LImestone Legacies: A Collection of Articles on Granbury and Hood County History

By Melinda Jo Ray

Limestone Legacies is a collection of articles and photos on the local history of the town of Granbury and the surrounding Hood County in north central Texas from the 1840s to the present day. The local story has been greatly influenced by the Brazos River, or as the Spanish explorers named it- El Rio de los Brazos de Dios- the River of the Arm

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blue Topaz Publications
• Release date: Jan 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781087990545

Melinda Jo Ray

A seventh generation Texan, Melinda Jo Ray is a retired librarian and educator, who has long enjoyed sharing her life-long love of history and the real people who inhabit it with others. She has now added freelance writer and local historian to her list of occupations, and frequently writes articles for local publications and visits various groups as a speaker on local history and its connection to the American story and our present-day lives. For fourteen years she was also the owner and operator of the Historic Nutt Hotel on the downtown Granbury square, a business established by the families whose story is found in these pages. It is still offering a safe haven and hospitality to others after almost 130 years.

Book preview

Limestone Legacies

Copyright © 2020 by Melinda Jo Ray. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First Printing, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-0879905-4-5 (e-book)

Thanks to the Hood County Historical and Genealogical Societies and also the Hood County Museum for all the access to historic photos and archives in both their digital storage and the archives at the Granbury Depot! Also, again, thanks to the various Nutt and Landers family descendents who have provided such a wealth of resources and information to me over the past fifteen years!

\

Dedicated to:

My friend and colleague

Karen Nace

Tireless fighter in the quest to preserve our history, tell the truth and get it as right as we can.

and to

My friend and colleague

Scott Young

Whose many years of leadership and service to the Historic Granbury Merchants Association have contributed so greatly to the continued vitality of The Historic Granbury Square through the first two decades of the 21st Century.

and to

My friend

David Guinn

Who most of all understands about The River, about the sacred mountain and the cliffs of white limestone.

He hears the call of this land just as his forbears did, and encouraged me to listen for that call and the whispers of those who came before us, and inspired me to keep telling their stories.

Table of Contents

A Hymn of El Rio de los Brazos de Dios

Forward – Over 155+ Years in the Arms of God

Setting the Record Straight – How We Got Those Names!

SECTION I – STORIES OF THE FOUNDERS

Pleasant Thorp – Pioneer and Visionary

Josephine Cavasos Barnard – Captured But Never Defeated

Amon Bond – A Man of Character

A Cemetery Tale – Were the Spirits Disturbed

Abel Landers – The Real Man Behind The Law West of the Brazos

The Matriarchs of Granbury, Part 1 -- Those Indomitable Nutt Women

Jessie and Elizabeth Nutt – A Timeless Tale of Love and Devotion

Jacob Nutt – A Father to the Fatherless

Patrick Henry Thrash – First Mayor of Granbury

Peter Garland – Villain or Hero

David and Sudie Nutt – Industrious Hospitality

E.A. and Nettie Hannaford – Looking Out for Each Other

A.P. Gordon – Schoolmaster, Saloonkeeper, Businessman

D.C. and Gertrude Cogdell – Bear Ye One Another’s Burdens

Josie Nutt Curtis Haralson – The Greatest of These Is Love

Martha Eli Mattie Nutt – A Life of Service

SECTION II – GLIMPSES OF THE PAST

Winter on the Frontier

A Different World – A Different Time

Swimmin’ Hole Memories

Dust, Mud and Plywood —Back in the Day on the Granbury Square

Granbury College — The School on the Hill

Add-Ran College — The Hood County College that Became TCU

The First Great Change – The Railroad Comes to Hood County

Early Eatery Brings Twenty Years of Good Eats

Almost a Century of Summer Fun— The Camps of Hood County

Festivals of Yesteryear –Texas Independence 1923 and San Jacinto Day 1924

Historic Churches – Spreading the Word Across the Years

Ramblings of an Old School Teacher – Good Children’s Reads from Yesteryear

Newspapers: News and Social Media -- Wild West Style!

SECTION III – LEGENDS AND LORE EXPLORED

The Saga of John St. Helen – An Assassin Comes to Granbury

The First Hanging (No Mitchells or Truitts in Sight)

Is Jesse James Really Buried Here?

