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Town of Montgomery, Montgomery
County, Texas
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The Early History of Montgomery, Texas,
by
Kameron Kent Searle
was written in 2012 for the 175th Anniversary
of the founding of Montgomery in 1837.
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Excerpts from “A History of Montgomery County, Texas” Chapter V, Cities,
Towns, and Communities,
by William Harley Gandy”: For Sources, see
Endnotes:
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The
town of Montgomery
is the oldest in the
county. It has already been stated in this study how it was thought the town
of Montgomery got its name. Prior to 1837, Montgomery had been a trading
post established by Owen and Margaret Shannon, and located north of Town
Creek. The new part of the town was plotted by W. W. Shepperd, a land agent,
who bought the land from John Corner to establish the new part of the town.
The first mention of the new part of the town appeared in the Telegraph
and Texas Register, July 8, 1837. The article that was in the paper was
written by W. W. Shepperd on the fourth of July, 1837, and gave the location
of the town and advertised the sale of town lots. The sale of the lots was
to be held in auction at Montgomery the first day of September, and the
auction was to continue for three days. However, a plat of the new town was
not drawn by Shepperd until January 1, 1838.1 Two months later,
Shepperd through his agent and son-in-law, C. B. Stewart, gave to the county
thirteen town lots and a site for a courthouse. At the same time a more
definite procedure was given as to how the sale of the town lots was to be
carried out. These facts are explained in the following article:
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The president placed before the court
the written act of donation of William W. Shepperd to the county of
Montgomery of an equal undivided half interest in the town of Montgomery
and sixty acres of pine land adjoining donated for county purposes. And it
being put to the question whether said donations should be
accepted. It was unanimously received and the question being also, whether
the place of the town presented by C. B. Stewart as agent for W. W. Shepperd should be received. The
same was also unanimously received and adopted.
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Motioned that a sale of town lots of the town of Montgomery be made on 4th
Monday in April next for the purpose of raising funds to defray in part
county expenses. It was ordered unanimously that a sale should be made on
that date. Three previous advertisements being made in the Telegraph
etc. etc. Question being made upon what terms and the time of credit given
or to be given purchasers of town lots, It was ordered that sales be made
for one fourth cash, one fourth payable in three months, one fourth within
six months, and the remainder fourth 12 months. Purchasers giving liens upon
lots until final payment receiving certificates at the time of purchase and
giving the notes for respective amounts and on respective time.
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W.
W. Shepperd having made certain improvements in the town of Montgomery by
his agent C. B. Stewart, claimed the selection of thirteen lots giving an
equal selection of thirteen lots to the County Commissioners and registered
the action of the Court in relation to the instruction of the donation to
Wit, of an equal undivided interest in the town proposing that when the
county or its agent should have sold thirteen lots to counter balance the
thirteen selected by W. W. Shepperd. All sales of other lots the proceeds
thereof should be equally divided between the county and the said W. W.
Shepperd after each and every sale.2
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On October 21, 1839, W. W.
Shepperd sold his interest in the town of Montgomery to James McCown for
eight thousand dollars.3 James McCown influenced the development
of the new part of the town and through his inducement it became one of the
most progressive towns in the Republic. Montgomery prospered from the start,
because it was the county seat and main trading town of the county. As
conditions improved Montgomery received a generous share of the tide of
immigrants. Places of business were established, professional men located
their practices there, and soon Montgomery became one of the most important
towns in Texas.
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Two of the first professional men to
arrive in Montgomery to contribute to the advancement of the town were Dr.
E. J. Arnold and Dr. J. H. Price.
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In 1836, Dr. E. J. Arnold
came to Texas and in 1837 formed a partnership with Dr. James H. Price of
Houston. These doctors practiced both in Washington and Montgomery, going
from Washington to Montgomery in about the year 1839. Dr. Arnold was joined
by his wife sometime during his earliest years in Texas, and in the early
1840's they bought land and built a small home. In the early 1850's this
first home was replaced by a handsome one in which one of his grandsons, R.
