Fayette County Communities

See Fayetteville history, map, historical markers and photographs.

See Flatonia history, map, historical markers and photographs.

Floy

This community was the site of a switch on the southern Pacific Railroad between Flatonia and West Point. E. A. Arnim requested that this switch be built to accommodate the loading of wood. He named it after his daughter, Floy. There was still a schoolhouse here in 1948.

Related article at the Handbook of Texas Online

Floy, Texas

Franke

From Historical Sites and Communities:

Franke was named for a prominent member of the Franke family who was one of the county's first legislators. Franke was murdered on the steps of the Capitol in Austin and the murderer was never found.

Freyburg

Freyburg is situated about seven miles north of Engle, one-half a mile east of the East Navidad in a fine looking prairie. It lies in one of the richest agricultural sections of the county. It is a postoffice and a voting place. As voting place it goes by the name of Thulemeyer's. A fine M. E. Church building gathers in its roomy aisle a devoted Methodist congregation. Rev. F. Bomfalk is the preacher in that church. The mercantile business of that place was established in the year 1868 by Mr. F. Thulemeyer; it is now owned by Mr. C. F. Thulemeyer. There are also a gin and a blacksmith shop close to the place. The population is German and Bohemian. Among the first settlers were F. Thulemeyer, B. Warnken, Fr. Burns, J. Romberg, Bernh. Romberg, F. W. Richter, John Czichos, Aug. Hahn, Fritz Laux.

See Related Articles

Freyburg Cemetery
Freyburg United Methodist Church Cemetery
Salem Memorial Cemetery
Adolf Klaeveman Grave

Related article at the Handbook of Texas Online

Freyburg, Texas

Church records of the Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church at Freyburg can be found at the Texas Wendish Heritage Museum

Gay Hill

Gay Hill is on State Highway 71 six miles southeast of La Grange in eastern Fayette County. The settlement was named for James Gay, whose brother Thomas had established a Gay Hill community in Washington County. The Gay Hill in Fayette County grew around a plantation established during the days of the Republic of Texas. The original community stretched along a low ridge that rose sharply to 370 feet above the broad Colorado River floodplain, which produced excellent crops of cotton and corn. Beginning in the 1960s the area excelled in producing grain, pecans, and improved pasture for cattle and horses. In 1986 the extended community included three cemeteries, St. Matthew's Church, and homes for twelve families.

Halsted

Haw Creek

Haw Creek is situated about ten miles in a northerly direction from Fayetteville on the William H. Sheppard league. It has a rich agricultural surrounding country with the Haw Creek and Cummings Creek bottoms in its immediate neighborhood. It is a postoffice and a voting precinct and consists of a store, a gin and a blacksmith shop. Among the oldest families and settlers in that neighborhood may be named the Menking family, the Aschenbeck family, L. Bartlingk [sic.], Drawe and Voelkel.

Related Links

John Rice Jones Grave & text from historical marker
Otto F. Menking

Photo of Farmers Orchestra, Haw Creek, Texas, ca. 1923.
Winedale Photograph Collection, University of Texas Center for American History 

Related articles at the Handbook of Texas Online

Haw Creek, Texas
John Rice Jones, Jr.
John Rice Jones, III

High Hill

Before the arrival of the Southern Pacific into Schulenburg High Hill was quite an important place. At that time it consisted of six stores - some of them made of self-made brick - and three blacksmith and wheelwright shops. It was built in two different localities at a little distance apart. The upper part of the town had the name of Oldenburg, but now the name of High Hill stands for the whole place.

High Hill is situated about three miles north of Schulenburg on top of a hill and its buildings and the tall steeple of its fine Catholic Church building can be seen in clear weather from Schulenburg. it is built on the E. Anderson league. West Navidad and Forster's Creek are in its neighborhood.

High Hill is a postoffice and a voting precinct of the county. It has a fine Catholic Church which was built in 1870 and of which Rev. Father H. Gerlach is the priest.

Theo. Helmcamp is the proprietor of a first-class saloon and also of a fine hall where the people of High Hill gather for amusement and entertainment. John Wick is the postmaster and merchant of that place. There is also a gin and blacksmith shop at High Hill.

