Joe Herring Jr.

The Scofield School for Girls, around 1910.
Photograph courtesy of the Neunhoffer family.

A kind reader asked me to share some of the history of the Scofield School, and I was surprised, when looking through my files, to learn I'd never shared the school's story here.
Overlooking town from a hill south of the river, above Riverhills Automotive Center on highway 173, is an old school building, barely visible from the highway. I hear it's in pretty poor shape now, though I haven't visited the place for a number of years.
But at one time that old building was quite special.
In October 1909, when Miss Sarah Scofield opened her "Scofield School for Girls," it was front-page news. The little town of Kerrville was delighted to have the new school here. The building was new, and the faculty was exceptional. It was a big deal.
Miss Scofield was an educator from San Antonio, and had been the principal of the San Antonio High School. She was a graduate of Mount Holyoke College, class of 1886. She would own the new school in Kerrville, serve as its principal, and also teach history and English.
Joining her were Miss Minette Leichmueller, graduate of the Chicago School of Art, who would teach German and art. Miss Elizabeth Gillmore, graduate of Stanford University, would teach physical culture, mathematics, and natural science. Miss Clara Herzog, graduate of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, would teach music and voice culture. The story lists some of her roles with various companies, both in the U.S. and in Europe. Miss Ethel Keller, graduate of the University of Tennessee, would lead the primary department, and also domestic science. Miss Marie Lapton would teach a class of dramatic expression.
The editor of the Kerrville Mountain Sun, J. E. Grinstead, did not spare praise in his story:
"No more worthy enterprise has been inaugurated in Kerrville since its founding than this school. It is not only a source of satisfaction and pride to the people of Kerrville, but is a boon to parents who desire to place their daughters in a high-class, select school for girls, where they have every advantage of study and training that is offered by any school of this class, and at the same time have thrown around them the spirit of wholesome home life."
Earlier in the year he'd written the Scofield School "will meet the requirements of a great number of ranchmen who desire to place their daughters in a school of the first class, but at the same time have them nearby."
Ads for the Scofield School, in the following years, described its mission as "a select school for girls, the purpose of which is to fit young women for their place in life. This school combines healthfulness of location, excellent curriculum, and home training."
I know of one student of the school who is still among us: Clarabelle Snodgrass, the community's premier historian, who attended Scofield School in the 1920s. There may be other former students of the school still living, but I am not aware of any in our area.
In my collection of Kerr County historical items, I have several from the Scofield School: photographs, generously provided by several families, including the Neunhoffer family. I also have the embosser which would apply the school's seal to its diplomas, which a kind lady in another state sent to me -- knowing it should remain here in Kerrville.
It's sad, really, if the old building has fallen into disrepair. During my last visit there it was in decent shape, though it would have taken some money to fully repair the old structure.
And it's especially sad that the school, which one writer considered the most worthy enterprise since the founding of Kerrville, is now mostly forgotten.
Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times July 11, 2015.

I often post historic photographs on my Facebook page. If you'd like to visit that page, here's the link: www.facebook.com/joe.herring

Recently I gave a presentation at the Schreiner Mansion, where I paired historic photographs with snaps I'd taken that day with my phone. I did this because I realized most people haven't studied area photographs as I have, and so it's sometimes confusing to know where an historic photo was taken. So I took a copy of each historic photograph with me, and tried to find the exact spot where the old photograph was taken -- and then I took a photo with my cellphone. Over the next few Wednesdays, I'll publish the results here. Please feel free to share these with your friends.

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Parade, 14th annual Saengerfest, September 1896.
The parade is marching down Mountain Street (now called Earl Garrett Street),
toward Water Street.

The scene as it looks today.

I often post historic photographs on my Facebook page. If you'd like to visit that page, please visit www.facebook.com/joe.herring

The Schreiner Wool and Mohair Commission Company warehouse, 1937

Few today realize how important wool is in the story of our community.
The earliest settlers usually brought other livestock, horses and cattle. Sheep arrived later, when Caspar Real brought in the first flock in 1857, to his ranch on Turtle Creek, though that first flock did not do well, and had to be moved back to Bexar county.
Real didn't give up, and tried again later. Meanwhile, S. B. Rees brought a different flock of sheep to our county at his ranch near the mouth of Turtle Creek. Other ranchers brought in additional flocks, but the "sheep business was in an experimental stage until about 1875," according to a history of our community written by Matilda Marie Real.
Many of the most recognizable names from our county's history were involved in those early days of sheep raising: Rees, Schwethelm, Schreiner, Real, Burney, Starkey, Tivy, Coldwell, and Moore.
By 1879 an organization had been formed by the wool growers of Kerr county, for their mutual assistance, and twenty-four charter members began what became a major industry in our community.
According to Bob Bennett's book on our county, "one of the biggest problems that confronted the pioneer sheep and goat men was finding a ready market for their products. Lack of transportation and the distance from eastern markets plagued the industry for years before the problem was solved largely through the business acumen of Capt. Charles Schreiner, who instituted a cooperative market and warehouse system which remains in use today [1956] in all major wool and mohair producing areas of the nation.
"Captain Schreiner...established his store in Kerrville in 1869. He stored wool clips of the early sheep raisers and sold the wool on consignment, freighting to San Antonio by ox teams. As sheep raising thrived and increased, Capt. Schreiner's wool business expanded and outgrew his original store and he enlarged his facilities from time to time."
In fact, an argument could be made that income from wool and mohair helped save many a ranch in the hill country, because it allowed for diversification, and offered income several times a year. And there is also evidence this industry fueled a great part of Captain Charles Schreiner's personal wealth, perhaps to a greater degree than did any of his many other interests.
An original wall of Schreiner's downtown wool warehouse still stands; it is the curved wall of the Schreiner Building (and current home of CarteWheels Caterers), the wall which is parallel and closest to Sidney Baker Street.
Even that larger warehouse was soon too small to handle the business, and in 1935 the Schreiner Wool & Mohair Commission Company built a new warehouse on McFarland Street in Kerrville. Bennett writes the new warehouse had a capacity of four million pounds of wool and mohair.
Meanwhile, in Ingram, another large wool and mohair commission warehouse was operated by J. W. Priour, Sr., and his sons J. W. and Dale Priour.
The Ingram location suffered a major fire years ago and was not rebuilt, but the Priour family stayed in the wool and mohair business, including through Ranchman's Wool and Mohair, which operates out of the old warehouse on McFarland Street.
Several folks have stopped by to let me know that warehouse is closing, and Ranchman's is referring business to the Priour-Varga warehouse in Rocksprings, meaning the last wool warehouse in Kerr County is closing.
Wool has been a very important industry for our county -- and wool growers will continue to make contributions here for many years to come. It's an industry with a rich tradition here.
Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who can usually tell the difference between a sheep and a goat, though it sometimes takes several guesses. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times July 18, 2015.

