Mount Bonnell

Not too long ago we got a different perspective of the Austin area as we checked out the view from atop Mount Bonnell.

We're always on the lookout for historical markers and this area didn't disappoint.  The Mount Bonnel marker reads:

     "Rising 775 feet above sea level, this limestone height was named for George W. Bonnell, who came to Texas with others to fight for Texas independence, 1836. Was commissioner of Indian Affairs in Republic of Texas under president Sam Houston. Moved in 1839 to Austin; there published the "Texas Sentinel", 1840. Member Texan-Santa Fe expedition, 1841. Was captured but released in time to join Mier expedition, 1842. Was killed in camp on Rio Grande, Dec, 26, 1842. 

     Frontiersman W.A.A. "Bigfoot" Wallace killed an indian he met face to face while crossing a narrow ledge 50 feet above river, 1839. He also took refuge in a Mount Bonnell cave to recover from "flux", but was missing so long his sweetheart eloped. 

     In the mid-1800s Mormons built a mill on the Colorado river at foot of Mount Bonnell. Mill was destroyed by flood and the Mormons moved on west. 

     Mount Bonnell was site of picnics and outings in 1850s and 1860s. As it is today. Legend has it that an excursion to the place in the1850s inspired the popular song "Wait for the Wagon and We'll All Take a Ride". As a stunt in 1898, Miss Hazel Keyes slid down a cable stretched from the top of Mount Bonnell to south bank of then Lake McDonald below."

From the top you can get a good look at Lake Austin.  There's also this old school marker:

There's also a great view of the Austin skyline.

The Ende-Gaillard House

The Greenville area is known for its history of cotton production and war hero/movie star Audie Murphy.  In fact, the town is home to a museum that celebrates both those things.  But before you head inside to see the exhibits, you can get a good look at a little history:

The Ende-Gaillard House was moved to the area in the 90's and came with its own historical marker.  

 The marker reads:

     "German native Charles Frederick von Ende (b. 1832) came to Greenville in 1857 and established a mercantile business on the town square. He became one of the community's most active civic leaders, serving on the school board and city council, and helping to establish the local Odd Fellows lodge. In 1857-1859, Ende built this home for his bride, Amelia Reinecker. Their daughter, Louise, and her husband, Dr. David l. Gaillard, bought the home in 1883. After Louise's death in 1945, the house became part of a lumberyard and was threatened with demolition. Originally located just north of the courthouse square, the Ende-Gaillard House was moved to a city park in 1957 and then to the American Cotton Museum in 1996.

Once past the house, you reach the parking lot for the Audie Murphy/American Cotton Museum.  Check out a tour of the museum in this video we shot for an episode of East Texas Explorer:

Aurora Cemetery

There's very interesting cemetery in Aurora, TX.  You're probably thinking, "So what?  Lot's of cool cemeteries in Texas."  True, but this one has quite a bit going on.  Let's start with this tombstone:

I've searched for information on "Loreta" but can't seem to find anything other than listings of her grave.  Basing my information strictly on what I learned from her tombstone: She was a bird.  She talked.  She was the "world's."

Odd bird graves notwithstanding, it's the historical marker at the cemetery entrance that gets most people's attention.

It reads:

     "The oldest known graves here, dating from as early as the 1860's, are those of the Randall and Rowlett families. Finis Dudley Beauchamp (1825-1893), a Confederate veteran from Mississippi, donated the 3-acre site to the newly formed Aurora Lodge No. 479, A.F. & A.M., in 1877. For many years, this community burial ground was known as Masonic Cemetery. Beauchamp, his wife Caroline (1829-1915), and others in their family are buried here. An epidemic which struck the village in 1891 added hundreds of graves to the plot. Called "spotted fever" by the settlers, the disease is now though to have been a form of meningitis. 

     Located in Aurora Cemetery is the gravestone of the infant Nellie Burris (1891-1893) with its often-quoted epitaph: "As I was so soon done, I don't know why I was begun." This site is also well known because of the legend that a spaceship crashed nearby in 1897 and the pilot, killed in the crash, was buried here. 

     Struck by epidemic and crop failure and bypassed by the railroad, the original town of Aurora almost disappeared, but the cemetery remains in use with over 800 graves. Veterans of the Civil War, World Wars I and II, and the Korean and Vietnam conflicts are interred here."

Yep, there's a legend that not only did a spaceship crash her in the 19th but also that the alien pilot is buried somewhere in the cemetery.  So of course we had to look for his tombstone.  Want to know if we found it?  You'll have to watch the video we shot to find out: 

Bruhl's Drugstore

The Llano County Historical Museum is housed in the former location of Bruhl's Drugstore along the Llano River and contains antiques and local area historical artifacts.  

