Refugio Timely Remarks and Refugio County News (Refugio, Tex.), Vol. 7, No. 8, Ed. 1 Friday, December 14, 1934 Page: 30 of 78
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: The Refugio County Newspaper Collection and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Dennis M. O’Connor Public Library.
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Page 24
THE REFUGIO TIMELY REMARKS CENTENNIAL EDITION
December 14, 1934
tokens. This council did not meet
very often and they were engaged
most of the time in trying to straight-
en out and determine whether or not
the various corporation roads were
properly located and upon the land
that had been designated for road
purposes. They are even at this late
date found correcting field notes and
perfecting or issuing quitclaim deeds
on land sold as far back as 1854,
when the titles were clouded but the
owners thereof had indisputable proof
that the land had been properly
acquired and produced indisputable
evidence that the corporation had
been paid in full for same.
No record can be found of an
election being ordered or held to elect
officers for the year 1895. However,
there is a record of a meeting held
on the 18th day of December, 1895,
at which it is recorded the following
aldermen were present: J. F. Hynes,
C. H. Heard, Henry Hornburg and
Secretary G. P. Rogers. At this meet-
ing it is written that “it having been
learned that the office of mayor is
vacant by reason of the abandonment
of said office by J. H. M. Ryals, who
had been duly elected and qualified to
fill the same” and after this declara-
tion they decreed that J. F. Hynes
should serve as mayor, pro tern., be-
cause he had been so appointed by
the vote of all other aldermen pres-
ent. This remnant of the council of
1895 convened in session again on
February 10th, 1896, at which meet-
ing they canvassed the returns of an
election held a few days prior to elect
the officers of the town government
for the year 1896. They certified the
names of the following as the duly
elected officials: J. F. Hynes, mayor;
C. H. Heard, Phil Power, Henry Horn-
burg and J. E. Fox, aldermen;. G. P.
P.ogers, treasurer, and W. F. Low,
collector. The new council ordered
that all officers must furnish bonds
varying form $100 to $300 and they
were ordered to file said bonds with
the secretary. They also voted to
issue script for all accounts approved
and constituting a claim against the
town. It appears that after the elec-
tion of the year 1896 that no further
election was held for the purpose of
electing the town officers until about
December of 1902.
Search for Town Lots.
During this time the old council
met on a few occasions and appointed
road overseers and selected or drafted
some of the able-bodied male popula-
tion between the ages of 21 and 45 to
work free of cost to the town upon
the streets, alleys and bridges. They
also employed a lawyer by the name
of D. E. Pipkin to make an examina-
tion of all records for the purpose of
ascertaining whether or not there
might be a few town lolts remaining
unsold and which might be market-
able. Beyond a doubt the finances of
the old town along about that time
were in a most embarassing condition.
Lawyer Pipkin, for these services,
was to be paid the sum of $25 in
script or town lots if he could find a
lot worth that amount. On May 11th,
1897, the council met with the follow-
ing members reporting present: May-
or J. F. Hynes, Aldermen Henry Horn-
burg, J. E. Fox and Secretary G. P.
Rogers. They, by way of placing
themselves on record, state that Phil
Power had theretofore resigned as an
alderman and that C. H. Heard in
failing to attend the meetings or re-
sign, left only two qualified aldermen
to act, and they resolved that, even
though only two aldermen were pres-
ent, it was considered that they con-
stituted a legal quorum and, by rea-
son thereof, were vested with the
powerro act and bind the town there-
by. They immediately resolved then
that it was the desire of the council
to lease the public square and the
mayor was therewith charged with
the duty to go forth and seek a les-
sor for same, and for a consideration
of not less than $10 per annum. In
the event that the mayor was fortun-
ate enough to find a lessor for the
square who was willing to part with a
“ten-spot,” he, in that case, was or-
dered to turn this money over to D.
J. Kelley, road overseer, to be used in
repairing a bridge standing urgently
in need of such attention.
Mayor’s Office Vacant.
On the 24th day of December, 1902,
the faithful old council again met, but
this time the office of mayor is found
vacant. It is related that Mayor J.
F. Hynes had removed his residense
to Aransas County and by reason of
such act had disqualified himself to
further serve in the capicity of mayor
of the town of Refugio. At this
meeting Henry Hornburg was ap-
pointed mayor, pro tern. They also
ordered an election to be held on the
first Monday in January of 1903 for
the purpose of electing new officers.
In June of 1904 the minutes reveal
that the voters had failed to elect a
mayor and at that time, and in special
session convened, the council ordered
that an election be held on June 13th,
1904, for the purpose of electing a
mayor and board of aldermen.
This election was duly held- on the
13th day of June, 1904, and on the
following day the old council met for
its last time to examine, estimate and
pass upon the votes cast the previous
day and to declare the winners of the
contest. They announced that Frank
Jecker had been elected mayor,
George Strauch, C. H. Heard, J. E.