High Hill is an old place. The oldest settlers of that place were Eckert, Hermann Bauch, the Fahrenthold and Eschenberg families, F. G. Seydler, ___ Perkins, ___ Green, ___ Adamek, A. Bilamek, Franz Wick, Anton Bednarz, Joseph Hollas, Joseph Heinrich, sr., F. Kleinemann, Geo. Herder, Gerh. Siems, Pl. Stuelke, Gerh. Nordhansen, Chas. Hinkel, Edward Schubert, Capt. Chas. Wellhansen, Aug. Knechler, Ernst Goeth, H. F. Hillje, who built the first cotton gin and oil mill in the High Hill neighborhood.

The population is German and Bohemian. Most of the High Hill people belong to the Catholic Church.

Nearby Historical Markers

Creuzbaur's Battery, C.S.A. "The Big Guns of Fayette" FM 2672, 2.3 miles north of Schulenburg Organized in Fayette County, 1861, by Edmund Creuzbaur, a former Prussian artillery officer, and composed of around 150 men, 4 cannon, 72 horses, 39 mules. It served as both light and heavy field artillery at Fort Brown, Sabine Pass and other points in Texas and Louisiana. The unit at Calcasieu Pass, La., May 1864, attacked and captured two Union gunboats. In the 75-minute fight, one ship was hit 65 times; Wm. Kneip was killed; of the wounded, three later died. Capt. Creuzbaur soon after resigned and his brother-in-law, Capt. Charles Welhausen, assumed the command. [1965] Photo contributed by Marion and Steve Daughtry

Other historical marker in the vicinity: Old High Hill Cemetery

First Oil Mill in Texas Missing from location at High Hill 4 miles NW of Schulenburg Erected by Frederick Hillje, 1866, using German made sugar beet crusher adapted locally to seed processing. Later enlarged plant had regular milling machinery for cottonseed. After Galveston, Houston & San Antonio Railroad bypassed High Hill, Hillje move mill to Weimar, 1880. Marker Sponsored by: Mrs. E. M. Hubbard, Chas. Herder, Jr., Leroy Herder, Paul K. Herder, Henry Herder. [1967]

Related LInks 

See The Painted Churches of Texas
Web site developed by public television station, KLRU

History of St. Mary's Parish, High Hill, Texas

See photographs of beautiful St. Mary's Catholic Church at the Texas Escapes website.

Related Links at Fayette County TXGenWeb Site

Billimeck Graveyard
High Hill Catholic Cemetery
Old High Hill Cemetery
Ferdinand Hillje
St. Mary's Catholic Church, National Register of Historic Places
1864 Letter from Anna Seydler Ebeling to her husband, Heinrich

Related articles at the Handbook of Texas Online

Holman

Holman is picturesquely situated on Pecan Creek, about thirteen miles southeast form La Grange on the La Grange-Weimar Valley road, two miles distant from the Colorado in Mullins' Prairie. North of it are the bottom lands of Williams Creek. The country is very rich and fertile blackland prairie. The population is American, German and Bohemian. First settlers, G. W. Lewis, Nat Holman, Jno. Ossina, Lott Fisher and the Seydler family. It consists of two stores and saloons, a blacksmith and wheelwright shop. Kristek Bros. are the progressive owners of a first-class gin which gins on an average 1425 bales per year. At night the gin building is illumed by electric lights.

Holman is also called Pecan after the creek by that name. It is a postoffice and a voting precinct.

Related article at the Handbook of Texas Online

Hostyn

The Morovan [now Hostyn] settlement lies in Navidad Prairie, about seven miles southwest of La Grange and two miles south of the La Grange-Flatonia road. It consists of a fine Catholic Church, a store and saloon. The land is fertile and occupied mostly by Bohemian settlers. Moravan has no postoffice. It used to be a voting precinct of the county. The first settlers in that settlement were W. Brookfield, John A. Huebner, ___ Evans and ___ Willrich. It was settled in the forties.