SECTION IV – PRESERVATION AND REBIRTH

The Second Big Change – Lake Granbury

The Early Preservationists -- The Beginnings of the Work

The Matriarchs of Granbury, Part 2 – Mary Lou Watkins: The Visionary

Joe Nutt, Father of the Granbury Opera House

The Matriarchs of Granbury, Part 3 – Jeannine Macon: The Preservationist

The Matriarchs of Granbury, Part 4 – Mary Kate Durham: The Storyteller

The Era of the Organizations -- The Work Continues

Passing the Torch -- Local History is in Good Hands

Once Upon A Time

An Exceptional Legacy

SECTION V– FOLLOWING THE TRAILS OF HISTORY

A Lasting Legacy – Those Names on the Buildings

Historic Markers – State and DRT – A User Friendly Listing!

SECTION VI – SEARCHING FOR YOUR OWN HISTORY

Digging Up Relatives – Finding Family History in Hood County

The Treasures in Your House

From the earliest days of human habitation, this land we call Hood County has been a place of prayer. The Comanche peoples and other tribes, drawn here by the plentiful waters and far reaching views from the top of the mesa we now call Comanche Peak, made the top of the mountain a sacred place, seeking to acknowledge the presence of the Creator as they knew Him. The early Spanish explorers and priests, coming upon the sweeping curves and bends of the river that carved this land, were reminded of the encircling and loving arms of God and named it El Rio de Los Brazos de Dios -- the River of the Arms of God. The earliest settlers and pioneers who followed them brought their love of God and nation with them and their blood, and toil, and sacrifice built here a community that we are still a part of today.

A Hymn of El Rio de los Brazos de Dios

In Honor of the 150th Anniversary of the Founding of Hood County

(To the hymn tune AURELIA)

The waters of the Brazos forever ebb and flow-

just as they did in days of our forebears long ago.

Reminding us, His people, that we will ever be

Safe in the arms of God through all eternity

Her waters called the peoples for eons – time unknown

to site of sacred mountain and cliffs of white limestone.

For here the rushing waters whispered that they would be

Safe in the arms of God through all eternity.

As time marched ever onward new pilgrims from afar

were blessed to see the waters and the fair land they’d carved.

For here they found a refuge- a place where they could be

Safe in the arms of God through all eternity.

Through war and desolation and springs and summers fair

the ever-flowing waters told stories of His care.

And when His Word was preached that stream washed His Saints to be

Safe in the arms of God through all eternity.

Those waters of the Brazos now shining lake doth fill-

A symbol of God’s promise that He is with us still,

With call to lives abundant in Love and Charity,

Safe in the arms of God through all eternity.

~ Forward ~

Looking Back and Ahead to the Future

Over 155+ Years – In the Arms of God

1855 – 2020

Lots of great food, down-home music, fun and games, hymns of praise, and solemn ceremony marked the Saturday, November 5, 2016, Hood County Sesquicentennial Celebration in downtown Granbury! Even though the weather was cool and rainy, lots of folks turned out for the party! Folks in period dress walked the sidewalks of the square once more, as notes of old-time music and the smell of home cooked bar-b-que called up images of days gone by.

Thanks to the hard work by the members of the Hood County Historical Commission, Hood Countians had a fantastic opportunity to learn about what it was like here on the Texas frontier all those years ago! Local authors sold and told their stories, young and old alike signed up for fun old-timey games, and the whole town lined up for free bar-b- que with all the fixin’s from Joe Perkins and his great crew! The two biggest birthday cakes ever were donated by Kroger and HEB and served up in pieces generous enough to satisfy any sweet tooth!

Hood County natives David L. Cleveland and Mildred Umphress Molder were crowned Sesquicentennial King and Queen to culminate a competition that not only honored some of the county’s most revered and hard-working citizens, but also raised over $1,200 for a FOUNDER’S SCHOLARSHIP to go to a worthy Hood County senior graduate in the spring of 2017. The royal couple followed their crowning on the square with attendance at the Founder’s Hymn Sing and Prayer Service at the First Presbyterian Church where they lead the congregation in prayers for our county and our nation.

All this celebration serves to remind every one of us just how lucky we are to call Hood County home. As we came to the end of the year 2016 and even now, four years hence, we are grateful for the gift of living in this special community where our history is still alive and the spirits of the past hover near to remind us of our yesterdays. The stories they tell us and the lessons they share are worth hearing and heeding. Especially in unsettled times, we are so very blessed to be the beneficiaries of that legacy they cast for us in limestone. A legacy of community and caring. A legacy of a strong and hearty people of steadfast faith who faced hardship and danger with hope and courage. A legacy of visionary people who strove through the years in their own small ways toward the establishment of that more perfect Union spoken of in our National Constitution.

