendent of the Floresville Academy in May 1878. According to tradition, about 20 charter members attended . . . — — Map (db m130342) HM
Flores Rancho emerged out of lands assigned to Mission Espada and Rancho de las Cabras in the early 1700s. Prior to its current name, the land owned by the mission was called Chayopines, named for the Native Americans who once occupied the area. . . . — — Map (db m207395) HM
The organizational meeting for the Floresville Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. W. C. Agee on October 25, 1875. The Rev. Ichabod Kingsbury led in the congregation's formation and served as first pastor. The six . . . — — Map (db m130341) HM
This burial ground is one of three that served the Old Lodi Settlement. Most of the individuals interred here were Texans of Mexican descent. The oldest known burial is of Polonio Garcia, who died in 1883, though there may be earlier interments. . . . — — Map (db m207401) HM
When this county was created in 1860 by the Eighth Texas Legislature, it was named for Texas patriot James Charles Wilson. A native of England, Wilson (1818-1861) left his homeland in 1836 and by 1839 had settled in Brazoria County, Texas. He . . . — — Map (db m117637) HM
Nelson Mackey (1825-1898), founder of Texas-based Mackey Brick Company, was born Nelson Mackey Laraway in Catskill, New York. He grew up in the Hudson Valley where the name Mackey was synonymous with brick manufacturing. After business ventures . . . — — Map (db m208008) HM
European settlement of this area dates to the early 18th century with the establishment of missions in San Antonio, and missions herdsmen used this area as grazing land for livestock. Until the late 19th century, travelers in this county crossed . . . — — Map (db m206868) HM
Community in an area known by 1720 as land of the Cayopines, a Coahuiltecan Indian tribe. The site was important to Spanish missions of San Antonio, since here along the river their herds were pastured. For the herdsmen, adobe huts were built. After . . . — — Map (db m77421) HM
The Flores de Abrego family came to the New World from northern Spain before the time of the American Revolution. During the 18th century, members of this family brought their cattle northward and established ranches along the San Antonio River. . . . — — Map (db m118697) HM
A ranch chapel
visited regularly and maintained by
the Franciscan missionaries
of San Antonio
near the ancient settlement of
Las Islitas (now Graytown)
Attended by the Canary Islanders,
their descendants, Mexicans, Natives
and . . . — — Map (db m131925) HM
A fortified visita of Mission Espada, founded 1731 in San Antonio. Situated near Paso de las Mujeres ("Crossing of the Women"), an important ford on the San Antonio River, known to most parties obliged to travel between Mexico and San Antonio. . . . — — Map (db m212021) HM
An important landmark in downtown Floresville, this building dates to the earliest years of the 20th century. Although records have not been found to pinpoint the exact date of construction, it was built sometime between 1902 and 1907. A 1909 . . . — — Map (db m130343) HM
Created February 13, 1860
Organized August 6, 1860
Named in honor of
James Charles Wilson
1816 – 1861
Member of the Mier Expedition
District Clerk of Brazoria County, 1844
Senator from Matagorda County
Floresville, . . . — — Map (db m117636) HM
Constructed in 1884, this courthouse replaced one built soon after Floresville was chosen Wilson County seat in 1871. Designed by noted San Antonio architect Alfred Giles, this Italianate structure was constructed of bricks made in a local . . . — — Map (db m118723) HM
In 1880, about sixty families of Polish descent (Silesian Poles) bought the land in this sparsely settled area. After their arrival, the town became known as Kosciuszko, named after the noted Polish American hero, General Thaddeus Kosciuszko. In . . . — — Map (db m131924) HM
Susanna Wilkerson Dickinson (ca. 1814-1883), wife of Almaron Dickinson, killed at the Alamo, survived the battle. General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna gave her a letter dated March 7, 1836 for Sam Houston in Gonzales. Susanna travelled east from . . . — — Map (db m167601) HM