In Morovan, the K. J. T., a Bohemian Roman Catholic Benevolent Union of Texas, was organized and incorporated on August 15, 1895. It consists of 36 lodges and does an insurance business, limited to Texas. Most of its members live in Fayette County. The total insurance in force amounts to $647,400. The society commenced business in July, 1899. Las year they paid out $9000 in death claims. The officers of the organization are: Rev. J. Chromcik, Spiritual Director, Fayetteville; F. A. Parma, President, Praha, Texas; F. C. Janda, Secretary, La Grange. The data speak better of the energy, ability and solid standing of its officers than any words of the writer. They speak for themselves and are a high credit to the energy, will power and business talent of the Bohemian element.

Nearby Historical Markers

In Memory of the Forgotten Man of Texas History Father Miguel Muldoon Resident Priest of Austin's Colony True Friend of Stephen F. Austin and His People 1823-1842 Contributed Much Towards the Success of Austin's Colonial Venture Erected Through the Efforts of Miguel Muldoon Memorial Assn. Senator Louis J. Sulak, President Rev. Paul P. Kaspar, Secretary John L. Sulak. Treasurer Houston Wade, Advocate Photo contributed by Marion and Steve Daughtry

From La Grange, take Hwy. 609 south about 5 miles, then go east on FM 2436 1.2 miles. Take Kallus Road south about 0.2 mi. to house Photo contributed by Marion and Steve Daughtry Other historical markers in the vicinity: Czech Catholic Union of Texas Oldest Czech Settlement in Texas

Brookfield-Evans-Cremer House William Brookfield (1786-1849) and Musgrove Evans (1785-1855) brought their families from Michigan to Texas in the early 1830s. Brookfield and Evans' son Samuel bought the 1832 David Berry league, where this house stands, in 1835. Samuel died at the Alamo the following year. Musgrove Evans and Brookfield's son Francis served in the Texas Army at the Battle of San Jacinto. In 1838 The Republic of Texas Congress voted to buy this land and the adjoining Eblin league as a location for the new capital, to be named "Austin," but President Sam Houston vetoed the Bill. Musgrove Evans later served as auditor general of the Republic. Brookfield erected a two-story stone residence at this site. When Mexican troops seized San Antonio in 1842, Samuel Maverick's family fled the city and took refuge here. David Berry, the original landowner, and Francis Brookfield joined other local men to fight the Mexican invasion force. They were both killed in the Dawson Massacre, Sept. 18, 1842. William Brookfield's daughter Emma (1814-1877), later occupant of he house, married Evans' son Vincent. After he died, she married Julius Cremer (d. 1889). The J. C. Brown family, owners since 1893, rebuilt the structure after a fire in 1911 destroyed the second floor. [1977]

Hostyn, Texas

Indian Creek

Indian Creek is an unincorporated community at the intersection of U.S. Highway 77 and Farm Road 153, six miles north of La Grange in north central Fayette County. Its name is derived from the creek that flows through it. A school operated in the community but was later consolidated with the La Grange schools. Indian Creek was the commercial center for farmers of the upper end of the Rabb's Prairie area and provided-in addition to the school-a store, a saloon, a blacksmith shop, and a gin. Declining cotton production during the 1960s forced the gin to close. During the 1980s two businesses remained to serve the needs of the ranching and oil-producing community.

Joiner

Joiner originated in 1880 in the George Duty League along the banks of the Colorado River approximately seven miles southeast of La Grange. It was established as a result of the Southern Pacific Railroad being built from La Grange to Glidden. Cotton, gravel and wood was shipped from Joiner, which provided for the major source of income for the area's settlers.

The origin of Joiner's name is unknown, although the muster roll for Terry's Rangers, Company F, lists 2nd Corporal B. E. Joiner, age 25, of Fayette county, who enlisted in September, 1861. Perhaps his family were early settlers in this area.

The topography of the area was mostly flat river bottom land with a few scattered trees. Baylor Creek ran through the area on its way to the river. The land was divided into fields and pastures by the early farmers. Only two businesses ever existed in Joiner, a general store and a combination cotton gin and mill, all owned by Albert Nitsche, who built the complex in 1910. His store supplied the sharecroppers with groceries, hardware and other necessities. The cotton gin was operated by a steam engine which also ran the grist mill on Saturdays, when Mr. Nitsche ground cornmeal that was either sold to customers that day or bagged for sale in his store. The cotton bales were shipped to the cotton compress in La Grange.