Here in Hood County our 155 heritage is one where people lifted each other up, where dreams were cultivated and shared -- where those to whom the most was given often felt it both honor and privilege, as well as sacred obligation, to share with those in need. We come from generations of people who strove to build a lasting community in the wilderness and who counted civic-mindedness and looking out for their neighbors to be a way of life. We come from hardy stock, who never gave up in the face of hardships difficult for us to comprehend. They faced drought, war, hostile natives, disease, heat, cold, and sometimes isolation. But always neighbors stood by to bridge the loneliness, drive off the despair, and fill the needy with the bounty of brotherly and sisterly love.

Old newspapers affectionately refer to elder community leaders as Uncle and Aunt, showing the sense of family that permeated the community. Humorous stories reside right along with the news of the day, telling us that laughter was also a great part of community life, and one of the most precious of the legacies left us. Along with the laughter and love, we can see an almost universal reverence for and love of learning. Schools and those who taught the children were held in high esteem, and, even in a time when it was not the case everywhere, our founders were insistent that education should be universal and extended to all children in Hood County regardless of sex or race.

The model they set, this way of living that preserves the community and builds up all of its people through both good times and ill, is the single most precious gift left to us by the founders of these communities along the River of the Arms of God. They set the bar high, encouraging us to look out for each other, enjoy one another, respect one another, and pray for one another even when we have differences of opinion and outlook. As we walk the journey through the second 150 years here together, especially in tumultuous times, let us remember those examples, let us live our history as they lived theirs: a bright and shining example to our children and our children’s children.

Those waters of the Brazos now shining lake doth fill,

A symbol of God’s promise that he is with us still,

With call to Life abundant, in Love and Charity,

Safe in the arms of God, through all eternity.

….From A Hymn of El Rio de los Brazos de Dios, 2016

Setting the Record Straight:

How We Got Those Names!

Hood County was formed in November 1866 by an act of the Eleventh Texas Legislature. The area had been within the Municipality of San Felipe de Austin as early as 1823 and the Municipality of Viesca in 1834. After Texas became a republic, the area now known as Hood County had, at one time or another, been part of Robertson, Navarro, McLennan, Johnson, and Erath counties. The formation of a new county mostly comprised of the western half of Johnson county had been discussed as early as the late 1850’s, but the tragedy and tumult brought to Texas by the American Civil War caused that decision to be delayed for several years. Indeed, the formation of the county in 1866 was the occasion of a little-known battle between the state legislature and the governor because of the political chaos that followed the war.

Indeed, most Hood County residents don’t know that we were actually the county that almost WASN’T. When President Abraham Lincoln was killed in April of 1865, his death opened the door for a full-blown political battle between the new president, Andrew Johnson, and the Congress of the United States over the process by which the southern rebel states would be readmitted to the Union. Johnson put forth a fairly lenient plan, while the Congress mostly advocated a much more stringent set of requirements that included several provisions that were very unpalatable to many southern lawmakers. This controversy between the president and the Congress lasted for over a year, and in the interim the southern states were left basically in limbo, defeated and conquered, but not yet fully reinstated as part of the Union. For that reason, the state legislatures of the seceding states did not really have official permission to operate. Finally, President Johnson gave some permission under his more lenient terms, but Congress’ terms were still different. So, when the Texas Legislature met in its Eleventh Session in 1866, it had permission from the president but not from Congress. The governor at the time, William Throckmorton, was a moderate, who kept trying to pressure the legislature to meet the additional requirements from Congress so the state’s government could continue unimpeded.

William Throckmorton, Texas Governor

Through the spring and summer of 1866, the Texas Legislature met, and basically took a series of actions (or refusals to action) that were In your face defiance of the rules being put out by Congress. Among those acts was the bill for formation of just one new county in the state. The bill, sponsored by the representative from Johnson County, William Shannon, stipulated that the legislative committee had decided to name that one new county after two of the men Shannon had served under during the war. The county was to be named after Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood of the Confederate Army. The county seat was to be named in honor of Confederate General Hiram Bronson Granbury. The governor, who was fighting to prevent a Federal Declaration of Martial Law and takeover of the government in Texas, was horrified. Convinced that the formation of a county with names so associated with the Confederacy could be the straw that broke the camel’s back with Congress, Throckmorton vetoed the bill and sent it back to committee with instructions to change the names.

