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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHeritage Brazos Summer 2007Summer 2007 i UPCOMING EVENTS: Flag Retirement Ceremony June 14th, Flag Day 6:30- 8:00pm Heritage Park Co-sponsored by American Legion Post 159 Independence Day Celebration July 4th 9:30am- Noon Heritage Park INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Notes from the t 2007 Annual Meeting Brazos Valley Regional History Fair i Reprinting of book "Life and Death of 2 Boon Meet the New President and Vice President 3 "Flashback to the '40s" 3 Camegie Echoes 3 2007 Membership Form B R A Z O S H E R I T A G E S O C I E T Y NOTES F R O M THE 2007 ANNUAL MEETING The 2007 Annual Meeting was held at the Brazos County Courthouse on April 23rd. The meeting was called to order at 7:10pm. After an introduction by Randy Haynes, Dr. Robert Johnson of the CRS Center at Texas A &M gave a talk on the local history of the architec- tural firm Caudill Rowlett Scott. CRS began in College Station after World War II, and grew to be the largest architectural firm in the country. CRS's first office was in Southgate with eight founding partners who emphasized the impor- tance of process rather than product and teamwork rather than 'prima donna' archi- tects. CRS was one of the earliest firms to do research and used resources at Texas A &M to do so, becoming known for its expertise on air circulation. Several local CRS buildings survive: the Caudill House (Bryan, 1946), Murdock House (Bryan, 1948), Wack House (CS, 1949), Caudill House (CS, 1953), and the County Court House (1956). In 2006, CRS was named the "Firm of the Century." Randy closed Dr. Johnson's speech by observing that the Brazos Valley is losing places that are not Victorian houses, stressing that post -war build- ings (such as the Caudill House) are important pieces of local heritage too. The minutes of the 2006 An- nual Meeting were approved. A slideshow of highlights from 2006 events was presented, including the July 4th celebra- tion and the many partici- pants in the Victorian Christ- mas Stroll. Homes are needed for the 2007 holiday event. Randy proposed working on a history of the Bryan Air Base which was once on the short list for the Air Force Academy, noting that there are "lots of opportunities" out there for local projects. The idea of reprinting Marga- ret van Bavel's book about Boodle was discussed (please see page 2). The 2007 budget proposal was approved, with some differences from the 2006 budget. The new president and vice president were voted in after a report from the nominating committee (please see below). The meeting was adjourned at 8:30pm. B R A Z O S VALLEY REGIONAL HISTORY F A I R The Brazos Heritage Society recently helped sponsor the Brazos Valley Regional History Fair at the Star of the Republic Museum in Washington -on- the - Brazos. This history fair consists of competition categories such as historical papers, exhibits, documentaries, performances and websites at the junior high and senior high levels. This year's fair drew 162 students who en- tered 88 projects. Local winners included Franco Bettati from St. Michael's Academy in Bryan, and Joshua Connelly, Heather Connelly, Cody Welch and Jessalyn Welch from the Brazos Area Homeschool Association. .(le- P A G E 2 •H E R IT AG E BR A Z O S REPRINTING OF BOOK "LIFE AND DEATH OF BOON'OVILLE" As noted in the Winter 2007 Heritage Brazos, we are making plans to re -print Mrs. Margaret Lips Van Bavel's 1986 book, "Life and Death of Boonville." We believe that the book will be a good way for the Brazos Heritage Society to introduce itself to more members of the community. T Brazos Valley Museum is a interested in selling the book, and we are currently working on a business proposal for the reprinting. Mrs. van Bavel could not be present at our annual meeting herself but instead sent the following letter about the making of the book. After the letter was read at the meeting, those Society members who were present agreed that it would be a fitting introduction to the reprinted book. RE'B/RTH OF THE GHOST TOWN OF BOON , / It is with regret that I can- not personally be present to relate the story of the work that went into the unveiling of the first county seat of Brazos County. I believe as an immigrant, who came to the United States in 1948 with my husband Corne- lius, I ought to give some- thing back for all the free- dom and privileges we have enjoyed in this coun- try. I organized in 1979 a tree planting program to com- memorate the Bicenten- nial Year. It resulted in more than 300 trees always placed. As I be- came more familiar with the names, I came to the conclusion that I needed to do some research in the archives of the county in the courthouse. There I found a wealth of informa- tion in the deed books and the minutes of the county commissioners meetings. Just how the cemetery was related to Boonville came to light when I found the town site on a large old tax map with the town plan penciled in. We asked a Texas A &M surveying team to fly over the area and make an infrared photo- graph. The old fence lines planted in Bryan and Col- lege Station. Since my children were leaving home to study and only two of the eight were still at home, I had more time to take on another project to benefit the county. I read an account of the terribly neglected Boon- ville cemetery, where fences were down, cows could walk around and people dumped discarded appliances and other househ trash. The County Commissioners were willing to pick up the debris and gave me a small grant to get help from three minority high made it possible to locate the town on a modern map (See page 8 in my book). I spent many hours on my feet, balancing the beautifully written deed books in competition with landmen looking for own- ership of land for oil rights, when oil was found