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The building, when it was a Service Station, sometime in the early 1950s.
I believe this building started out as the Cone Car Company's service department,
and was built around 1926.

The building as it appears today, home of the Voelkel Engineering company.
Interesting factoid about the building: it has been owned by two separate Kerrville city managers,
first by G. S. Cone (who planted the cork trees by the old city hall),
and later by Dellie Voelkel.

I often post historic photographs on my Facebook page. If you'd like to visit that page, please visit www.facebook.com/joe.herring

Students at Kerrville's Doyle School, 1947
Click on image to enlarge

This weekend the Doyle Exes Club will hold its reunion, a celebration of former students of Kerrville's Doyle School, which was a segregated school for African American students. The school closed in 1966 when all students were integrated into one school system.
Though the school represented racial division of our community, with students separated by race, and with funding inequalities between the two separate systems, many of the former students have justifiable pride in their former school, and are proud to be part of the Purple and White of Doyle High School.
That's because, despite the injustice of the situation, Doyle School had great teachers and support from its families -- and because of their determination, students received an excellent education there. The hurdles the school and its students faced were not fair, but the school overcame them with grace and strength.
According to a history of the school, the "first records of black students finishing a course of study in the Kerrville area was in 1885 when three students graduated from the tenth grade. There were only two more records of graduates between 1885 and 1900. However, from 1900 until the integration of the black school [completed in the mid-1960s], complete records are on file.
"The first record of a black school in Kerrville was in 1909. A new white school was built and one of the old buildings was given to the black community. In order to have the frame structure moved, they would have to come up with the money to have it moved. The black community raised $53 to move the structure to their property." Sources differ as to where that first school was sited, though it was likely near the intersection of Schreiner and Francisco Lemos streets; other sources say an early name for the school was the "Cabbage Hill School."
Early teachers in that school included a Mr. Burton, and later Mrs. A. W. (Annie) Doyle. It was for Mrs. Doyle that the school was named, though it was named for her much later, when Mr. and Mrs. B. T. Wilson arrived at the school in the early 1940s.
In the late 1930s a new building was built for the school, for a cost of $5,171. The new building had three classrooms, an auditorium, two restrooms, and two storage rooms. The school was called the "Kerrville Colored School." Changing the school's name was one of the first things the Wilsons did -- and they chose to honor Mrs. Doyle, who, for many years, had been the school's only teacher, and who had donated the land for the school.
In 1942, B. T. Wilson wrote the school's alma mater. I've enjoyed hearing former students proudly sing of the Purple and White, most recently at the funeral of Itasco Wilson, B. T. Wilson's widow, and an educator at the school.
The Doyle Exes Club was organized in 1980 with Mr. Walter Edmonds, Sr., as its first president. Soon after, Mrs. Earline Smith led the group, and the group's first reunion was held in 1981.
The group gets together to remember their school days, of course, but they've also provided scholarships to college-bound students for many years.
There has been some talk that this weekend's event will be the last reunion. Many of the surviving students are facing the issues you'd expect for a group of people who graduated from high school more than fifty years ago -- health and mobility issues. But, as a friend told me, you never know: there might be more reunions in the future. This group has a history of overcoming adversity.
This is a big weekend for the community: not only is the Doyle reunion scheduled for this weekend, but on Saturday morning a historical marker is scheduled to be unveiled at the Famous Door, home of one of the oldest black-owned businesses in the community.
Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who has very fond memories of B. T. and Itasco Wilson. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times July 25, 2015.

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The Cascade Pool, at the end of Earl Garrett Street, where
Earl Garrett met the Guadalupe River bluff.
In the background, you can see the back of the Arcadia Theater, above
the dressing rooms for the pool.

The back of the Charles Schreiner Bank (most recently BankAmerica)
sits where the pool once stood.
Earl Garrett Street no longer extends to the bluff.

