A repost for Trish...
Crockett, Texas (36 miles SE of Palestine, 49 miles N of Huntsville, 35 miles SW of Nacogdoches)The town was named after Davy Crockett who reportedly had camped nearby on his way to the Alamo. The site was very near the Old San Antonio Road. A family of Tennesseans donated the land for the town and named it after Crockett, who they had known back in Tennessee.
The town was incorporated in 1837, and a post office was granted the following year. Crockett was connected to Nacogdoches by stage service.
In 1839 raids by the Alabama-Coushatta and Cherokee Indians forced the town's residents to take shelter in the fortified log courthouse.
Crockett was a training center for Confederate conscripts during the Civil War.
The railroad came through in 1872 enabling Crockett to exploit the county's timber resources.
By 1885 the town was thriving with a population of 1,200 and the following year a school was opened for black girls. It evolved into Mary Allen Junior College, which operated into the 1970s. (history via Texas Escapes)
Houston County Courthouse, built in 1939; it is an example of the architectural style known as "Texas-Moderne"
Ritz Theater (according to this site it is closed, but I'm pretty sure they were showing current run movies last time I drove through, which was back in December)
the 1891 W.V. McConnell Building
The Downes-Aldrich House, c. 1891-1893, Eastlake Victorian Style
Do you see the doll in the window? Please, tell me you see that doll.
For how famous he is, that's quite an accolade to have the town named after him. There was a tv show which used to have a theme song "Daaaavy, daavy crocket. King of the wild frontier".
ReplyDeleteNot sure if you ever saw it. It was a must watch in those days. Now, maybe, the main actor would get pilloried for having a dead racoon on his head. In the show Crocket was the all time good guy. Just great.
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Apologies there, that should have two t's: Crockett.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is, and he only spent a night in the general area. The U.S. was gripped with Davy Crockett fever in the '50s. That show made Fess Parker a huge star.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliment, and I am interested in your wofoblog, I'm not sure I want to be the first one though!
One night - and in the general area. Seems it's "who you know", which managed to have the town named so. It would be interesting to know the connection between the original "owners" and Crockett, back in Tennessee. Still, it's hard to imagine other towns elsewhere didn't grab the name earlier. Quite interesting, really.
ReplyDeleteAh yes! Fess Parker. So easy to recall his face but couldn't the name. The show captured so much of the lovely gentleness of the American woods (that is why Crockett being in Texas seems unusual, too). Of course there were the adventures and travails, but the overall impression which came from it was the woods itself, as remembered, anyway. And if I recall, (delighted to be corrected here), Indians were portrayed in a positive light, overall.
It always left a good feeling after watching it.
That is an interesting place there, Crockett.
Thanks for visiting wofoblog and considering posting there. Just to help you a little with the idea: I've contacted several blogs around the world with similar thoughtful and respectful style as yours.
If you did wish to put up a post, there'd be some appreciation from the ones contacted I believe, though I completely understand the first post concerns.
There are some sensitive and I believe intelligent bloggers looking at the idea (it's a good idea I believe), from interesting places around the world, though I cannot vouch of course for others who've been directed to it.
What will probably happen, as my guess, is that people will check in and post a little about what interests them, I guess a bit about where they're from, just short posts, and get to know each other - a bit like having a coffee together.
I think also you could probably delete any posts you make, if you weren't comfortable as things went on, too. Certainly it could be arranged to do so if it turned out differently from what you expected.
Best wishes Chris for the weekend, and it's been good to find your site.
I lived in Crockett for a few years, 1959-1960, 3rd and 4th grade. Used to ride my bike out past the Junior College mentioned, swim at Lake Radcliffe which if I remember correctly had tadpoles as big as your hand in it. Had a crush on a little girl named Beck Brown. Spent a lot of time at the Crockett zoo, which had a couple of deer, an owl and that's about it. Thanks for the photos.
ReplyDeleteOkay, that Downes Alrich house is just divine. I always wanted to live in a house like that, ghosts and all. Doesn't look like it's in the cards for me though. I see the doll for sure!
ReplyDeleteSome random thoughts: Ritz theater - love the circular windows, of course! And that street (Main Street?) that the Ritz inhabits, I'm dying to walk down slowly and peek in every window. I never get to do that when we pass old towns in AL on the way to our fall vacation in FL.
Courthouse....reminds me of a miniature version of the LA courthouse in the opening to Dragnet...just a little bit.
Look at that deserted street where Polks is! Were you there in the early morning hours? It's just eerie, right out of a movie set.
Mary Allen Junior college seems creepy and sad now. Did it give you that vibe?
As usual - great set of photos.
Amy - Isn't the Downes-Alrich place awesome? I could be tolerant of any ghosts if I lived there!
ReplyDeleteI've always loved the Ritz Theater, and it's still in operation, which makes it really special. I guess those circular windows make it Streamline. The street is East Houston, and I always feel sort of transported back to the 1950s (or at least my perception of what it was like) as I go down it. You have to force yourself to make some stops on your route next time you head to Florida! I realize it's tough to stop forward momentum though.
I agree with your Dragnet thought. That's exactly what I see too - it is, after all, Deco, as is the Los Angeles City Hall.
Polks is on the same street as the Ritz. I'm telling you, it's right out of a 1950s movie! It's like stepping back in time. I love that.
Absolutely, the Mary Allen Junior College gave/gives me a Brontë kind of vibe. I don't doubt it was a bit of a sad place back in its day, too.
Thanks! I think I would continue to take them even if I didn't receive praise such as that, but I'm not sure.
Oh, my, I am fond of Crockett. I went through last night, as I so frequently do on the way from Austin to Nacogdoches. I stopped and had dinner with Kate, my middle daughter, who works at a camp out on Houston County Lake.
ReplyDeleteLovely people. Lovely town.
I live in Crockett. :O
ReplyDeleteIs that doll not supposed to be there?
ReplyDelete