Besides Mr. Nitsche, other settlers in the Joiner area were the Brugger and Rotter families. There is a lack of information about some of the other early settlers that may have come and gone, because Joiner only existed until the 1930's, a total of less than sixty years. Its decline resulted from the abandoning of the Southern Pacific spur, which not only provided a means of transportation, but also was the main route for cotton to be shipped out of the community. Therefore, the gin was discontinued, and all of the farmers and sharecroppers left the area.

 

Related article at the Handbook of Texas Online

Joiner, Texas

 

Kirtley

Kirtley was located on Hwy. 71 of La Grange near the Bastrop County line. It was originally called Primm after an early colonist, Dr. William Primm. However, after a train wreck that resulted from a misunderstanding in communications regarding the switching of trains between Plum and Primm, the railroad changed the name to Kirtley, the name of the postmaster of Primm. There once was a post office and schools for the white and Negro children, grades one through seven. In 1934-35, there were 35 white students and 38 Negro students enrolled in their respective schools.

There was a grocery store owned by a Mr. Inge and a saloon and a cotton gin owned by Anton Elias. The businesses were located across the railroad tracks from the main road from La Grange to Smithville.

In addition to the Inge and Elias families, some of the early settlers were the families of Tom Mikulenka, Jim and Bill Richards, Henry Miller and Henry Tanecka. They were predominantly farmers who raised cotton, corn and sugar cane.

There was a family cemetery located on land originally owned by Dr. Primm that had some of the family members buried there, including his wife Seelia, and son, St. John. It was surveyed by Joe Cole in 1958 and Norman Krischke in 1965 and only six graves were found. It is felt that more persons were buried there, however, nothing could be found at the site in 1986, but a large gravel pit. The Primms are listed as owners of large herds of cattle.

Related article at the Handbook of Texas Online

Kirtley, Texas

Kocicina

From The Fayette County, Texas Web Site:

Kocicina was located at the corner of FM Road 2503 and County Road 254. At one time it had a store owned by the Orsak Family, a dance hall, and a school.

La Grange

See photos, historical markers, and other information about La Grange, the Fayette county seat

See Ledbetter map and history.

Leevan

Leevan was on the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad north of State Highway 71 and just northwest of West Point in western Fayette County. It was established about 1923 and named for Lee and Van Urman, who operated a gravel pit. The site was originally granted to Montreville Woods in 1831 and abutted on the north side the old Woods Prairie Cemetery on Fayette County Road 117. During the 1980s most of the gravel operations were abandoned, and local residents did not recognize themselves as being part of the Leevan community.

Lena

From The Handbook of Texas Online:

Lena was on Farm Road 154 and the Southern Pacific Railroad, four miles south of West Point in northwestern Fayette County. Prior to 1927 the name applied to a siding on a branch line of the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway, where local farmers and ranchers loaded firewood cut from the surrounding oak-covered prairie. The wood, destined for markets in San Antonio and Houston, sold for fifty cents a cord and was brought to the siding by wagon. During the period 1919-28 a single store operated in a tent at the siding during the peak of wood-cutting season. Beginning in 1928 and continuing for the next thirty-five years the Earthen Products, Millwhite, and Texas companies excavated clay pits and shipped bentonite clay from extensive deposits described by J. C. Melcher in 1902. The Texas Company built an extensive processing plant on a spur line to the railroad and provided cottages for about twenty employees. There was no post office; residents received mail at West Point. Children attended school at Rock Ridge or nearby Muldoon. In 1965 the Texas Company ceased operations, and the Lena siding was discontinued. The eighty-foot masonry smokestack at the old processing plant collapsed in a wind storm in 1989, and many local residents, new to the area, know nothing about the old community.