And they've also got their own historical marker:

The marker reads:

"Louis Herman Bruhl (1849-1931) immigrated to the United States from Germany in 1867.  He became an American citizen in 1870, the same year he married Leonie Julia Hammale.  A merchant and a pharmacist, Bruhl lived in Waco and Rockport, and served as U.S. consul in Italy (1894-1899) before moving to Llano to open a drugstore in 1900.  His son Adolph (1876-1937), also a pharmacist, joined him in business.  The drugstore building they erected here in 1922 was donated by the Bruhl family to the County Historical Society in 1965 and was later remodeled for a museum."

You can see lots of antique drugstore related paraphernalia inside and was as a variety of historical exhibits.

The area is also home to "llanite", a rhyolite which is on display at the museum:

It's a great place to stop on your next road trip!

Jim Reeves

When you think about monuments to Texas music legends, the Stevie Ray Vaughan statue or the Willie Nelson statue, both in Austin, might first spring to mind.  But let me introduce you to another Lone Star performer whose memorial is worth a stop on your next east Texas road trip:

Jim Reeves started his career as a minor league baseball player but an injury led to his pursuit of fortune and fame in the music industry.  And it worked.  So much so that his hometown of Carthage, TX (also the former home to country music legend Tex Ritter) has created an impressive memorial to his memory:

 

The marker reads:

"Born in Galloway, James Travis Reeves played professional baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals' minor league team until an injury forced him to abandon that career. He became a radio disc jockey and formed a country western band. Joining the Grand Ole Opry in 1955, he became a world famous singer. Known fondly as Gentleman Jim, Reeves was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1967, three years after he died in a plane crash."

Check it out the next time you are in the area.  If you aren't familiar with Reeves' work then sit back and enjoy his effortless performance of "I Love You Because" on a Norwegian TV show in 1964:

Fort Worth Stock Yards Entrance

Strap on your boots because today's entry takes us to the Fort Worth Stock Yards. There is a ton of history at the stock yards so we won't even try to cover it all at once. In fact, we'll start at the beginning...or the entrance:


Ok, so this one is an Historical Medallion as opposed to an Historic Marker but just go with it:


The text reads:

Spanning Exchange Avenue, this gateway to the Fort Worth Stock Yards was completed in 1910. Constructed by the Topeka Bridge & Land Co. for the Fort Worth Stock Yards Co., it was a significant feat of concrete work for that era. The columns are 22 feet high and 13 feet in circumference. The sign is 36 feet long and 4 feet high. The entrance is a significant landmark in this historic area of Fort Worth. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark-1985.

We've also got some video at the Stock Yards that we shot a few years back for your viewing pleasure:

Salt Palace

This time our history has some legitimate geology to go along with it. Welcome to the Salt Palace Museum in Grand Saline, TX.

Grand Saline is what you would call a "salt town." It is home to a major salt mining operation and honor's the world's tastiest rock by hosting a yearly Salt Festival in addition to being the home of the Salt Palace Museum seen above. The museum was closed when I stopped by but when it is open it is packed with salt memorabilia and free salt samples. And it's here where we find today's historical marker, which seems to have nothing to do with salt.

The marker reads:

      "Pioneer aviator Wiley Hardeman Post was born on November 22, 1898, in the community of Corinth in Van Zandt County, to William Francis and Mae Laine Post, who moved to Oklahoma when Wiley was a boy. Wiley was inspired as a youth to learn to fly.
In the late 1920s he obtained flight training, made his first solo flight, and acquired an air transport license. Despite the loss of one eye in an oil field accident, Post worked as a barnstormer, commercial pilot and flight instructor.
      Post set many flight records and won the national air races in 1930. He and Harold Gatty circled the world, flying 15,474 miles in less than 9 days in 1931. Post soloed around the world in less than 8 days in 1933.
      Post invented and developed the first pressurized flight suit, explored stratospheric flight, and used an early Sperry autopilot mechanism. He worked with the U. S. Army Air Corps on an experimental automatic direction finding (ADF) radio compass, and was a pioneer in the use of liquid oxygen for high altitude flight. Post and humorist Will Rogers died in a plane crash on a trip to Alaska in 1935. His plane the "Winnie Mae" is in the Smithsonian Institution's Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C."

Post seems like a fascinating and accomplished guy and I'm genuinely surprised that he's not more well known. Here are some interesting facts about his life that I insist you memorize:

• He lost an eye in an oil field accident yet still went on to become a pilot
• He was the first person to fly solo around the world
• He invented pressure suits for high altitude flying
• He died in the same place crash as Will Rogers

Now take that handful of factoids to your next cocktail party and impress your friends.

We'll leave you with a good look at the pride of Grand Saline: a great big hunk of salt, which is on display outside of the Salt Palace and brings joy to local wildlife searching for a little small town flavor.