I often post historic photographs on my Facebook page. If you'd like to visit that page, please visit www.facebook.com/joe.herring

I recently read a popular book about a long cattle drive, a work of fiction set in the 1870s. While the book was enjoyable, I often found myself wondering "could this have happened in the 1870s?"
Often it was a little detail that made me ask this question. Sometimes it was a bit of dialogue; other times, some of the cowboys' work gear; and on other pages, some natural phenomena in the story which didn't seem plausible.
I certainly don't mean my comments about the novel I read to be a review or criticism of the book. It was enjoyable, and for all I know, an accurate picture of the time in which the story took place.
But reading that book made me wonder about history.
When I was in school, the study of history was largely the memorization of dates and facts. ("In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue," etc.) We learned the names of presidents, kings, authors, artists, and a few villains. We read about wars, memorized maps, and distinguished between allies and enemies. We learned about technology, and how it changed communities, from the making of bronze to the invention of the steam engine.
I'm certainly no expert on the 1870s, nor on cattle drives. I'm really not an expert on anything, though I do carry around a library of the history of this community in my head, willing or not. I can bore anyone with the Kerr County trivia I know, just ask my children. I know I am not an historian. I guess I aspire to be a storyteller.
The story of our community -- and of the families who helped build our part of Texas -- is what interests me, in part because I've lived my entire life in the community they built.
The part of our community's story from the 1870s, the time setting of the novel I read, is not very detailed. In fact, with every decade back from the present day, the story gets a little thinner. In my collection of Kerr County photographs, I have a great number from the 1940s to the 1970s. Fewer from the 1900s to the 1940s. Very few from 1890 to 1900. Only two or three which might be older than 1890. I have one, that I know of, from the 1870s: a portrait of the founder of Kerrville, Joshua D. Brown, along with his wife Sarah Goss Brown, and their young son, Alonzo Potter Brown. That image was scanned, by a friend, from a tintype.
In addition, most of the online resources I regularly use offer similar scarcity. The service I use to read old newspapers has a decent collection of local newspapers, though the older the newspaper, the fewer issues are available. Prior to 1900 there are very few local newspapers available, and I have to scout other newspapers, such as those published in San Antonio or Galveston, for mentions of Kerr County.
Without a good source of photographs or news articles, my research on local subjects prior to 1880 tends to rely upon published history books and articles, unpublished letters and diaries, legal documents, and, very rarely, sketches or maps. The unpublished sources often provide an only incomplete picture, or one that can be easily misunderstood, especially when colored by the experiences of the observer.
A modern observer often applies his own experiences and knowledge to an artifact, whether a photograph or a letter. For example, when learning about the earliest cabins in Kerrville, which had neither running water or electricity, one might instantly conclude they were primitive and life in them was difficult. But the persons who lived there might have considered such a place quite luxurious, especially when compared to living in a tent, or out on the open ground.
We'd look at the cabin and think it was awful; those who lived there would see it as home, and possibly a fine home, at that.
I suppose what I'm trying to convey is this: getting the stories of the past just right is difficult. It's easy to let our modern views slip in, without even realizing such is happening. It's easy to misinterpret the story from the artifacts we have. It's easier to be wrong than it is to be right.
I'm not sure it's even possible to tell stories of our community's past accurately (aside from the names and the dates), but I'm glad so many people here try.
Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who enjoys a good story. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times August 1, 2015.

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Water Street, looking southeast, around mid-1950s.

The intersection today.

I often post historic photographs on my Facebook page. If you'd like to visit that page, please visit www.facebook.com/joe.herring

My friend Clint Morris shared the following photographs with me of a saloon coin he's run across. I recognize the name Weston, of course: Francisco's Restaurant is the the Weston Building. But I don't recognize the name of the bar, nor do I know exactly where it might have been. I could assume it was in what would later be called the Weston Building, but I'm not sure.

Click on any image to enlarge.

Gus's Bar & Restaurant trading token, date unknown.

A nickel may have been enough for a beer.

