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“The Settlement,” a self-sufficient African-American community settled between 1870 and
1880 by a pioneer group of Chisholm Trail Black Cowboys and their families. Located in La Marque and Texas City Texas. |
A fine
district that is pure history
By Heber Taylor
The Daily News
Published September 20, 2009
The 1867 Settlement Community
should be a historic district under the National Register of Historic Places.
On Friday, officials with
the Texas Historical Commission toured the area in Texas City,
which was settled by African-American cowboys and their families shortly after slavery ended. At the heart of the district
is the home of Frank Sr. and Flavilla Bell, at 117 Bell Drive.
It was built in 1887.
Local folks rolled out
the red carpet and showed the visitors from the historical commission some Gulf
Coast hospitality. The officials were met by trail riders, including
Harold Cash, a rodeo champion who one day should be in the Cowboy Hall of Fame.
The Settlement’s
supporters convinced the folks from the Texas Historical Commission that the nomination for this honor was worthy of support.
That nomination now goes to the national level.
A lot of organizations
have worked to preserve the story of The Settlement. They include the Galveston County Historical Commission, the city of
Texas City, the Environmental Institute of Houston and the
African-American History Preservation Committee. Helen Mooty, an architectural historian, deserves a medal.
All of these organizations
and supporters made a convincing case that The Settlement should be declared a historic district. But we’d like to add
one more reason: The Settlement has an unusual way of inspiring young people.
Many people complain it’s
hard to interest middle school and high school students in history. The Settlement is the prescription to that illness. The
story about how those cowboys rode the Chisholm Trail to earn money for their own homesteads
has a way of exciting young people.
If you doubt that, consider
that students were so inspired by the story that they did much of the work that led to a Save Our History grant from the History
Channel. The project won the History Channel’s Honors Award in 2006. Four La Marque
High School students went to Washington,
D.C., to receive the Time Warner Preservation Award from Laura Bush.
The Settlement is a valuable
part of our history. It’s deserving of the designation as a historic district.
• Heber Taylor
Commission
to decide on historic status
By Hayley Kappes
The Daily News
Published September 19, 2009
TEXAS CITY
— The home where Vera Bell-Gary was born 83 years ago still stands on a secluded street in one of Texas City’s
oldest neighborhoods.
Surrounded
by houses built by her grandparents, Frank Sr. and Flavery Bell, the area provides a crucial piece of local history, one that
Bell-Gary won’t let slip away.
Texas Historical
Commission representatives visited the home Friday afternoon and will consider the merit of its possible recognition into
the National Register of Historic Places.
Board members
of the commission’s review committee will decide today whether the 1867 Settlement Historic District will receive the
distinction.
Bell-Gary’s
grandparents were slaves at the Butler Ranch in League City. Soon after the Civil War ended, the Bells bought plots in present-day
Texas City, a few blocks west of state Highway 3. The area became a well-known black settlement for newly emancipated slaves.
A significant
number of black cowboys from the area drove cattle on the Chisholm Trail, Bell-Gary said.
The district
is comprised of the oldest remaining house at the corner of South Bell Drive and Eunice Street, a pair of 100-year-old oak
trees, a corner store that now houses a salon and gift shop, a home built by Frank Bell Jr. and a smaller home next door.
In 2005, the
Galveston County Historical Commission received the History Channel’s Save our History grant, which was used to preserve
homes in the district, many of which were built by members of the Bell family.
The city of
Texas City became the owner of the Bell’s home at 117 S. Bell Drive and stabilized the property. Restorations were done
to the house, built in 1887, and a short picket fence was placed around it.
“The
community is very close here,” Helen Mooty, architectural historian for county historical commission, said. “Everyone
knows each other.”
Mooty was
in charge of the application to consider the district for admittance into the National Register of Historic Places.
“My
grandparents worked so hard to adjust to being free,” Bell-Gary said. “The community here built their own schools
and churches. It was a self-contained place. So much of this place has been untold.”
Bell-Gary
worked with the county’s historical commission to preserve the district.
Texas City
Commissioner Donald Singleton said he had no idea the area contained such a rich history until the city became involved with
its preservation.
Preservation
efforts progressed beyond local government. La Marque Independent School District worked toward incorporating the area’s
history into curriculum, Bobby Gervais, former city attorney in Texas City, said.
“Local
history gives people a sense of identity and community,” Gervais said. “This is an important piece of Galveston
County history.”
Bell-Gary
said she wants to convert the home she was born in into a bed and breakfast.
Money was
set aside to place informational kiosks in front of the homes for tourists.
Texas City
plans to eventually turn the house it acquired into a community museum.
“We
don’t learn the history of our own community in local schools, and that should change,” County Commissioner Stephen
Holmes said. “Guys here rode the Chisholm Trail all the way to Kansas. It’s nice to know a place like that was
here.” historic district.
