History

Ashwood named for its lumber mills

News Staff
Thursday, October 31, 2024
   Ashwood is at the junction of Farm roads 1728 and 3156, 13 miles north of Bay City in northeastern Matagorda County.    The railroad reached this town on Caney Creek when a branch of the New York, Texas and Mexican Railway was built from Wharton to Van Vleck in 1899–1900.

Haller once represented county in legislature

News Staff
Thursday, October 24, 2024
   Nathan H. Haller, who represented Brazoria and Matagorda counties in the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth legislatures, was born in slavery in Charleston, South Carolina, on July 8, 1845.  His owner took him to Walker County, Texas, probably before 1860.

Early Matagorda MD later became father of UTMB

News Staff
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
   Thomas C. Thompson, physician and pharmacist, was born on September 28, 1839, in Matagorda County, Texas, the son of Johann and Ellen (Emily) Thompson.   He attended Baylor University at Independence and the University of North Carolina.

Chalmers once a town, then a refinery - now just farm land

News Staff
Thursday, October 10, 2024
   Chalmers was near Texas 60 some five miles north of Bay City in northern Matagorda County at the intersection of Skelly, Chalmers and Runnells Pierce roads.  In the early 1900s, the community was a stop on the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway.
Matagorda County Historical Commission Chairperson Carol Gibbs, right, received a Recognition Award in Appreciation “for your exceptional service in Preservation of Matagorda County History 2024. Presenting the award were (MCHC) board members Deean Griffith, far left, and Jennifer Bishop. The award was presented at the commission’s September meeting. Sentinel Photo/Mike Reddell

Matagorda County Historical Commission Chairperson Carol Gibbs, right, received a Recognition Award in Appreciation “for your exceptional service in Preservation of Matagorda County History 2024. Presenting the award were (MCHC) board members Deean Griffith, far left, and Jennifer Bishop. The award was presented at the commission’s September meeting. Sentinel Photo/Mike Reddell

Gibbs honored for ‘exceptional service’

News Staff
Thursday, October 3, 2024

J.K. Paulk: Soldier, Texas Ranger, Palacios merchant

News Staff
Thursday, October 3, 2024
James Knox PaulkMarch 11, 1850 Ozark, Dale County, AlabamaMarch 20, 1932 Palacios, Matagorda County, TexasBuried Palacios Cemetery, Palacios, Matagorda County, Texas  James Knox Paulk, Confederate soldier at age 15, Texas frontier Minute Man at age 22 and Texas Ranger at age 24, was the son of...
Callie M. Metzger

Callie M. Metzger

Metzger once owned many building sites in Bay City

News Staff
Thursday, September 26, 2024
  Callie May Metzger was a woman in a man’s world.   While most women were housekeepers at home raising children, she was an astute business woman with political interests.  She was the daughter of Louis F. and Clarissa Nickey Metzger and was born June 1, 1870 in Churubusco, Whitley County, Indiana.

Ira, Seth Ingram: Brothers made impact in early Texas

News Staff
Thursday, September 12, 2024
   Ira Ingram, son of Phillip and Rachel (Burton) Ingram, was born August 18, 1788, in Brookfield, Vermont.   A veteran of the War of 1812, he had been severely wounded by a bayonet at the Battle of Lundy’s Lane and suffered its effects the rest of his life.
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