Stories Within the Fayette County History Walk, Part 5

The Fayette County History Walk tiles 41 through 50, on the perimeter of the courthouse lawn, covers the period 1894 to 1930.

41 The La Grange Deutsche Zeitung, a German language newspaper, was published from 1894 until 1926.

The S. P. J. S. T, a secular Czech fraternal organization, was founded at the courthouse in 1896.

In 1898, at least three military companies, including the Fayette Light Guard, were raised for the Spanish-American War.

In 1899 the first rural freedelivery mail route in Texas was established in Fayette County. During the 1890s post offices were opened at Bridge Valley, Holman, Pin Oak and Roznov.

42 The county population in 1900 was 36,542, the highest ever recorded. The population of La Grange was 2,362, Schulenburg was 1,149 and Flatonia was 1,210. Floodwaters caused extensive damage to crops and property along the Coloradolished throughout the county. River, including the water and electrical works in La Grange.

The Great Galveston Storm of 1900 did major damage in the county, especially to church steeples. Post offices were soon opened at Halsted and Primm (Kirtley).

43 In 1901, telephones were installed in the courthouse. Fire nearly destroyed Engle; only two businesses and three houses remained. In 1902, there were 89 white and 44 black schools in Fayette County, with about 7,500 students.

The La Grange Cotton Compress with 2000 bales of cotton were destroyed by fire in 1906.

In 1907, the state condemned .36 acres of the Kreische property to gain public access to the Dawson and Mier tomb.

44 The last public hanging in La Grange occurred in 1909.

Hurricane winds destroyed or damaged many buildings in the county, including churches, businesses, schools, homes, out buildings and windmills. The first issue of the Fayette County Record was published. [See note at end]

In 1910, the population of the county decreased to 29,796.

Theodore Roosevelt made a “whistle stop” in La Grange in 1911, speaking for five minutes at the MKT depot.

45 A flood of historic proportions covered much of La Grange in December 1913. Four feet of water filled the square. Damages in the county were extensive.

In 1915, St. Martin’s Catholic Church, billed as “The World’s Smallest Church,” was built with left-over lumber from a larger church.

The U.S. entered World War I in 1917. Including the 59 men lost to disease and accidents, Fayette County had at least 74 war casualties. By 1919, American Legion posts were estab

46 By the end of WW I, automobiles had ended the horse and buggy days in the county. Saddleries and liveries were replaced by auto repair shops and gas stations. In 1918, countywide school redistricting resulted in 82 school districts. Ten years later, additional consolidation began reducing that number.

Annie Webb Blanton (1870- 1945), a La Grange High School graduate, was the first Texas woman elected to statewide office when she became State Superintendent for Public Instruction in 1918.

47 The Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, prohibiting the manufacturing and sales of alcoholic beverages, was ratified in 1919. This legislation was a blow, especially to Germans and Czechs in the county. Federal prohibition officers from Houston regularly visited the county arresting “bootleggers” and “moon shiners.” Residents were greatly relieved when the Prohibition Act was repealed by constitutional amendment in 1933.

48 In 1920 the population of Fayette County was 29,965.

The La Grange Hospital was established by Dr. Frank J. Guenther in 1920 and incorporated in 1927. Dr. F. E. Young and Dr. C. M. Hoch (anesthetist) were staff doctors of the original five-bed facility. A nurses training school, established in 1921, graduated 25 nurses before closing in 1932. The Guenther Clinic was across the street from the hospital. On July 6, 1924 Moravan was renamed Hostyn by unanimous decision at a homecoming of old settlers.

49 The Fayette County Fair Association organized in 1924. An exposition hall, horse racing track with grandstand, dance pavilion and other structures were built on land purchased north of La Grange. In 1937 the race track was turned into a baseball park for the local team, the La Grange Demons. Beginning in 1925 the county suffered a severe drought. After the rains returned, the Queen of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church at Hostyn erected its famous grotto in an act of gratitude.

50 In 1929 the Carnation Milk Corporation broke ground in Schulenburg for its first Texas milk processing plant. Special trains brought more than 30,000 people to the celebration.

The same year a Street Improvement Celebration in La Grange attracted thousands, who enjoyed dancing on the newlypaved streets around the square.

In 1930 the population was 30,708. Fayette County was one of the first in Texas to scatter wildflower seeds along roads and to build a roadside park near West Point.

Note: There have been three iterations of The Fayette County Record. The first was begun about 1874 and ran until about 1880. The second was published from 1909 until 1912. The current Fayette County Record was first published in 1922.

Footprints Of Fayette

Fayette County is one of the most historic counties in Texas. In this weekly feature from the County Historical Commission, a rotating group of writers looks back at local history.