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Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library celebrates 50 years of service
Dedication Ceremony, Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library, KerrvilleClick on any image to enlargeFifty years ago today, on August 26, 1967, our community celebrated the grand opening of the Butt-Holdsworth...
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A brief history of libraries in Kerrville
Children at the newly opened Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library, around 1967.I recognize a few of these youngsters; I went to school with them, and was their age.Click on any image to enlargeThis weekend...
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A noble company leaves Kerrville 100 years ago
"Boys leaving Kerrville WWI - 1917"Company D on Main Street in Kerrville, in front of the Kerr County CourthouseSeptember 1917Click on any image to enlargeOne hundred years ago this Tuesday, on...
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Football has a long history in Kerr County
Tivy High School football pep rally, downtown Kerrville, late 1950sClick on any image to enlargeWith football season underway, I wanted to check my files for stories about the history of football in...
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The 100 year old controversy of Kerrville's railroad passenger depot
Kerrville's controversial passenger depot, built by theSan Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad, 1915.Click on any image to enlargeTwo new historical markers were unveiled September 16th at the site of...
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Kerrville's oldest man-made structure is falling apart
Stone wall, part of the mill race, on the site of the originalChristian Dietert mill in downtown Kerrville.Click on any image to enlargeJ. E. Grinstead, posingon the wall pictured abovearound 1900The...
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The Hula Hoop Craze Hits Kerrville, 1958
Hill Country Hula Hoop Contest, downtown Kerrville,Earl Garrett Street, November 1, 1958Click on any image to enlargeIn October of 1958, a series of articles in this newspaper announced an upcoming...
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Who was Earl Garrett?
2nd Lt Victor Earl Garrett, circa 1917Ninety-nine years ago last Wednesday, on October 4, 1918, Victor Earl Garrett died near Exermont, France. He was only 24.Garrett was a 2nd Lieutenant, a member of...
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The Historic Weston Building in Downtown Kerrville
Two daring motorists, in front of the Weston Building,at the intersection of Water and (then) Mountain Streets, circa 1920.Click on any image to enlarge.During the school year I seldom get to have...
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A mystery Kerrville photo with a back story
A woman and girl, below the mill dam in downtown Kerrville,most likely taken in the 1890sOld Kerrville and Kerr County photographs intrigue me, as you already know.This week a kind reader brought by a...
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A glimpse of Kerrville from 1896
Downtown Kerrville, 1896. Looking up Earl Garrett from the Star.Saengerfest parade, September 2-3, offering a good glimpse of life here then.Click any image to enlargeOld newspapers often offer subtle...
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An exhibit of photographs from my collection of historical Kerrville and Kerr...
My son Joe III helping to hang a new exhibit of historical Kerrville and Kerr County photos, on display nowat Pint & Plow, in their coffee shop, 332 Clay Street, Kerrville.For some time there has...
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Kerrville's first Armistice Day
A parade passes the old Fire Tower, at the intersection of Earl Garrett and Water streets, around 1925.Photo from the collection of Lanza Teague.What we now call Veterans Day started out as Armistice...
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Kerr County Thanksgiving in 1856
Hunters returning to the Real family cabin after a successful hunt, around 1900For many folks a portion of this week will be spent planning and preparing for a Thanksgiving meal. Index cards will be...
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Why did people settle in Kerr County?
The Holloman cabin. This one is pretty fancy: it's made from sawn lumberSome who write about local history may harbor a desire to travel back in time, but I do not. I think living here a century ago...
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Kerr County was a political mess in the 1860s
A page from the 1860 U. S. Census for Kerr County.This page includes information about the Christian Dietert FamilyKerr County was a political mess in the 1860s.Here the Civil War was not so much North...
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Christmas in Kerrville when I was a boy
Carolers on horseback, Kerr County Courthouse square,possibly in the late 1960s.Click on any image below to enlarge.I write this to you each week on Thursday evenings. Tonight, I am alone in a...
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A Rare Feat: Saving the Union Church in Kerrville
The Union Church, Kerrville, on the campus of Schreiner Universityaround 2003, after a snowfall.Fifteen years ago, on Christmas Eve, 2002, the Friends of the Kerr County Historical Commission dedicated...
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Five Christmas History Facts about Kerr County You Might Not Know
Kerrville Mountain Sun, Volume 1, Number 1, December 22, 1899.Click on any image to enlarge.History has a habit of happening year round, but there are five events in our community's history which...
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Top 5 Kerr History Stories of 2017
Time, like an ever rolling stream, has carried 2017 away.Above: the dam on the Guadalupe River at Louise Hays Park in downtown KerrvilleAt the end of the year, it's fun to see what stories on my blog...
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