Celebrating
milestones in black history
By Cathy Gillentine
Contributor
Published June 23, 2008
They came from slavery
into freedom, herding cattle with hundreds of other Texas heroes, saving their dollar-a-day wages to buy land and establish
The Settlement. And it all happened here in Galveston County, on territory now known in the neighborhood as west Texas City.
Their descendants came
by the hundreds, on Flag Day, to celebrate the founders of their families and to join together in the big backyard of the
Bell house on Bell Drive to read a historical marker, listen to family histories and to “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
On that land, the cowboy
families had built homes, a church and a school. For a time, the place was called Campbellville, for the church pastor. It
was also Highlands, a stop on the Interurban line, then La Marque. And finally, west Texas City. But the creators of that
independent black community called it The Settlement.
Families included descendants
of the Bells, the Brittons, the Caldwells, the Hobgoods and the Phillips. And since almost all of the original settlers had
big, big families, there are branches and branches of each group.
City, school and history
organization leaders were at the Bell home to celebrate, including folks from the Butler Longhorn Museum in League City.
The local cowboys had earned
their salaries working for the Butler Ranch. All the history organizations in Galveston County are interested in seeing the
restoration of the Bell house. They are also looking forward to receiving an official marker for the Phillips Cemetery, which
lies nearby.
After all the official
speechifying at the Bell home —where grown-up children remembered playing in the big backyard — the party moved
to Hitchcock, to Stringfellow Orchard.
Owner Sam Collins had offered
the sumptuous grounds of the plantation house he is restoring as a reunion spot, a place to celebrate all the milestones of
the black community, including Juneteenth.
Members of the reunion
families, many of whom had come from as far away as California, opened up their folding chairs and tables and fired up their
pits to share a meal and listen to presentations from speakers young and old.
The person who invited
me, Vera Bell-Gary, made the rounds, welcoming everybody. She has been one of the hardest of the workers promoting the recognition
of The Settlement.
The front lawn of the beautiful
home, lined with chairs, became an outdoor auditorium, sheltered by towering pines and cedars. Under more sheltering trees,
families gathered for food and fellowship.
In my mind’s eye,
I could see those long-ago cowboys herding the cattle up north. After they collected their pay, they came back home to Galveston
County, plunking their dollars down for Texas land of their own.
Free at last, free at last.
• Cathy Gillentine
is a columnist for The Daily News. She may be reached at cgillentine1@sbcglobal.net.
Published June 18, 2008
TEXAS CITY — Our Settlement, the lone African-American community in Galveston
County from the Reconstruction era, now has its own Texas Historical Marker.
“More people from around the county
will know the history of Settlement, thanks to the dedication of the marker,” said Travis Smith, a La Marque public
school trustee who recently attended a dedication for the marker.
The marker is in front of one of the surviving houses
from the period.
“The house is over 120 years old,” said Vera Bell-Gary, chair of the African-American
History Preservation Committee.
Our Settlement, north of what is now FM 1765 and west of state Highway 3, was formed
mostly by the descendants of Chisholm Trail riders Thomas Britton, Calvin Bell, Thomas Caldwell and David Hobgood.
The
four men were slaves owned by George Washington Butler, who in the 1860s owned a ranch by Clear Creek in what is now League
City.
Eventually, the four men settled in the area that would be named Our Settlement — or Settlement for short
— on land allotted by then-county judge William J. Jones for former slaves who wanted to stay in the area.
Kneeland
Britton, the father of Thomas, was the original settler. He purchased 10 acres in 1867. Eventually a church, school and post
office were established as the population grew.
Speakers at the dedication included Galveston County Historical Commission
chairwoman Alecya Gallaway, Butler Longhorn Museum director Jennifer Wycoff-Van Der Wal, Precinct 3 Galveston County Commissioner
Stephen D. Holmes, Texas City Commissioner Donald Singleton, Stringfellow Orchards owner Sam Collins and Missouri City mayor
pro tem Jerry Wyatt.
Britton, Bell, Caldwell and Hobgood all worked for Butler’s ranch after the end of slavery
and from 1868 until the early 1880s spent much of their time on the open range, rounding up cattle in 13 counties within Texas.
They
sometimes stayed on the trail for two years, rounding up a herd until it was time drive the animals up the Chisholm Trail
to market in Kansas, a process which took months.
Historic
black community to get state marker
From staff reports
The Daily News
Published June 13, 2008
TEXAS CITY — The
Galveston County Historical Commission will dedicate a Texas Historical Marker on Saturday at the 1867 Settlement Community,
a historic African-American community pioneered by Chisholm Trail black cowboys in west Texas City.
This community is the only
Reconstruction-era community in Galveston County.
Saving the documented history
of the settlement began with a History Channel grant project in 2005 when the Galveston County Historical Commission partnered
with the La Marque Independent School District to have students involved in projects to research, record and preserve local
history.