My fellow local history sleuth Lanza Teague let me copy a paper her aunt, Anna Belle Council Roland, wrote several decades ago, a monograph titled "The Growing Pains of a Shingle Camp: the Story of a Town."
I love documents like these -- because it's inevitable I find in them something new about our community's history.
Take, for instance, the layout of Kerrville soon after its founding.
Ms. Council quotes Albert Enderle, an early settler of Kerrville:
"I came to Kerrville in the fall of 1873. The town was very small, there being about 20 to 25 houses, I suppose. Captain Tivy's house being on the outskirts of town on that side. His field ran from Main Street down Tivy Street to Water Street to Quinlan Creek."
Captain Tivy's house was likely the Tivy Hotel, which originally occupied the corner of Main and Tivy Streets. In 1873, it was on the eastern edge of town.
Mr. Enderle continues:
"From the Ice Plant [which was near the intersection of Washington and Water streets] to A Street was another field. This field belonged to Christian Dietert."
In fact, during this time, the Dietert family operated the Kerrville post office. Christian was the postmaster, but his wife, Rosalie, actually did the work and ran the office. Their home was near Spring Street, opposite the front doors of the Notre Dame Catholic Church sanctuary.
"Mr. Stanford had a field between Earl Garrett and Washington streets, from Jefferson Street to the hill." Mr. Stanford's house was on the corner of Washington and Jefferson streets, about where the First Presbyterian Church sanctuary stands today.
"D. Michon had a field between Sidney Baker and Clay Street from the railroad track to the old cemetery." The railroad track would have been along today's Schreiner Street; the cemetery is still there, across Holdsworth Drive from the football stadium. I believe I've seen a tombstone there with the Michon family name; that stone is in French.
Mr. Enderle's description continues: "The land between Quinlan and Town Creek was covered with timber. It was owned by Mr. Bowman who later sold it to Dr. G. R. Parsons and Captain Charles Schreiner. Dr. Parsons took the upper part, which is called Parson's Addition.
"Christian Dietert had a saw mill where the ice plant is now [near today's intersection of Washington and Water streets, on the bluff by the river]. Lots of cypress logs were scattered about the place which were sawed into lumber.
"The post office was back of the Wall residence near the river. The mail was brought on horseback about twice a week from Comfort. Mr. Dietert was postmaster for about twenty years.
"Faltin and Schreiner had a store where the Charles Schreiner Company is now. It was a lumber building about 16x30 feet with a shed room about 8x30 feet.
"The courthouse was a one room log house about halfway between Sidney Baker and Earl Garrett facing Jefferson Street. The jail was about 30 feet back from the site of the present jail. The jail was a small rock building of two stories. The prisoners were let down with a ladder and the ladder was pulled up again. It was enclosed with cedar posts about 24 or [2]5 feet high and the posts were pointed on top.
"Mr. and Mrs. Hughs had a boarding house where the Dixie Theater now is. [This would have been in the 800 block of Water Street, where the River's Edge Gallery is today.]
Most of that block's interior, behind the buildings, "was all covered with cedar poles.
"John E. Ochse had a store where the Catholic church is," Enderle said. That would have been the old Catholic church on the corner of Washington and Main streets, which is now used for administrative offices.
There's a lot of material in Ms. Council's report, and I'll cover some more next week. Until then, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who learned a lot from Annie Lee Herring. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times August 8, 2015.

My friend Lanza Teague, who shares my interest in local history, recently let me copy a manuscript written by her aunt Anna Belle Council Roland, entitled "The Growing Pains of a Shingle Camp: the Story of a Town."
The handwritten document is full of interesting stories about our community's history. Since Kerrville schools are soon starting their new fall terms, I thought it might be interesting to share some local school history gleaned from Ms. Roland's document.
Her earliest mention of a local school tells about the one started in 1857, a year after Kerr County was organized, and Kerrville made its county seat.
"In the fall or winter of 1857, William E. Pafford began teaching the children of [Kerrville] in the county courthouse. Those children whose parents were unable to pay were sent to school at the expense of the county. Pafford was paid $73.25 per indigent [student]."
That first courthouse, which served as Kerrville's first school, was tiny, made of logs, and stood on Jefferson Street opposite today's courthouse square, about where the Grimes Funeral Chapels stands today. The first commissioners court meeting issued the following order: ""that there be a contract made by the County Court for the building of a temporary Court House in Kerrville, to be built as follows: Of logs sixteen feet long, skelped down and to be eight feet high, the cracks to be boarded up, sawed rafters and good shingle roof with gable ends well done up, good batten door strongly hung and corners sawed down."
Other schools were mentioned which came after that first school.
"For a time after the Civil War school was held at the corner of Water and Sidney Baker [about where National Car Rental stands today]. It was later moved to John Ochse's store at the corner of Washington and Main [about where the old sanctuary of the Notre Dame Catholic Church stands today].
"In 1878 a rock school house was bought. It was known as the Masonic or Quinlan Building. The upper story was not occupied by the school. This building stood on the corner of Main and Sidney Baker [again, where the National Car Rental car lot stands today].
"At a later time a two room school building was constructed on Jefferson Street. Professor J. C. Lord and Miss Jennie Bayles were employed as teachers. Because the male students were organized into a military company and drilled, Lord called the school 'Guadalupe Institute.'"
It wasn't until 1889 that the present school system had its beginnings.
"For over thirty years after the settlement of Kerrville, the school had no permanent home. Captain Joseph A. Tivy realized the need for a school, and expressed a wish to donate land for that purpose. Since it was necessary for the town to be incorporated to receive this gift, the town hastened to comply. Shortly afterwards, [Captain Tivy] made two deeds which he conveyed to the city: 16.23 acres out of tract 115 just east of tract 116, the original tract of the town in 1857. One of the deeds stipulated 'the land shall forever be used exclusively for a building or buildings in which to conduct the public free schools of the said town of Kerrville, Texas, and for the playgrounds and ornamental grounds in connection with the said building and other uses and purposes as commonly pertain and are germane to public institutions of learning.'
"Construction of the new school was begun in 1890, and the school opened in 1891 with an enrollment of 250. In 1895, Tivy had its first graduating class of three students."
From those first three graduates have come thousands of additional scholars. It is my hope this new school year is successful and safe -- for students, faculty, and all those who help educate our young people in Kerrville.
Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native and a Tivy High School graduate. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times August 15, 2015.