Live Oak Hill

From The Handbook of Texas Online:

Live Oak Hill, also known as the Live Oak community, was a farming community of German settlers located a mile north of Ellinger near the eastern border of Fayette County. A Catholic church, established there about 1856, served as the focal point for community life. There was also a store, a gin, and a blacksmith shop operated by Charles Erlinger. In 1883 a tap-line railroad (which connected the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway at Columbus with the Missouri, Kansas and Texas line in La Grange) passed south of Live Oak Hill, and the business portion of the community moved to be near the tap line and established Ellinger. The church, however, remained at the original townsite, and during the 1980s was still an important part of Live Oak Hill community life.

From Historical Sites and Communities:

Hostyn Hill (Live Oak Hill). This community is the former site of Ellinger and at one time had several stores and a large saloon and dance hall owned by Mr. August Girndt, a former Sheriff of Fayette County. The oldest Catholic Church in Fayette County is located here and was also named Hostyn Hill at one time. It is located two miles southeast of Ellinger just off FM 2503. The first Fayette county artist A. M. Kainowski sketched the first Czech wedding held there. 

Related Link

See Ellinger Catholic Cemetery

Lyons

Footprints of Fayette article by Norman C. Krischke:

Lyons, Texas

DeWitt Clinton Lyons founded the town of Lyons, a mile south of the railroad tracks in Schulenburg, near State Highway 77 in 1842. Comanche Indians five years' prior killed his father, James Lyons, in October of 1837. DeWitt had built a General Store at the crossroads of the stagecoach lines on land originally owned by Kesiah (Cryer) Taylor. Mrs. Taylor had obtained the land from the Mexican Government in April of 1831. Part of Schulenburg was built on Kesiah's league of land. She lived at Lyons for a short time until her third husband, George Taylor, died and then she moved back to Arkansas.

The town was first called Lyons Store, then Lyons (Stage) Station, followed by Lyons Post Office, Town of Lyons, Lyonsville and, finally, simply, Lyons. J.G. Armstrong surveyed the townsite about 1845. D.C. Lyons General Store was also the residence of D.C. and Elizabeth (Bridges) Lyons. D.C. and wife moved to near Runge, Texas after the Civil War where they are buried in the Lyons Private Cemetery. DeWitt served nine short terms with the Texas Rangers, including the 1845-1846 war with Mexico.

The town of Lyons had a stage station, post office, doctor, Masonic Lodge, public school, and several general stores. The post office, D.C. Lyons as postmaster, was established in May of 1846 in the Lyons Store and had four boxes in the "lobby". Lyons Lodge No. 195, A.F. & A.M, was founded the 23rd of January 1857 with 21 charter members. Dr. Henry P. Overbay, buried at Old High Cemetery, was the first Worshipful Master and D.C. Lyons was the first Senior Stewart. The lodge building was moved to Schulenburg in 1874, where it was used as the lodge meeting place and as the public school from 1862 to 1900. W. H. Dixon was the first teacher. Lyons Lodge No. 195 is still in existence and located on College Street in Schulenburg.

The Lyons Mounted Riflemen Civil War Company was organized in May of 1861 at Mrs. Bridges' Spring on School Branch. A.J. Murray was Captain of the company of 101 men. William F. Upton was the 1st Lieutenant and W. B. Anderson was 1st Sergeant.

The doctor, who served the community, was Dr. Henry P. Overbay. A.J. Street was the blacksmith, R.H. Skinner operated a carpenter shop and Neill McKinnon had a general store. The town died in 1874 after the founding of Schulenburg in 1873 when the people moved to the new railroad town. The site of the old town of Lyons is marked with a State Historical Marker, erected in 1972.

 

From Historical Sites and Communities:

Lyons, now just a memory, was one of the towns that packed up and moved to the railroad tacks when Schulenburg was being formed. Sparsely settled from 1831 to 1845, Lyons began to grow rapidly, peaking in 1860, when the local sons marched off to war. The onces that did return found their farms in disarray and squatters living on their land. Lyons was named after a family that was attacked by Comanches and the father killed. The youngest son, Warren, was captured and lived with the Comanche for many years. He eventually returned to his family, but never fully gave up the Indian way of life.

 

Text from historical marker erected on State Highway 77, one-half mile south of Schulenburg in 1972:

Site of Former Town of Lyons

Early town on land grant of Keziah Cryer. Named for settler James Lyons, killed by 1837 Indian raiders, who kidnapped his son Warren. In 1860s town had stores, Masonic Lodge, school, post office; and was on "Cotton Road" to Mexico, but it died in 1870s when the Southern Pacific Railroad was built.