C). Simonton, lives today.4
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Dr. Arnold was very popular in Montgomery
and took part in almost every movement for civic improvement. He and C. E.
Clepper donated land for the Montgomery Academy, and later, Dr. Arnold
offered a site for the construction of a female college, but this dream was
never realized. When he died in 1860, he was buried in Montgomery; but in
1880 his body was disinterred to be buried beside that of his wife in
Willis, Texas.5
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The other physician, Dr.
James Howe Price, arrived in Galveston in May 1837 on a steamer sailing from
New Orleans. He continued his journey to Houston, where he arrived on May
25, and in his diary he recorded the following:
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Found myself in what they call a Cut-throat town that afforded me not a
single friend and scarcely an acquaintance – without a particle of
experience in my half acquired profession – no medicine, no instruments –
nor no office or books.6
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In Houston Dr. Price
formed a partnership with a Dr. Matthews who had had some experience and had
been practicing there. Dr. Price set up practice after the necessary
equipment was obtained on credit, and for several months he found Houston a
very good place for a doctor's business.
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In April of 1837, Dr. Price decided to visit
his home in Tennessee; so he left his practice in the hands of a friend and
departed on a steamer for New Orleans. In the fall of that same year he
decided to come back to Texas, and on the way overland he was joined by two
more men who were also riding through the country on horseback. They were
several weeks
on the road, traveling through swamps, forests, and over almost impassable
trails. They came through Arkansas, Louisiana, and into Texas, entering by
the way of Natchitoches, Louisiana. They came on to Houston by way of old
Cincinatti on the Trinity River, and then to Montgomery, where Dr. Price
spent several days with the Worsham family. The account of this in his diary
is as follows:
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July
3, 1838. |
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…The Trinity at
Cincinatti is the most beautiful stream I have seen in Texas. Got this
evening to Hadleys. No corn or oats had to hopple out. Wed. 4th. Left this
morning after breakfast. Stopped at McDonalds, no person at home, gave our
horses a feed of corn. Came this evening to Lindleys and stayed all night.
The people were celebrating the 4th of July all over the country at
Crockett, Montgomery, etc. etc. July 5. Stayed at Johnsons –came on to Mr.
Worshams. Fri. 6. Concluded this morning to stay all day, we are much pleased with the
family, fine lady, etc. Sat. 7 This is my sick day (had a chill)
we have concluded to stay all day again. I have been well all day, went to
Montgomery today. Returned this evening to Mr. Worsham. Sun. 8. Left this
morn after breakfast for Houston got this evening to Wynns. 30 mi. and
horses are out.7
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Upon his arrival in
Houston, Dr. Price found that the doctor he had left to take charge of his
practice while he was gone had taken his business. It was on account of this
incident that he decided to come back to Montgomery.
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In Montgomery he met Dr.
E. J. Arnold, and formed a partnership with him. Dr. Price was not only a
successful physician, but also he was a successful farmer. He owned much
land and many slaves, and was very prosperous both as a farmer and a trader.8
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In addition to the
professional men, the town of Montgomery drew men of a business nature. They
established mercantile houses which caused Montgomery to advance
commercially. Two of these early business men were the Willis brothers,
Peter J. and Richard S. In 1836 Peter J. Willis landed in Nacogdoches, where
he stayed about one year and then went to old Washington-on-the-Brazos,
where he stayed another year before coming to Montgomery. He married
Caroline Womack of Montgomery, and they had two sons and four daughters, the
youngest daughter dying at Montgomery when a child. Peter Willis built a
small log house when he first arrived; soon, however, he was able to build a
fine new home furnished with the best furniture that he could buy. He bought
his furniture in Galveston and had it shipped to Montgomery on ox-drawn
wagons. He had the grounds about his home landscaped, and the whole place,
when completed, was one of the very finest homes in Montgomery. The home,
with the furniture, still stands today and is owned by Mr. Raymond
Weisinger.