For the past several weeks, I've been sharing portions of a paper written by Anna Belle Council Roland, an aunt of my friend Lanza Teague. Lanza and I share an interest in local history, and Anna Belle's short history of our community, entitled "The Growing Pains of a Shingle Camp: the story of a town," tells me Lanza's interest in local history runs in her family.
The 84-page document is filled with anecdotes I haven't seen elsewhere, including stories about the period from about 1887 until 1910 when British immigrants began arriving in our area. Many of those immigrants had last names you'd recognize, and have many descendents still living in the area.
"With the arrival of the railroad," Ms. Roland writes, "Englishmen began arriving. Many were second and third sons of wealthy families in England, and since by English custom and law they could not inherit the family land, they were sent to the United States to buy land suitable for raising sheep. These men were unaccustomed to the rough manners of the frontiersmen, and the frontiersmen were just as surprised by the refined manners and speech of the Englishmen. Because of this, the Englishmen were often the brunt of practical jokes, and sometimes of unscrupulous schemes.
"A story is told of one Englishman who bought and paid cash for the same flock of sheep over and over as they were driven past him repeatedly.
"They were often forced to write back home for more money, or another 'bounty' as they expressed it. One who was the brunt of such schemes, and of bad luck, died in poverty...and was buried by the county.
"Fortunately, most were successful and became outstanding citizens of the community."
Of course, not all of the English immigrants fell for such schemes, and many were indeed successful. Some came here for other reasons than to raise sheep.
Bob Bennett, in his excellent history of our community, also notes the British immigrants of our community.
"Although a few of their intrepid countrymen arrived in the Guadalupe valley earlier," Bennett writes, "a distinct migration of British colonists began to be felt in the decade beginning in 1879, and all these resolved people left a distinct impress on the rapidly developing ranching country."
The earliest British settler here was a Scot: J. D. Ramsey, a native of Edinburgh, who arrived in Kerr County in 1870.
In 1871, Ben Davey, a native of Yorkshire, England, arrived in Kerrville. Davey was a builder, and while his name might not be familiar to you, some of his work will be, because several of the buildings he built still stand. Davey was the contractor, often with a partner named Schott, for the following buildings: the Weston Building, which is now the home of Francisco's Restaurant; the old Tivy School, which is now the administrative offices of the Kerrville Independent School District; and, among others, the home of Captain Charles Schreiner on Earl Garrett Street.
In 1879, James Spicer, an English artist, arrived here "seeking health." A year later, his health improved, he was joined by his wife, and two children. The Spicers settled on Turtle Creek, and among their many descendents are members of the Mosty families.
Other Britons who settled here in the late 19th century include Nat Atchson, Capt. B. C. Bunbury, Robert Burns, Maj. McDonald and his three sons-in-law, Page, Davis, and Brewer, "who were instrumental in founding St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Kerrville," Alex and William Auld, the Rev. J. E. Hole, Jim Taylor, L. E. King, Ernest Roper, Guy Taylor, Howard Lacey, Charles and Herbert Brent, John Blackett, Jack Thompson, Percy Lawrance, P. W. Drew, C. Stanley Coppock, Willoughby and Dick Montgomery, Richard and Tom Holdsworth, George Peterson, Adam Wilson, Thomas Frayne, T. B. Hamlyn, A. MacFarland, Dr. Edward Galbraith, among others.
Dick Montgomery, one of those listed above, returned to England and became Sir Richard Montgomery.
Howard George Lacey, born at Wareham, Dorset, England, was educated for the ministry at Cains College, Cambridge. He gave up that calling for life here in the Texas Hill Country, "and spent the greater part of his life as a ranchman and in pursuing scientific research. He worked in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institute, the British Museum of Natural History, the Audubon Society of America, and the National Geographic Society. The Lacey oak (Quercus laceyi), was named in his honor, as were three small mammals (Peromysus pectoralis laceianus, P. boylie laceyi, and Reithrodontomys laceyi).
The British immigrants here made great contributions to our community.
Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who collects Kerrville and Kerr County historical photographs. If you have any you'd like to share with him, please bring them by 615 Water Street. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times August 22, 2015.

Over the past few weeks, I've been sharing parts of a history of Kerrville written by Anna Belle Council Roland, the aunt of a friend of mine, Lanza Teague. Ms. Roland wrote an 84 page paper, by hand, which contains some stories about our community's history I've never seen before. It's been quite fun reading the paper.
This week, I thought I'd focus on recreational and entertainment options available to early Kerrville residents.
"The community was not without its recreational facilities," writes Ms. Roland. "Parsons Hall, located in the 600 block of Water Street, had been remodeled in 1886, and the second story was for many years the meeting and recreational hall of Kerrville. Here all forms of entertainment were held, as well as dances."
Parsons Hall was built and named for Dr. George Parsons, a medical doctor who came to Kerrville around 1875 seeking health -- he was a victim of tuberculosis. Although he was a veteran of the Union Army, he was soon such a vital part of the community he was elected mayor.
"At a later time," Ms. Roland writes, "Pampell's Hall or Opera House became the entertainment center. It was here that the first picture shows were held. The stairway was on the outside and tickets were bought at the bottom of the stairs. The seats were wooden folding chairs, and it was not uncommon for some youngsters to become so excited during some episode, as in 'The Perils of Pauline,' that he squirmed too near the edge of the chair and it crashed to the floor. One of the largest crowds to gather there to see a picture was for the sowing of 'The Birth of the Nation.'"
Ms. Roland then proceeds to solve a little mystery that's been puzzling me for several years. On the 1916 set of early Kerrville maps prepared by the Sanborn-Perris company, I found an unusual item in the middle of the 200 block of what is now called Sidney Baker Street, roughly across the street from the current Kerrville City Hall, there is a small area marked "Open Air Theatre." It appears to be a fenced area with a small frame building in one corner.
"About 1913 there was an airdome in the middle of the block on Sidney Baker, about where the hospital parking lot is now located. Admission was 5 cents."
I had to look up 'airdome;' it turns out that was a name for an open-air movie theater. Back before air-conditioning, such a theater may have been the most comfortable way to watch a movie.
"For a brief time a picture show was located in the old Mercantile Building at the corner of Main and Earl Garrett.
"Next came the Dixie Theatre in the 800 block of Water Street. It was a big tin building, at first, with only a gravel floor; the screen was located at the front of the building, and the seats were crude benches. Some improvements were made, but in spite of its crudity, it operated until the late 1930s."
I have heard from people who remember the Dixie Theatre, which stood about where Rivers Edge Gallery stands today, near the intersection of Water and Washington streets. Their main memory of the place: tucking their feet underneath themselves, so the popcorn-eating mice wouldn't bother their shoes.
Later, in the 1920s, the Arcadia Theater was built; later still, in the mid-1930s, the Rialto Theater was built.
The Rialto once stood on property now owned by my family: the parking lot between our printing company and Grape Juice next door. (This also happened to be the site of Parsons Hall.)
If you look at the western wall of Grape Juice, you can still see the outline of the stairway to the balcony of the old Rialto Theater, and, about midway along that wall, up high, the risers of the old balcony.
Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who went to many movies at the Arcadia Theater. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times August 29, 2015.