The family of Henry Applewhite (1630-1704), who sailed from England to Jamestown, Virginia, in 1656, remained in Virginia for several generations. Applewhite's descendant, Thomas Applewhite, was born in North Carolina in 1791 and served as a . . . — — Map (db m167784) HM
Beall Cemetery, located in the Young Perry Alsbury Survey, began as a family burial ground on the farm of early settlers Erasmus (Erastus) and Elizabeth Brinkley Beall, parents of six sons and four daughters. The Beall family migrated to Texas . . . — — Map (db m205671) HM
Set to work U.D. June 23, 1858. Chartered June 16, 1859. Named for Dr. Robt. W. Brahan. John Rhodes King, first Worshipful Master. Members included veterans of Texas War for Independence, Mier Expedition, Mexican War, Indian campaigns. They . . . — — Map (db m167780) HM
John Murphy McAlister (1807-1885) and his wife, Isabella (McClain) (1817-1872), settled in La Vernia with their family in the early 1850s. In 1857, they purchased several hundred acres of land on the southwest bank of Cibolo Creek. The natural . . . — — Map (db m167561) HM
During the Mexican Administration of Texas, a road connected the settlement of Gonzales in the DeWitt Colony to San Antonio de Bexar, known as the Gonzales Road approximately twenty two miles east of San Antonio, the road crossed the Cibolo Creek, . . . — — Map (db m167597) HM
This oak tree was grown from an acorn saved from the Deaf Smith tree which stood for almost 180 years on what is now the Circle N Dairy, about 300 yards from FM 775, near the Wilson-Guadalupe County line. In 1835, high up in that tall oak, where . . . — — Map (db m167731) HM
This cemetery traces its beginnings to the formation of Immanuel Lutheran Church of La Vernia, which began in 1901. The congregation, mostly of German descent, soon found itself in need of a cemetery. In 1902, Gustav and Bertha Schroeder donated . . . — — Map (db m167788) HM
German immigrants settled in the nearby New Berlin community on Elm Creek in the 1870s and founded a congregation known as Christ Lutheran Church. After the arrival of the San Antonio and Gulf Railroad in 1893, many church members moved to La . . . — — Map (db m167657) HM
Established about 1846 or 1847 by Claiborne Rector, who built a stage stop and blacksmith shop here to serve travelers on the Chihuahua Road, a major trail in early Texas. Main Street today follows route of the old road. Settlement was called . . . — — Map (db m167673) HM
Post Oak Zion Evangelical Church organized 1885. In 1886 it's bell was dedicated. A storm destroyed the chapel in 1929. It was rebuilt in 1940. In 1946 the Evangelicals and United Brethren in Christ merged into the Evangelical United Brethren . . . — — Map (db m167840) HM
Earliest services of this church were held near here, at Bethesda, in 1853 by The Rev. J.S. McGee, a circuit rider. In 1876, La Vernia Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was organized with The Rev. John E. Vernor as pastor. By tradition the . . . — — Map (db m167782) HM
The oil discovery in this field in 1955 was the most extensive and significant in the area. It was preceded, however, by several earlier strikes. Maple C. Hughes, a wealthy rice farmer from Louisiana, drilled the Austin Chalk formation on property . . . — — Map (db m167560) HM
Mexican cart road from central Mexico to Texas Coast at Indianola. Route of marauding Indians as well as Alsatian, German, Polish, Irish immigrants seeking freedom in New World. After 1835 was important in gold and silver exporting; in 1850s for . . . — — Map (db m167675) HM
Joseph Henry Polley (1795-1869) was born in Whitehall, New York to Jonathan and Rachel Hubbard Polley. He later moved to Missouri, where he was a friend of Moses Austin, with whom he traveled to Texas in 1820. The next year, he returned to Texas . . . — — Map (db m167557) HM
This bell from the Rector Chapel rang for church services and community emergencies. Built in 1876, the Rector Chapel Presbyterian Church was the first Church organized in La Vernia. Originally located across the Cibolo on FM 2772 where the Rector . . . — — Map (db m167730) HM
William Robert Wiseman (1816-1888) was a successful farmer and owned the first cotton gin in La Vernia. William Claiborne Rector (1805-1873), a hero of San Jacinto, farmed, served as postmaster and provided horses for the local stage line. The two . . . — — Map (db m209260) HM