in Brazos County. The pioneers wanted to plant a cash crop and tried to grow cotton, that meant having slaves to work the fields. Slaves were regis- tered in the deeds at hun- dreds of dollars. They were registered by first name, as "William of dark (or light) complexion, in school students. It was obvious to me that this was a very historic place but it was not known at first how it was related to the town site. I decided to do some research and place the headstones as far as possible on a map and a numbered file card system. A young mother by the name of Mary Bejin- ski and her three children helped with the registra- tion of the graves. It was hard to make a correct map because there was no pattern to the layout. In 1890 the county com- missioners asked the good health, and a slave for life." An elected officer of the county was paid in land around the square. A Mrs. Millican sold her fa- vorite slave Nancy to her beloved son for $1. Slaves could be sold only. The latter was elected sheriff and being a bachelor needed a woman to cook for prisoners in the jail. The map of Boonville on page 67 was found in the deed books. There was an earlier town plan that was discarded because there were too many lots and not enough land for crops in each. Such town plans came out of books. sheriff to register the graves and to collect money as a fee. I have searched and not found any evidence of a map. In the early years the county commissioners de- cided that the area within a circular road was to be used for whites only. The blacks were to be buried outside of the perimeter. I once received a phone call from a funeral service that someone who had died wanted to be buried next to his brother, but in digging the grave they came twice upon a coffin. Would I please come with my map? This was proof also on the white side stones were not It took me two years to do the research in my spare time. The book was pub- lished in the sesquicenten- nial year celebrating the independence of Texas. The county commissioners reluctantly accepted the public ownership of the cemetery and from then on many improvements were made. Especially Mr. Billie Bird took a great interest and helped to erect the beautiful entrance fence. It is my hope that the ceme- tery will be treasured and maintained for many years to come. r� Margaret van Bavel April 2007 PAGE 3 HrERITAG E BRAZOS MEET THE NEW PRESIDENT AND VICE PRE'SIDE'NT Doug O'Brien rew up in Houston and attended Texas A &M University and Southwest Texas State University. Having earned degrees in political science, geography and plan- ning, he now works as the Geographic Information Sys- tems Coordinator for Brazos County and also as part-time faculty at Blinn College. He and his wife Robin have been married 14 years and have three daughters. He has lived in Brazos County for the majority of the last 19 years. We are happy to welcome our new Heritage Society President. Glynnis Gore Miller moved t"razos County in April of 1991. She is married to Steve Miller and together they have a 2 year -old child named Luke. She was an Assistant District Attorney in Brazos County for over 13 years. She is now serving as a Juvenile Magistrate, which is a part-time position. She has lived in the historic district in Bryan since 1994. Please welcome our new Heritage Society Vice President when you see her. B R A Z O S H E R I T A G E SOCIETY P R E S E N T S AN O L D- F A S H I O N ED 4 T H OF JULY C E L E B R A T I O N "FLASHBACK TO THE 11 40S" Please join us for the 2007 Old Fashioned 4th of July Celebration, 1940's style. We are proud to announce that the "Texas Gypsies" will be performing at our celebration this year. The "Texas Gypsies" is a professional band from the Dallas area that has been given rave reviews by "The Dallas Morning News" and other sources around the state. The celebration will begin at 9:30am with the flag raising and Pledge of Allegiance lead by the Sojourn- ers. The band will then take the stage at 10:00am with two guitarists, a vio- linist, and a bass player to entertain us with their own style of "acoustic swing." We would like to honor our Veterans from WWII at the celebration and en- courage them to bring any pictures or memorabilia from that time to display on our "Heritage Heroes" table. We will also have crafts, games, and a children's parade to entertain the younger folks. For more information contact Amanda Hermes at 823 -7918. C A R N E G I E E C H O E S B Y N A N C Y R O S S DiD YOU KNOW? Did you know that one unexpected benefit of using the Dewey Decimal System for state books is browsing assistance? Dewey call numbers arrange contiguous counties together. Therefore, the books for Robertson (976.4239), Madison (976.4237), Burleson (976.4241) and Brazos Counties (976.4242) are shelved near each other. However, that benefit disappears when a book contains information on more than one county. It is also a problem for collections arranged alphabetically by county. The Carnegie has received a Texas atlas showing land owners. Although the only date given is "latest edition ", maps from as early as the 1880's and as late as 1926 are included. The pages are currently being encapsulated so they can be used by the public. Warning, pages are only 12" by 17" so some of the owner's names are nearly impossible to read! We do, however, have magnifying glasses. Nancy McCraw Ross Carnegie Librarian THEY ASK YOU, DO YOU REALLY WANT TO MISS OUT ON ALL THE FUN? Ittt�ttttttt�lttett it1itttltltltttftlitIII 1 I i j ii iZ61 %J. geA—U 0 asz yes 3: 7 ZouL - 4x— z)s A-em Fu€ FTt9 fill ttt�t�t�tet�� ►tlilta111et JisOd sn -jLL wo,d Dailew Looelvot90 a - (A N 3 M 9999COZ9r6VO ( n o woo' oou t @jo}o@11pa�eluay OLL IV 1331M, Z€ NOuvziHaNiniT 908LL sexal'ueGB tN31qdMS 9LLZ X '0'd SEND IN YOUR HERITAGE SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP FORM TODAY & VOLUNTEER FOR AN EVENT!