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Peter Willis was a
personal friend of Sam Houston, and it is said that Houston spent many
visiting hours in Montgomery in the Willis home.9
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When Mrs. Willis dies in
1863, Mr. Willis closed his store and his house and left two old Negro
servants as caretakers. After a few years, however, he sold his home and
moved to Galveston. The last surviving child of Peter Willis was Mrs. George
Sealy of Galveston, who died only recently. Her name was Magnolia, and it
was from her that the Magnolia Petroleum Company took its name, since she
was one of its largest stock holders.10
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Richard S. Willis, a
younger brother of Peter J., and a boy of sixteen, came to Montgomery in
1837, a year later than his brother. He joined partnership with his brother,
and, after getting started in the mercantile business, the two brothers
established the Willis Brothers General Merchandise Company.11 |
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Business prospered and so
did the town as more people moved into Montgomery. In the early 1840's Dr.
J. H. Price established a grist mill at Montgomery; and, some years later,
he built a gin on his property about three miles west of the town. Another
industry that started was a pottery which was located on a farm south of the
town. It was established in the late 1840's and the remains of the old kiln
and a few broken pieces of pottery still mark the location where it stood.
It was short-lived, but to this day, the stream that furnished water for the
pottery is called Juggery Creek. Most of the pottery was sold to a nearby
whiskey still for whiskey jugs and to local house wives for bowls and
churns. Many crudely molded jars from the pottery are in the hands of
several citizens today.12
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Another industry which
made Montgomery progress was a tannery started by Antony Martin in 1843. He
purchased a bark mill from P. J. Willis and installed a tannery on Martin's
Creek about three miles east of Montgomery. He operated the tannery until
the Civil War, when it was abandoned. Hides were purchased from local
settlers and tanned into leather which was usually sold to the local shops
in Montgomery.13
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By 1845 Montgomery had
grown large enough to have a newspaper, a Masonic lodge, a telegraph
station. The newspaper published by John Marshall Wade was the Montgomery
Patriot, and the first regular issue appeared on April 26, 1845. 14
The Montgomery Patriot of July 2, 1845, advertised the places
of business of M. O. Dimon, General Merchandise; B. F. Duncan, Fashionable
Tailor; M. Shaben and Bros, Merchandise; Lem. Smith, Cabinet Manufacturer
and Upholsterer; and P. J. Willis and Brothers, General Merchandise. In one
of the advertisements James McCown advertised: . . .Will sell cheap, and on
accommodating terms, a pair of first rate STILLS, together with all the
apparatus to carry on a distillery." Also in the same issue James McCown
advertised the sale of town lots, and in the advertisement he gave a good
description of the prosperity of the town, which is as follows:
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…The
lands surrounding Montgomery, known as the Lake Creek Settlement, being of
such a rich and fertile character, and having a rich and industrious
population, it is destined to be, in a short time, a town of considerable
importance.15
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Montgomery is the county
site of the most flourishing, populous and intelligent county in the
Republic. It is situated on an elevated ridge, which divides the waters of
the San Jacinto River and Lake Creek –In point of health, Montgomery is not
inferior to any place in the world, lying in the same latitude.
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The Masonic Lodge Number 25 was organized
April 25, 1845 in Montgomery. The minutes show that some of the people who
helped organize the lodge were W. H. Grand Master B. Gillespie, John
Gillespie, L. G. Clepper, Sam Houston, Buford Oliphant, and others.16
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The first telegraph line was built
through Montgomery in 1845 and it added to the prestige of the town. The
line extended from Houston to Huntsville by way of Montgomery. The line
traveled the old Stage Road, and even today old insulators can be found on
the trees along the old road.
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Besides being the center
of government and industry, Montgomery was the center of school and church
activities for the county. The Methodist as early as 1838 held meetings in
the town, and in 1842 the first Methodist parsonage of Texas was erected
there. The Baptists in the town organized a church in 1850.17
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Montgomery was one of the
leading town in the state for the advancement of education. An academy was
organized in 1848 for the purpose of educating its youth. The school was
called the Montgomery Academy.18
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Montgomery advanced so
rapidly that by 1848 an act was passed by the Legislature to incorporate it
as a town. The act in part is as follows:
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Be it enacted by
the Legislature of the State of Texas, That the citizens of the town of
Montgomery in Montgomery county, be, and they are hereby, declared a body
politic and corporate, under the name and style of the Corporation of the
Town of Montgomery, who shall have the power of suing and being sued,
pleading, and being impleaded, and to hold property real and personal within
the limits of said corporation, and at their pleasure to dispose of the
same.