Louise Hays Park, taken on April 25, 1950.
The park was built in a single day.

Over the past few weeks, I've been sharing passages from a handwritten history of our community, written some years ago by Anna Belle Roland, the aunt of one of my fellow history detectives, Lanza Teague.
I've enjoyed reading the 84-page document, because it's obvious it was written with a love for Kerrville and Kerr County.
It also features first-hand memories of Ms. Roland, which enrich the history she's recording. It's one thing to write about events which occurred well before your lifetime; it's another to write about events you remember.
One of the big community events Ms. Roland remembered was the building of the Louise Hays Park in the center of Kerrville.
"The people of Kerrville," she writes, "like people everywhere, took one of their greatest assets for granted.
"In the late 1940s they became aware of the fact that it was almost impossible to get to the river. River frontage had been bought up and fenced; gone were the places to fish, swim, and picnic.
"Why did this happen? Partly for the reason just stated; they took for granted that it would always be theirs to enjoy. Also, the devastating floods of 1932 and 1935 had discouraged any desire for development along the river. The Methodist Encampment swimming hole had been destroyed; Lakeside Park was ruined; Silver Park was gone; the Presbyterian Encampment swimming hole was ruined and fenced; and the old mill dam in the downtown area had been washed away.
"However, with the realization that we must have access to the river if tourists were to continue to come, citizens began to plan. Two dams were [eventually] constructed to provide recreation: the Ingram Dam and Flat Rock Dam," Ms. Roland writes.
For most of its history, Kerrville stopped along the northern edge of the Guadalupe River. This was true even as late as the 1960s. When Ken Stoepel Ford built their new dealership south of the river, several people asked Mr. Stoepel why he'd want to build a car dealership "out in the country."
Ms. Roland continues:
"In 1950 Mr. and Mrs. Bob Hays offered to Kerrville a 35 acre tract fronting on the south side of the river just opposite the downtown area for a park, if Kerrville would develop it.
"Citizens joined in a city-wide project to develop a park in a day. On April 25, 1950, all able-bodied men left their businesses, and joined by 200 high school students, totaling some 1,000 volunteers, set about cleaning and clearing the area.
"At the end of the day, it was usable. Later, a dam was built and other improvements were made. The community effort lowered the cost to less than $20,000.
"It was named Louise Hays Park in honor of its donor, Mrs. Hays. It was indeed an asset to Kerrville, and through the years provided a spot of beauty and recreation to thousands.
The Louise Hays Park, which has only recently reopened, has indeed provided a much-needed recreational spot along the river. In its early days, it boasted a miniature golf course and water ski shows. There was even a giant jet in the children's playground.
These days it has a nice spray park, a small band shell, a long walkway along the river, and, in the summer, canoes and bicycles for rent. And swimming there, especially on a hot summer day, is wonderful. Not bad for a little town in Texas: a gem of a park right in the middle of the business district.
Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who has spent many happy hours at Louise Hays Park, first as a child, and then later with his own children.

Recently I gave a presentation at the Schreiner Mansion, back when it was still part of Schreiner University, where I paired historic photographs with snaps I'd taken that day with my phone. I did this because I realized most people haven't studied area photographs as I have, and so it's sometimes confusing to know where an historic photo was taken. So I took a copy of each historic photograph with me, and tried to find the exact spot where the old photograph was taken -- and then I took a photo with my cellphone. Over the next few Wednesdays, I'll publish the results here. Please feel free to share these with your friends.

Click on any image to enlarge

Dr. P. J. Domingues had his office and a pharmacy at the corner of
Water and Mountain streets in 1910, shown above.
Mountain Street was renamed Earl Garrett Street after World War I.
The little cart to the left of the building is a tamale cart. Really.
Later, this site was the location of the Charles Schreiner Bank.

The site as it appears today.

A parade through the downtown area in the late 1970s.
Shown is the Center Point Pirate Band, led by Sissy Lucas [Toney].

Another view of the same parade -- perhaps for
the Kerr County Fair.