Fox and Phil Power, aldermen, and
Charles E. Simpson, treasurer and
nal bosoms for protection. Thus we
saluted the invasion of the first iron
horse.
Familiar Noises Drowned Out .
Up until this time the quiet of the
old town had rarely been disturbed,
save and except for the howl of a
coyote, the call of the ducks and geese
on their flights heralding the approach
of spring or winter, or the yell of a
drunk, but now there came to us
something that rendered these things
no longer audible. Before long, how-
ever, man, beast, fowl and the birds
of the air became accustomed to the
whistle and bell of the locomotive, the
rattle and clang of the freight cars,
and again lapsed into their usual
peaceful struggle and rest.
The Death Knell of Freighting.
The coming of the railroad wrought
other changes. It sounded the death
knell for the long established business
of freighting by team and wagon
which had been carried on by in-
dividuals first from old St. Mary’s
and later mostly from Goliad. The
necessities of life had been freighted
to us in this manner for some 75
years, only to be abruptly interrupted
by a method which, up until this time,
had scarcely been dreamed about.
Commons Succumb.
The town commons, long that free
grazing ground for the livestock of
many, had successfully withstood the
attempts of various administrations
to dispose of it to the high bidders,
but now it was ordered sold and some
of it went into the possession of the
railroad, on which they built their
depot and stockpens. All not utilized
in this manner was later cut up into
lots and placed on the market for re-
sale by the railroad as a subsidiary
corporation.
This administration was returned
to office without change for the term
of 1905. Their entire meetings were
given over to the advertising and the
selling of the old town commons land,
which had, for the most part, been
cut up into 30-acre tracts. As usual,
the last act of the council was to con-
vene and canvass the returns of an
election held to elect the officers for
the new term.
Strauch Elected Mayor.
In the election held in January,
1906, George Strauch was elected
mayor; J. E. Fox, Frank Jecker, Phil
Power and C. H. Heard were elected
aldermen, and Charles E. Simpson,
treasurer. The new council appointed
L. R. Jeter, secretary. These officers
represented the town until the year
of 1915 before a new board was elect-
ed to succeed them. This administra-
tion was not very active and from the
minutes of their meetings it appears
that they met on very few occasions.
Their meetings, as were those of the
previous administration, were taken
up with the matter of selling some of
the remaining farm lots on the town
commons.
On January 4th, 1915, an election
was held for the town officers and at
this election, the following were elect-
ed: Ben Shelton, mayor; C. H. Heard,
J. E. Fox, Wilson Heard and Phil
Power, aldermen; Branch Smith,
treasurer, and George Strauch, col-
lector. It appears from the minutes
that the outgoing administration ap-
pointed J. Turner Vance to serve as
secretary to the new, or incoming
council. It is not made clear by the
minutes what happened, but it is pre-
sumed that the mayor-elect, Ben Shel-
ton, had failed or refused to qualify
collector.
Eugene Low had been serving as
secretary and he at once made known
to the new officials his desire to sur-
render and vacate this appointment
in favor of some other loyal citizen.
Whereupon, the first act of this new
council was to accept Mr. Low’s res-
ignition and appoint one Mr. James
F. Power to fill the vacancy caused
by Mr. Low’s resignation and the
councils’ acceptance thereof.
At about this time a railroad, to
begin at Brownsville and to terminate
at Houston, was under consideration,
or, possibly, construction. Anyway,
we happened to be in its path, and
the old town was suddenly awakened
by the appearance of strangers talk-
ing about a railroad, rights of way,
depots, and other strange things that
were entirely foreign to many of us.
Phenomenon Appears.
It has been mentioned elsewhere,
that on two other occasions the matter
of furnishing a right of way to a pro-
posed railroad had been under consid-
eration by the councils, but this time
it seems that we were in the way of
one that was coming anyway, and we
could believe it or not. The result
was that a year or so later there ap-
peared in our midst, a phenomenon
in the nature of a huge hulk of steel
with steam sizzling out of its nose
and ears and belching huge gusts of
black smoke from its mouth.
Upon the appearance of this train,
horses and cows stampeded, dogs
howled, charged and barked, cats
frizzed up their hair and scampered
under buildings, hens quit their nests,
roosters and gobblers skipped their
struts, birds took flight to a wilder-
ness where no such phenomenon was
present, buildings rattled, the earth
trembled under foot, and frightened
children betook themselves to mater-
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Jones, J. L. Refugio Timely Remarks and Refugio County News (Refugio, Tex.), Vol. 7, No. 8, Ed. 1 Friday, December 14, 1934, newspaper, December 14, 1934; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1098094/m1/30/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Dennis M. O’Connor Public Library.