Following the Civil War, two brothers, both Union veterans, moved from Zanesville, Ohio to Texas. Isaac Suttles (c. 1840-1884), who wed Mary Ann McBride in 1866, appears in the 1870 census for Seguin, where he worked at Wilson Potteries. Records . . . — — Map (db m167774) HM
Built by Joseph Polley (1795-1869), one of "Old 300" settlers of Stephen F. Austin, and the first Austin colony sheriff. From Fort Bend and Austin counties, he at last settled here, where he had cattle herds called largest in Texas. In 1847-51 he . . . — — Map (db m211995) HM
Most of Saspamco’s early population was derived from Mexican immigrant laborers employed by the San Antonio Sewer Pipe Works Company. The laborers of the sewer pipe factory and other local residents wanted a place of worship. The land for a church . . . — — Map (db m208745) HM
Congregation organized 1871 by the Rev. R.M. Leaton, with 2 charter members. Circuit riders first held services here in a picket schoolhouse. J.R. King, early Texas settler, patriot, and state legislator, gave this site in 1876 for church. Present . . . — — Map (db m167392) HM
Adventurer-soldier of early Texas. Fought in Mexico to win freedom for the unsuccessful "Republic of Rio Grande" in 1840. Was elected sheriff of Refugio County and organized a company of minutemen. In 1842 he fought against three Mexican raids . . . — — Map (db m203596) HM
This home was constructed in 1898 for Robert and Rachel Emma (King) Smith. Rachel was the daughter of John R. King, an early Texas military and political leader. His descendants have owned the home since its construction, except for the years . . . — — Map (db m208005) HM
The community of Nockenut began in 1857, when a number of German and Polish immigrants settled in this area. Originally located in Guadalupe County, it became part of Wilson County after a boundary change in 1869. A post office opened in 1858, and . . . — — Map (db m207564) HM
Before the Stockdale Cemetery was begun in the 1870s, most burials in the area took place in private, family graveyards. About 1873, however, a young man who was not related to any of the local settlers was thrown from his horse and killed. To . . . — — Map (db m203487) HM
Stockdale Baptists organized their church in 1874 in a picket building. They met there or in a mill house or schoolhouse for years. The Rev. L.S. Cox was the first pastor. In 1885, under Pastor E. Norwood. The congregation erected its first church . . . — — Map (db m167393) HM
Last governor of Confederate Texas. Legal scholar and statesman. Born in Kentucky. Admitted to the bar there. Came to Texas in the 1840s. Bought and developed extensive coastal lands. President in 1859 of the Indianola Railroad. Later Legal . . . — — Map (db m167394) HM
Alabama natives Emory Crawford Barker (1839-1914) and Leah Humphreys (1842-1931) both came to the area with their families in the early 1850s. Emory served in Co. G of Terry’s Texas Rangers during the Civil War. He and Leah married in 1866 and had . . . — — Map (db m205637) HM
Pattillo “Pat” Higgins was born in 1910 in Houston to Pattillo “Bud” Higgins, Sr. and Annie Jahn Higgins. Bud owned oil properties in Chambers and Bexar Counties and, in 1925, began to purchase land in Sutherland Springs. . . . — — Map (db m167547) HM
Outstanding early-day Southwest Texas Health Spa. Had 27 flavors of mineral water, from over 100 hot and cold springs. (Indians used curative waters here before white settlement.) Resort was founded in 1848 by Dr. John Sutherland (1792-1867), who . . . — — Map (db m167490) HM
Dr. John Sutherland (1792-1867), a native of Danville, Virginia, came to Texas in 1835. While helping the Texians prepare to defend the Alamo against the Mexican army in 1836, he suffered an accident with his horse, rendering him unable to fight. . . . — — Map (db m211544) HM
The Sutherland Springs Community was founded by Dr. John Sutherland and Joseph H. Polley in the 1850s. Both men were concerned with the need for a school in Sutherland Springs where social institutions had not yet developed. Early schools were . . . — — Map (db m167491) HM