Marly

This was a station on the Southern Pacific Railroad. A type of Marly clay was mined here for oil field use.

Mecklenburg

This community was located approximately eight miles north of La Grange, east of the Indian Creek settlement and south of Nechanitz, principally in the J. R. Phillips League. On of the first German settlers in the area was John Gau of Mecklenburg, Germany. He immigrated here in 1873 and named the community after his home town. His home was moved to Round Top and restored.

It had its own school district, number 75, with a white and negro school for grades one through seven. The white school was located near the intersection of FM 2145 and 2981. It was built in 1878 and remained open until 1941. The school census for 1934 - 1935 states that there were only six white students attending this school. However, there were 60 negro students enrolled in their school.

The only business known to exist in the community was a cotton gin. There were two cemeteries, one known as the Hickory Ridge Cemetery, which was a very old site with both white and negro people buried there. In 1958, Mr. Joe Cole located this cemetery on the Marvin Heinecke farm near Luther Hill. He found the grave of an early American settler, J. T. Campbell, who was born in 1847 and died in 1916. The Campbell home was still standing in 1958. There were sixteen other marked graves and many unmarked ones in the cemetery.

Middle Creek

Middle Creek was located in the southern part of the county between the east and west Navidad River on FM Road 615 north of Schulenburg. At one time there was a two-story Catholic school here called St. Anthony's, built in 1902 by the Rev. Gerlach of High Hill. Some of the early Czech and German settlers were the families of Joe Demel, Anton Kainer, Joe and Frank Stanzel, Raymond, Henry and Emil Christ, Frank Mensik, Frank Winkler, Franz Schmidt, and Frank Brossmann, Jr. After the 1920's, there were the families of Rudolph and Emil Heinrich, Frank Kainer, Alfred F. Stanzel, Fred Kloesel, and A. B. Cernosek.

Miller's Station

Miller's Station was located on FM Road 153 between Hwy 77 and Winchester. It was named for a Presbyterian minister who settled there. There was a gin about fifty yards from the store conducted by Drisdale and Norris. There was also a blacksmith shop nearby. Gertrude Pope was the school teacher at Miller's Station in the 1880's.

Source: Freytag Files

See history and photographs of Muldoon.

Nechanitz

Nechanitz lies eleven miles north of La Grange and nine miles south of Ledbetter, on the La Grange-Ledbetter road in Long Prairie. This prairie extends to Waldeck and is fertile land. Nechanitz is a voting precinct and a post office. it was named after Nechanitz, Bohemia, the home of Hon. Wenzel Matejowski, one of the oldest and most reliable merchants in the county. He owns the store and gin at Nechanitz. The post office was established in 1873. The population is now German. Old settlers: Wenzel Matejowski, Recklefs Meiners, Frank Ashorn, Julius Weisshuhn, Anton Weber, Chas. Oeser, William Peters, John Marquardt, Christian Marquardt and others.

Related article at the Handbook of Texas Online

Nechanitz, Texas

Oldenburg

Text from historical marker erected on State Highway 237 at Oldenburg in 1990:

OLDENBURG

The land in this area was included in a Mexican land grant awarded to Nathaniel Townsend in 1838. Portions of the grant were sold to a succession of different people over the years, and in 1885 August Heintze and Gus Steenken, both natives of Oldenburg, Germany, founded a community and named it after their hometown. The majority of the settlers in this area were immigrants from Germany and Bohemia. At its height Oldenburg boasted homes, farms, and a number of businesses and institutions, including stores, saloons, a cotton gin, tin shop, doctors' office, blacksmith shop, post office, church, dance halls (festplatz), and schools. The first school in the community was known as the German and Bohemian Oldenburg School. Founded in 1898, it was succeeded in 1922 by Oldenburg Common School District No.5. A separate school for black students opened about 1930. By 1944, both schools were consolidated with the Fayetteville School District. Descendants of early German and Bohemian settlers continue to reside in this vicinity.