Over the past few weeks I've been sharing passages from a paper written by Anna Belle Roland called "The Growing Pains of a Shingle Camp: the Story of a Town." The document is a handwritten history of our community, and I've enjoyed reading it. I'm thankful to Lanza Teague for sharing it with me, and for allowing me to share it here.
Over the past few years, our downtown has undergone many changes: renovation of the Schreiner Building, removal of the Sid Peterson Memorial Hospital, and the building of a new Kerrville City Hall, for a few examples. But change has been constant in the heart of our community. Ms. Roland documents some of the changes there which took place in the 1970s.
She talks about how the hospital needed more parking space, and turned the old Peterson Garage and bus depot in to a parking lot, and noted other changes:
"The First National Bank decided to leave the downtown area, and constructed a large bank on the Junction highway at Five Points. This was opened in September, 1973." Today that building houses a branch of Wells-Fargo Bank.
I remember when the bank moved from one location to the other, with truck after truck passing the print shop, some of them topped by men with rifles and shotguns.
"As motels grew ever more popular," Ms. Roland writes, "the Blue Bonnet Hotel grew less profitable. It had been built before air conditioning, and to remodel and air condition it was not considered feasible. It was decided to raze the building much to the sorrow of many of the citizens. Shortly afterwards, the Charles Schreiner Bank built its drive-in bank on that site."
That motor bank was also torn down, and the site is now a parking lot at the end of Earl Garrett Street.
"The old Parsons Hall that had been the entertainment center of the nineteenth century had been replaced by the Rialto Theater in the late 1930s. As movie theaters lost audience to television, it was closed. In the early 1970s, the Rialto and an adjacent small building were razed to provide [the Charles Schreiner Bank] a parking lot."
Ms. Roland's husband, C. A. Roland, had an office in the 'adjacent small building' at one time; my family purchased one of our print shop buildings from the Rolands, and we purchased the parking lot made after the razing of the Rialto from what was left of the Charles Schreiner Bank after it was closed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in April, 1990.
"In 1977, the Charles Schreiner Bank started an expansion program. This [meant] the razing of a row of business buildings on the south side of Water Street, as well as the bank building itself, to make way for a new, larger bank building. This was opened in 1978."
That new, bigger bank building is itself now, for the most part, empty.
"Indeed," Ms. Roland writes, "the downtown area of the 1970s looks very different from the same area of the 1960s. Gone are landmarks like the Blue Bonnet Hotel, Peterson's Garage, the Rialto Theater, the Schreiner Bank building of 1919, the row of business building adjacent to it, and the Schreiner Feed Store, once the [Schreiner] windmill store. Where some of these stood are now parking lots."
The downtown area has changed a lot during my lifetime, and it hasn't stopped. It will continue to change for as long as there's a place called Kerrville, I suppose.
Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who remembers a much different downtown area. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times September 12, 2015.

Click on any image to enlarge

The Charles Schreiner Bank, on the corner of Water and Earl Garrett Street, 1928.
Note the very rare image of the Blue Bonnet Hotel, before three stories were added above.
I wonder what happened to the old clock in front of the bank.

The scene as it appears today.
What was once one of the most important corners in downtown Kerrville
is now a parking lot.

For the past few weeks I've been sharing parts of a history paper written about our community by the late Anna Belle Roland, the aunt of a friend of mine, Lanza Teague. The 84 page document is handwritten, and follows the story of our community from its founding through the 1990s.
Ms. Roland's account of our community's founding is good, and adds details not found elsewhere.
"Joshua D. Brown," Ms. Roland writes, "in 1844 was living in Gonzales, Texas, and interested in a new industry, the making of cypress shingles. He first engaged in this industry along Curry Creek, but as the trees became more scarce, he led a party up the Guadalupe River in search of more timber.
"In 1846 they selected a site near a large spring located near what is now the 900 block of Water Street. Here they remained and worked for a few months until the Indians became so troublesome that they were forced to leave...."
I've always found the phrase 'the Indians became troublesome' quaint and understated. They became so troublesome Brown and his friends left their shingle making camp -- and stayed away for 2 years.
"In 1848, Brown and his followers returned," Ms. Roland writes. "This time they remained. Gradually, other settlers began to come, many of whom were German. New Braunfels and Fredericksburg had already been established. In the 1840s many Germans came to Texas because of unrest and oppression in Germany.
"Brown first purchased 640 acres in tract 116 extending 1 1/2 miles northward from the river. This was acquired from the heirs of B. F. Cage, a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto."
My research suggest Cage's heirs thought he was dead when they sold the land to Brown -- but he was actually quite alive and well, and living nearby in Blanco. The land hand been granted to Cage in 1847 for his service in the Texas War for Independence, a year or so after Brown and company had made their first shingle camp here.
"Brown donated 4 acres of the land for public structures," Ms. Roland continues, "and the necessary land for streets. The settlement was first called Brownsborough, but at the request of Joshua Brown, it was named Kerrsville for his friend James Kerr. Later the 's' was dropped, and it became Kerrville.
"More than one shingle camp was established. Cypress shingles were much in demand in San Antonio, where they were carried by wagon. The location of only two of these camps is known: the original one of Joshua D. Brown's, and that of Saner's Mill, which was just east of the present intersection of Junction Highway and Methodist Encampment Road."
Evidence of Saner's Mill was probably covered by the lake created in the 1980s, which has been recently named for Chester Nimitz.
"These settlers," writes Ms. Roland, "were truly isolated. To the north, twenty-five miles away, was the tiny settlement of Fredericksburg; to the south and east, the German Settlement of Comfort, and in between, along the river, a group of settlers in the present location of Center Point; and to the west, nothing."
This isolation is hard for us to imagine today. Fredericksburg is only a half-hour's drive away; Center Point, less than that.
San Antonio was the largest nearby city -- and in 1850 its population was less than 3,500.