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Be
it further enacted, That the corporate limits of said town shall extend one
half mile in every direction from the center of the public square.19
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The act also designated
the duties of the town officials, their term of office, and the days of
election. The first mayor after the act was passed was Nat Hart Davis. His
first duty was to clean out the town well.
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Nat Hart Davis was one of
the most prominent lawyers and distinguished citizens of Montgomery. In the
spring of 1840 he came to Montgomery from Madison County, Alabama and
applied for his Texas citizenship.20 He set up a law office in
the town and when his business was established he went to Mississippi and
married Sarah Elizabeth White. He brought his bride back to Montgomery,
where the two lived until their deaths. During his lifetime Nat Davis not
only had the honor of being the first mayor Montgomery, but also he had the
honor of holding many other positions. He held the position of Justice of
the Peace and District Judge for many years, and it is said by the
old timers that no one in the county since his death has excelled Nat Davis
in the art of handling the procedure of civil law.21 Today, a
portrait of Nat Hart Davis hangs in an honored position in the District
Courtroom of the Courthouse. Montgomery prospered, and it became one of the
most important trading centers in Texas. Long teams of oxen from up country
around Crockett passed through the town drawing loads of cotton, lumber, and
other products. They plodded their way slowly to Houston and Galveston, the
nearest markets. These wagons on their return trips brought back all kinds
of merchandise shipped from New Orleans, New York, and other places.
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Montgomery was on the main
stage line from Houston to Huntsville and from Washington to Bevil's on the
Trinity River. The stage coaches brought both passengers and mail, and the
arrival of the stage coach was the most exciting event of the day. As it
came up the stage road, the driver blew his musical horn so that it might be
heard by the citizens in town long before the stage drew up before the Price
Hotel.
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The stages usually met at
the Price Hotel, which was erected in 1858 by Dr. J. H. Price, and as they
arrived from different directions the passengers exchanged news. Then they
rested or ate while the horses rested or fresh ones were hitched to the
coach.23
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In 1854 one of the local
citizens who had been away from Montgomery on a visit wrote a letter in
which he said, "…The town is greatly improved in buildings but not in morals
–liquor is still retailed by Gay and Hooker, and Gafford–and gambling is
going on. Our town and county are quite healthy…24
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The town continued to grow
until the opening of the Civil War. Around 1857 a new school was started to
replace the Montgomery Academy which had been discontinued. This new academy
was established by Charles L. S. Jones and it was called Jones Academy. It
was a very popular institution and lasted until Mr. Jones' son and many of
the larger boys of the community enlisted in the Confederate army.25
In the Texas Almanac of 1857 Montgomery is described as a village of
considerable size occupying an elevated situation and containing many tasty
residences, and other evidences of refinement…26
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By 1860 Montgomery had
reached its peak of development, when the Civil War broke out it drained the
town of its able bodied citizens and wealth. In 1864 a Confederate soldier
who was passing through Montgomery on patrol duty described the place in his
diary as follows:
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…Thence through a country of timber to Montgomery, in the suburbs of which
we camp. This is my first visit to the Montgomery of Texas. It is a very
small town. Public buildings, an academy, church, Court house and jail; and
these of very ordinary qualities. The war has dried the little place up –not
a door open in it.27
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Montgomery never recuperated from the
Civil War. The war had sapped its life blood and before it could regain its
strength the reconstruction era came and brought it back to its knees. Then
too, the coming of the railroads caused an industrial change and many of its
businessmen and other citizens moved to the new railroad town of Willis.