Continually defiant, Shannon and the committee members refused and once again sent the bill to floor where it was passed once again. For a second time, Throckmorton angrily vetoed it, sending a letter saying, basically, you guys can keep doing this but I’m gonna veto this thing every time. Get over it and fix the names. By this time, it was well into October and the legislative session was nearing its end. For a third time the committee sent the Hood County formation legislation to the floor. Again, the legislature voted to pass. Again, it was sent to the governor. By this time the governor was livid. He vetoed the legislation a third time. Being told that Shannon had finally gotten enough votes to override his veto, Throckmorton sent the committee a letter along with his veto reiterating vehemently his fears of the consequences of their actions. The letter was ignored and the bill for the formation of Hood County passed the legislature with one vote more than the number necessary to override the governor’s veto. The proclamation was signed into law and the eleventh session of the Texas Legislature adjourned. This was their final act. Three months later, in early 1867, federal troops marched into Austin, the legislature and all government offices were declared vacant, and martial law was declared. Further turmoil ensued at the state level when the new carpetbagger legislature tried to rescind the names of the new county and county seat. One representative from Galveston pushed hard to rename the county seat Rubyville, after his daughter. But, the list of defiances by that Eleventh Texas Legislature was so long, that the reconstruction government decided to let the formation and names of Hood County and Granbury stand. Abel Landers, a local man but a known moderate in politics, was appointed county judge and was given authority to hold local elections to fill the seats of local government. The results of those elections were subject to the approval of the reconstruction government in Austin.

General John Bell Hood

Brig. General Hiram B. Granbury

A series of meetings was held in Acton, Stockton, Thorp Springs, and GlenRose Mills, in lieu of a formal county-wide election since voter eligibility was a question still very much up in the air. The inclination of the men to elect to leadership positions the men who had so recently led them in battle was understandable, but Abel Landers over and over reminded them of the looming constraints most likely coming from afar. He welcomed the participation and leadership of former soldiers in the process but preached the wisdom of allowing that older generation of non-combatants to serve as community leaders – county commissioners and such for a while longer, allowing the younger men to focus on rebuilding lives and livelihoods so disrupted by the recent years of conflict. Abel consulted with leaders in each community and chose four older men of strong leadership reputation as commissioners for his police court. C.C. Alexander and Wilson Barker from the area near GlenRose Mills and Barnard’s Trading Post, John Meek from over along the Paluxy, and Joe Robertson, the fiery preacher from Acton, were all eager to serve to promote the interests of the folks in their various parts of the county. C.C. had been county judge over the entirety of Johnson County for a time a few years back and so was a good source of information and comradery to Abel in the daunting task at hand.

Abel Landers Appointed First County Judge

When the dust settled, in January of 1867, and the police court met at Abel’s cabin in Stockton for the first ever meeting of the Hood County Commissioners or Police Court, thirty or so observers gathered to watch. After discussing the consensus built at each of the far-flung county meetings, Abel Landers announced the election of Dr. D. K. Turner, a well-known local physician, as county treasurer, Gideon Mills a literate Scots-Irish farmer from over Paluxy way as tax assessor and collector, and John Morris a miller from over near Walnut Creek in Acton as clerk for the district court.

In spite of Abel’s advice to the contrary, the other two persons elected were former Confederate officers. A.J. Wright, husband to one of the Nutt’s daughters was elected as county sheriff. Relative newcomer Alex McCamat, who had fought with one of the Indian protection regiments out in West Texas with some of the local men, was the new county clerk. He was a surveyor by trade, so many figured that made sense for him to have that office that dealt so much with the affairs of land ownership. These two elections did indeed end up being overturned by the military government amid much turmoil. Eventually, two local non-combatants in the war were chosen as replacements: John Hightower as sheriff and Jesse F. Nutt as county clerk.

Location of the new county seat was also a controversial issue. Residents in the southern section of the county favored the center of the county, as stated in the law. The other choice was a parcel of land donated by influential county leaders Thomas Lambert and J. F. and J. Nutt. The commission established to designate the county seat, citing a poor water supply at the center of the county, voted in favor of the donated land. The controversy surrounding the site of Granbury eventually caused the residents of the southern section of the county to petition for a new county. As a result, in 1875, Somervell County was established by an act of the Texas Legislature.

SECTION I:

STORIES

OF THE

FOUNDERS

Pleasant Thorp: Pioneer and Visionary

A hardy pioneer from Virginia, Pleasant Earl Thorp settled on the west banks of the Brazos River in 1854. Naming the spot for himself and nearby springs in a branch of Stroud’s Creek, Thorp envisioned not just another settlement but an important town, and he spent almost the next forty years making the dream come true. At his death in 1890, the eighty-one-year-old pioneer had lived to see his vision become reality. In that year the town’s population was over 1,000, and it was known statewide. Many later, lesser settlements are now familiar names. But Thorp’s dream blossomed only for a short, glorious season, then withered. By 1980, the population of the once-vibrant town was estimated at 184. Pleasant Thorp could not have been pleased.