History

Bay City VFD battling blazes for 118 years

News Staff
Thursday, November 7, 2024
   The Bay City Volunteer Fire Department was established in 1906 - 118 years of service to Bay City and the surrounding areas.  William Walker Sr. was the first fire chief when the only equipment in the city was a two-wheeled, hand-drawn chemical cart.

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...
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