 
See more about the Palmer Barn which has been moved from
the Oldenburg area to Henkel Square at Round Top.

Oldenburg is the name of a settlement about ten miles northeast of La Grange on the La Grange-Round Top road on the banks of Clear Creek. The surrounding country is rich black land prairie.

The town consists of two stores, a saloon, a physician's office, a blacksmith shop, a tin shop and a gin. Louis Vodkel [Voelkel] is the leading merchant of the whole neighborhood, who has been in business at Oldenburg for sixteen years, and Muesse Bros. are the popular young saloon men of the town. They own a fine hall in a beautiful grove of liveoaks. The entertainments given in the park are very popular.

Oldenburg is a postoffice, but not a voting precinct of the county; the people do their voting at Rutersville and Warrenton. It was founded in 1886 by Gus. Steenken, in company with A. Heintze, and named Oldenburg because a great many people of the neighborhood had come from that country, their native home, and settled here. The population is German and Bohemian. Among the old settlers may be named Gerh. Behrens, F. Oppermann, John Imken, Aug. Gar, Hy. Alhorn, Albert Meinardus, J. B. Meinardus.

Related Links 

Related article at the Handbook of Texas Online

Oldenburg, Texas

See more about Oldenburg at TexasEscapes.com.

O'Quinn

The O'Quinn settlement is situated seven miles southwest of La Grange on the La Grange-Flatonia road on O'Quinn's Creek. South of O'Quinn is the rich Navidad prairie, north of it the sandy postoak of Buckner's Creek mixed with loam. The Buckner's Creek bottom lands are very fertile. It was settled mostly by Germans as early as 1850. Among the first families who settled there were the Sellers, Luck, Sample, Duellberg, Melcher, Bruns and John Voigt families. The settlement was named after an Indian chief by the name of O'Quinn; another version is that is was named after an Irishman by that name. O'Quinn is a postoffice, but not a voting place. The people mostly vote at Black Jack Springs. O'Quinn has two stores - one conducted by Mr. J. C. Melcher, the other one by Mr. T. A. Dieckert, both popular gentlemen - a gin and a blacksmith shop. It has two lodges, the Knights of Honor and the Fraternal Mystic Circle.

Related article at the Handbook of Texas Online:

O'Quinn, Texas 

Orizaba

Orizaba was a post office from 1856 to 1866. The postmaster was Greenville W. Penn.

Oso

The old settlement of Oso is situated about three miles northeast of Flatonia. It used to be quite a town, but nothing has remained of it but the name retained by the neighborhood. After the Southern Pacific passed through the county the town of Oso was deserted and its people settled in Flatonia. Once there were three stores, a mill and a gin, a tannery and a blacksmith shop at Oso. In old times it was a voting precinct, but after Flatonia was built the latter city became the voting precinct of that section of the county. Among the first settlers were the Menefee, Lane, Harrison and Cobb families. The population is American and German.

 

From Pine Springs Cemetery by Norman C. Krischke, copyrighted 1997:

William Menefee, who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence 2 March 1836, purchased land in the Miguel Muldoon League No. 14 in 1846 and founded the village of Oso on 8 December 1858 with the establishment of a post office. Oso means "bear" in the Indian and Spanish languages. The village was located on present FM 609 about a miles west northwest of the cemetery. Oso consisted of several stores, a gin and grist mill, tannery, blacksmith shop, the Methodist Episcopal Church and school, both of which were located at the cemetery, and a post office. Other family names included Menefee, Lane, Harrison and Cobb.

The neighborhood built a church at Pine Springs called the Pine Springs Methodist Episcopal Church, South. It was located on the east side of the cemetery and on the north side of the walkway to the cemetery. The church burned to the ground on Sunday, 26 September 1880.

The Pine Springs School was established in 1859 and flourished until 1946 when the children of the neighborhood were bused to Flatonia. Myrtle (Bebert) Isensee taught school here a a substitute when the assigned teacher had an appendectomy. Some of the other teachers were: Erna Phillipus, Laura Meyer, Annie Lee Kelly and George Pechacek.

 

Related Link

See Pine Springs Cemetery

Related article at the Handbook of Texas Online:

Oso, Texas

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