The project, titled “Save
Our Settlement,” received the Time Warner National Preservation Award in 2006. This award was presented to the Galveston
County Historical Commission chairperson and four La Marque High School Students in the White House by first lady Laura Bush.
Galveston County Historical
Commission Chairperson Alecya Gallaway said: “This marker is the first of five proposed Texas Historical Designations
to mark historical buildings and sites in the community. Also, a National Register nomination is in process for a Settlement
Historic District.”
Pioneering families of
the settlement, Calvin and Katie Bell, Norval and Catherine Bell, Kneeland and Sylvia Britton, Thomas and Mollie Britton,
Thomas and Sophia Caldwell and David and Ellen Hobgood, will be honored at the ceremony. Immediately following the ceremony,
the descendants will motorcade to Stringfellow Orchards in Hitchcock for a Bell, Britton, Hobgood family reunion at the Sam
Collins Juneteenth celebration.
+++
At a glance
WHAT: Dedication ceremony
for the 1867 Settlement Community marker
WHEN: 10:45 a.m. Saturday
WHERE: Frank Bell Sr. home,
at 117 Bell Drive in west Texas City.
INFORMATION: Call
Vera Bell Gary at 409-935-5219
African-Americans on the Chisholm Trail By Rubi Reyes The Daily News
Published June 30, 2007 TEXAS CITY — Alecya Gallaway spent
Friday telling children about the role of African-American cowboys from Galveston County during the era of the fabled Chisholm
Trail, along which cattle were driven from Texas to Kansas.
Gallaway, chairwoman of the Galveston County Historical
Commission, held two presentations for the children at the Carver Center, 6415 Park Ave. in Texas City.
There still
are descendants of four of the cowboys — Calvin Bell, Thomas Britton, Thomas Caldwell and David Hobgood —in West
Texas City and La Marque.
Many of the children enjoyed the presentation and were surprised that many of the houses,
schools, and churches in their neighborhoods have been around for so long.
They asked several questions about the local
areas and wanted to know how old Carver Park and even some of their own homes are.
“I was surprised about how
long Carver Park has been around,” said Raphael Bell Haynes, a descendent of Calvin Bell.
| Frank Bell Jr. |
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By Samuel Collins III, February 2, 2008 |
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| 1. Frank Bell Jr. Marker |
| | Inscription. Frank
Bell Jr. (1893–1963) was the son of early La Marque settlers Flavery and Frank Bell, Sr. Although he received little
formal education, he was able to achieve business success and became a respected civic leader in La Marque’s African
American community.
Bell served in the U. S. Army during World War I and later was stationed in this area. He retired
from the army and began working in the oil industry in Texas City. In 1938 he began a real estate career with the purchase
of land in La Marque which he and partner Will Mentor subdivided into residential lots. As a partner in the B A & P Realty
Company Bell helped develop a number of residential subdivisions in La Marque’s African American communities in the
1940s.
Bell gained a reputation for fairness in his real estate dealings and as owner of a neighborhood store and
gas station. A behind-the-scenes force in local affairs, he served on Galveston County’s Negro Chamber of Commerce and
was often referred to as La Marque's unofficial African American mayor.
Bell played a vital role in the creation of
Carver Park and in obtaining needed funds to enhance the religious, educational and recreational opportunities for the city’s
African American community.
Erected 1995 by Texas Historical Commission on the
Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845–1995.
Location.
29° 22′ 7.08″ N, 94° 58′ 18.15″ W. Marker is in La Marque, Texas,
in Galveston County. Marker is at the intersection of Cedar Drive and Bayou Road, on the right when traveling west on Cedar
Drive. Click for map. Marker located in NE corner of intersection of Cedar and Bayou Road. You can see the marker when standing on the East side
of Bayou road looking West down Cedar. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1111 Bayou Rd, La Marque TX 77568, United
States of America. |
$10,000
Save Our History Time Warner Preservation Award
Galveston County Historical Commission, working with the La Marque Independent School District
Galveston, Texas
"Save Our Settlement" -
The Galveston County Historical Commission partnered with 3,000elementary, middle, and high school students representing the
entire La Marque Independent School District to explore the contribution of African Americans to the development of Galveston
County, explore African American heritage over generations, and help re-establish the forgotten history of "The Settlement."
The Settlement was a self-sufficient African American community settled between 1870 and 1880 by a pioneer group of Chisholm
Trail Black Cowboys and their families. Students worked with preservationists to survey the historic community, clean up the
Frank Bell Sr. home and preserve the artifacts found in the 100 year old structure, and prepare applications for Texas Historical
Markers to memorialize the lost community. High school and elementary school students worked together to conduct oral histories
with community members and alumni of the local segregated African American schools. The oral interviews were filmed and will
be transcribed and placed in an archive at the Lincoln Auditorium along with the artifacts discovered at the Frank Bell home.
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