* * *

I'm glad to share information about Robert Puig's upcoming talk in Kerrville, this Sunday, September 20, from 2 - 5 pm, at the Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library meeting room. He's been working on a history of the Mexican American Patriotic Celebrations of Kerrville, Texas -- covering from 1923 to 2003. There will be music and refreshments.
Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who enjoys reading old histories of Kerrville. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times September 19, 2015.

Click on any image to enlarge

The third Kerr County Courthouse, which was built in the 1880s
and torn down in the 1920s.
The building didn't stand in the center of the courthouse square,
but in the southern corner of the lot.

The site as it appears today.

The Morris Ranch Store, probably around 1915. Click to enlarge

Have you ever noticed, as you travel north on State Highway 16, the road sign between here and Fredericksburg that says "Morris Ranch Road?"
For many years, I've only had a vague notion about the place, that they raised horses there years ago, and that several members of that family were active in Kerrville, including one who served as mayor of Kerrville, George Morris, who served from 1916-1917. He also ran Kerrville's St. Charles Hotel, which once stood at the corner of Water and Sidney Baker Streets; it was Kerrville's grandest hotel for a generation or two. The distance from that corner to the old Morris Ranch School is about 16 miles.
Recently, though, I was given a history of the Morris Ranch, and it filled in a few blanks for me. The comb-bound book was compiled by the Morris Ranch Cemetery Association in May, 1992.
"Francis Morris, a wealthy breeder and trainer of thoroughbreds in New York and Maryland, purchased the original 35 sections of the ranch for 25 cents an acre from David, John, and Rufus Leavitt of New York on February 18, 1856," according to the book.
If my math is correct, that means Francis Morris bought 22,400 acres of land for $5,600. While that was a great bargain, one must remember two important things: in 1856, this part of Texas was still the extreme frontier; and, secondly, that this part of Texas was still frequented by various bands of Native Americans, few of which were friendly. The conflicts between those bands and the settlers were often quite brutal and deadly.
Between purchasing the land in 1856 and the 1884 appointment of his nephew, Charles Morris, as manager of the ranch, Francis Morris sold 9 sections of his original holdings to various people.
Francis Morris died in 1886. Though Francis willed the ranch to his daughters, his son, John A. Morris purchased its 26 remaining sections from them for his two minor sons. It was John who initiated the breeding and training of horses at the ranch, and it was he "who turned it into the fabulous enterprise it was in its prime years."
Those two sons for whom John A. Morris purchased the ranch were named Alfred and David. Alfred, as an adult, was active in the management of the ranch, though he did not live on the ranch all of the time; his brother, David, took no active role in the ranch, remaining a silent partner. Both men were New York brokers, and David later served as U. S. Ambassador to Belgium in the 1930s.
And Charles -- the nephew appointed as manager of the ranch back in 1884 -- continued in that position until 1910, until the responsibility fell to his brother, Clayton.
So -- from the very beginning -- the Morris Ranch was very much a family business, though ownership and management of the enterprise fell to different branches of the family.
I found this passage interesting in the history of the ranch:
"The A. H. and D. H. Morris Ranch was a self-contained community, although not an incorporated town. A two-story, white frame house was built for the manager and his familyi and was used as business headquarters. A rock church-schoolhouse was built on a hill and the site for a cemetery designated next to it. There was a hotel, a general store with post office and a drug store built. A large jockey house and 17 horse barns were erected. A one-mile race track was laid out and a mill and two gins were built. In addition, there were numerous private residences for other members of the Morris family and for the employees of the ranch."
Notable horses raised and trained at the Morris Ranch include "Gallantry, the winner of the English Derby, Orbicular, a winner of the Belmont Stakes, and Rainbow, for whom a purchase price of $65,000 was refused," according to the book.
An online search suggests the horse that won the Belmont Stakes may have actually been named Bowling Brook, the winner in 1898. The very first winner of the Belmont Stakes was a horse named "Ruthless," in 1867, and its owner was Francis Morris -- who may have been the same man who was the original owner of the Morris Ranch.
Traveling on the Morris Ranch Road today, one finds some of those buildings still stand -- though not as part of what was once the working horse ranch. They're now privately owned by various families. Seeing them, though, shows how extensive an operation the Morris Ranch was at its heyday, raising race horses which raced, and were sold, all over the world.
Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native, who, like most town boys, always dreamed of owning a horse of his own. This column originally appeared in the Kerrville Daily Times September 26, 2015.

The Scofield School

Then and Now: Earl Garrett Street, Downtown Kerrville

The Last Wool Warehouse

The Cone Car Company/ Voelkel Building

The Doyle School

The Cascade Pool

The trouble with history

Water Street, facing southeast

Rare Kerrville Gus's Bar trading token

A Handwritten Treasure

Early Kerrville Schools

Kerr County's British Immigrants

Kerrville Entertainment a Century Ago

Kerrville's Louise Hays Park: built in a single day

Then and Now: the offices of Dr. P. J. Domingues

The Changing Face of Downtown Kerrville in the 1970s

Then and Now: the Charles Schreiner Bank

How Kerrville was founded

Then and Now: the Kerr County Courthouse

The Story of the Morris Ranch