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Montgomery's population had diminished so
much by 1873 that Montgomery had a feud with the town of Willis over the
site of the county seat. Willis claimed she had a larger population and that
she was nearer the center of the county; but Montgomery kept the honor of
being the capitol city until 1889, when by popular vote the county seat was
moved to the new railroad-sawmill town of Conroe.
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The maneuver of Willis awakened
Montgomery to the fact that she needed a railroad or an industry to keep her
citizens from leaving; so in 1877 the citizens of the town decided to build
their own railroad. Substantial contributions were made by the people in the
form of land, money, labor, and materials. The right-of-way was donated and
a Charter was granted to the Central and Montgomery Railroad on December 31,
1877. In return for the aid given by the people of the town, the railroad
company agreed to maintain a depot for passengers and freight service in the
town within a distance of not more than a thousand yards from the
courthouse.28 The railroad was built and only recently it was
abandoned.
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Montgomery has not changed
much since the courthouse was moved to Conroe. Today (1952) it has a
population of five hundred and twenty people.29 A citizen of the
town in 1950 wrote:
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…The
character of the town has not changed greatly; that whenever possible, the
old families have kept the lands of their forefathers in family hands; that
new industries will continue to be discouraged because the citizens dislike
the stepped-up tempo and often undesirable population shift that come with
certain industries. It is the desire of the present inhabitants that the
population in general will continue to have a high regard for culture; that
the town will not grow greatly but will strive to keep its churches and
lodges among the most highly respected and its schools as progressive as the
scholastic census will permit.
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It is noted that all those who have once
been of Montgomery continue to 1ove and respect the old town and at-every
opportunity return and visit with the friends of their fathers and mothers.30
More on the Town of Montgomery,
Montgomery
County, Texas
MONTGOMERY, TEXAS.
Montgomery is at the junction of State Highway 105 and Farm Road 149, near
the southwestern edge of Sam Houston National Forest fifteen miles west of
Conroe and fifty miles northwest of Houston in western Montgomery County. It
traces its roots to 1823, when Andrew J. Montgomery established a trading
post a few miles to the west of the current town site. On December 14, 1837,
the town named for Andrew Montgomery became the first county seat of
Montgomery County, the third county formed under the Republic of Texas.qv
The county originally extended from the Brazos River to the Trinity. A post
office opened in Montgomery in 1846. The city was officially incorporated in
1848 with Judge Nathaniel Hart Davis as mayor. In the era of antebellum
Texasqv Montgomery had a newspaper and a telegraph line and was
at the crossroads of two stage lines. It became a trading center especially
in lumber and cotton. In 1850 it had Baptist and Methodist churches, a
Masonic lodge, a private school, a new courthouse, and two physicians, E. J.
Arnold and J. H. Price. In the 1850s a yellow fever epidemic reduced the
population. With the Civil War and Reconstruction,qqv the
political and economic power in Montgomery County shifted away from
Montgomery. When the Houston and Great Northern Railroad laid track through
the center of the county in 1870, Conroe was established. In 1889 it was
chosen the new county seat. The population in Montgomery dropped from 1,000
in 1890 to 600 two years later, although the town's businesses still
included cotton gins, sawmills, and two hotels. The population decreased to
350 by 1925 but revived after World War II, reaching 750 in 1950, when
Montgomery remained a market and shipping center for the western part of the
county. The population slowly declined to fewer than 300 in the 1980s, but
10,000 people lived within a seven-mile radius of the town. Real estate,
ranching, and oil underpin the economy of Montgomery. In 1990 the population
was 356.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Max
Freund, ed. and trans., Gustav Dressel's Houston Journal (Austin:
University of Texas Press, 1954). W. N. Martin, A History of Montgomery,
Texas (M.A. thesis, Sam Houston State Teachers College, 1950). Robin Navarro
Montgomery, The History of Montgomery County (Austin: Jenkins, 1974).
Robin N. Montgomery
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For
another article on the history of Montgomery, see
"Amongst Oldest"
by Mary Davis.
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current information on town of
Montgomery,
Texas.
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