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Town of
Security,
Montgomery County Texas
aka Old Security and Bennette
From
Heritage Museum of Montgomery
http://www.heritagemuseum.us/countyhistory.shtml
SECURITY aka Old
Security.
Security was on the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway, thirteen miles
east of Conroe, in eastern Montgomery County. Although settlement in the
vicinity began in the mid-nineteenth century, Security was not formed
until after 1889, when the GC&SF completed its branch line from Conroe to
Cleveland across eastern Montgomery County. Around 1900, a lumber boom in
this heavily wooded region brought an influx of settlers. By 1900, the
community had a post office known as Pocahontas. In 1902, the name was
changed to Bennette, in honor of J. O. H. Bennette, on whose property the
town developed. Bennette sold his holdings to the Security Land Company in
1907, and the post office closed. In 1910, a new post office was
established under the name Security.
In
1914, the schools at nearby Timber and White Oak were consolidated into
the Security common school. By that date, the community had a depot, a
sawmill, a cotton gin, two gristmills, two grocery stores, a general
store, a hotel, and a population of 150. In the late 1920s, the Security
school was merged into the Splendora Consolidated School District.
During the 1920s, the local timber supply started to dwindle; soon the
mill was forced to close, and the town declined. By the late 1920s, the
population had fallen to an estimated 100. When State Highway 105 bypassed
the town in the early 1940s, most remaining residents moved two miles
northward to the roadway. The Security post office was discontinued in
1954. Subsequently, only a handful of scattered dwellings, the Calvary
Church, and the Security Cemetery remained within a mile of the Security
siding on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe tracks.
In the late 1940s, the new community,
established on Highway 105 by former residents of the old town and known
as Security or as New Security, reported a population of twenty. From the
late 1960s to 1990, its population remained an estimated twenty-four.
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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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Security, Texas,
was a sawmill town, and about all that remains today is the name. It is a
community that has suffered untold difficulties. Prior to 1910 Security
was called Bennette's in honor of J. O. H. Bennette who owned a sawmill
along the Santa Fe railroad track. In 1910 the Security Land Company
bought Bennette's holdings and the community was renamed Security in honor
of this company. 84 |
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The
Security Land Company desired to develop the vicinity, so the company sent
land agents up North to sell to prospective immigrants, sight unseen, land
in the new community. The agents, John Booth, W. E. Wrenn, and J. G.
Hannagen traveled through the northern states and parts of Canada, selling
the land to almost a hundred families. The agents had a patented sales talk,
for they described the Security area as a Garden of Eden or a Hanging Garden
of Babylon. The agents stated to the Northerners that about Security wild
oats grew shoulder high, wild cabbage two feet across, and a profusion of
luscious citrus fruits, grapes, and wild figs could be picked the year
around. These agents produced pictures which had been cut from magazines and
enlarged, to give evidence to their stories. Each prospective immigrant,
upon purchasing land, was given a map and a picture of his tract. 85 |
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The land agents
also described to the immigrants what to expect of the old settlers at
Security. The agents pictured them as being unfit neighbors and advised the
immigrants not to associate with them. They stated that the men were so lazy
that they sat on their front porches most of the time; and, occasionally,
went out and killed a deer or bear for meat. Thus the immigrants formed the
opinion that the Texans were quire rugged people. 86 |
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In the winter of
1912 the new comers arrived at Security on a long train with all their
household belongings loaded in box cars. All the old settlers were gathered
around the depot with the intention of welcoming their new friends to be,
but to their surprise the crowd that got off the train seemed to be in a
very haughty mood. With their maps and pictures of their land in hand, they
scattered about the country side searching for their "Garden of Eden, " but
to their disappointment all they found was a low, grassy swamp in a button
willow thicket. 87 |
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One
man had brought his dairy of fifty fine milk cows with the intention of
grazing them on the wild oats, but he found no oats to graze. The woods had
burned off the previous fall and his cows almost starved that winter for
lack of green foliage. Dora Powers, a citizen of Security who came as one of
the immigrants, stated that many thought of turning the train around and
going back North that very first day. 88 |
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It
might have been well if they had departed immediately, because at the end of
the next year and after suffering untold hardships, due to their lack of
familiarity with the new environment, they pooled their money and caught the
train back North. |
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The local citizens
say that there was much contention between then and the "Yankees". Both
sides were as insulting to each other as they could possibly be. The
citizens laugh today in telling how they- played a trick on the Yankees, by
harvesting a part of their sweet potato crop early and causing the
Northerners to lose all of theirs. The Yankees watched the settlers closely,
because they did not know the farming methods of the area. Having followed
the example of the local farmers by digging their potatoes, that winter the
newcomers saw their crop destroyed by rotting.89 |
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Security at its zenith had one hotel, several business houses, a barber
shop, ice cream parlor, post office, school, depot, and a population of
several hundred people. 90 After the timber in the area was
exhausted, the sawmills shut clown, and when state highway 105 was
constructed through the county, it by-passed Security about two miles,
causing most of the residents to move, and today only a very few of
the citizens are left. |
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More on
the Town of Security
SECURITY, TEXAS.
Security was on the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway thirteen miles east
of Conroe in eastern Montgomery County. Although settlement in the vicinity
began in the mid-nineteenth century, Security was not formed until after
1889, when the GC&SF completed its branch line from Conroe to Cleveland
across eastern Montgomery County. Around 1900 a lumber boom in this heavily
wooded region brought an influx of settlers. By 1900 the community had a
post office known as Pocahontas. In 1902 the name was changed to Bennette,
in honor of J. O. H. Bennette, on whose property the town developed.
Bennette sold his holdings to the Security Land Company in 1907, and the
post office closed. In 1910 a new post office was established under the name
Security.
In 1914 the schools at
nearby Timber and White Oak were consolidated into the Security common
school. By that date the community had a depot, a sawmill, a cotton gin, two
gristmills, two grocery stores, a general store, a hotel, and a population
of 150. In the late 1920s the Security school was merged into the Splendora
Consolidated School District.
During the 1920s the
local timber supply started to dwindle; soon the mill was forced to close,
and the town declined. By the late 1920s the population had fallen to an
estimated 100. When State Highway 105 bypassed the town in the early 1940s,
most remaining residents moved two miles northward to the roadway. The
Security post office was discontinued in 1954. Subsequently only a handful
of scattered dwellings, the Calvary Church, and the Security Cemetery
remained within a mile of the Security siding on the Atchison, Topeka and
Santa Fe tracks.
In the late 1940s the
new community, established on Highway 105 by former residents of the old
town and known as Security or as New Security, reported a population of
twenty. From the late 1960s to 1990 its population remained an estimated
twenty-four.
Charles Christopher Jackson
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