“Footsprints of Fayette”
As we begin a new year, it may be interesting to look back on previous events in our county. There are numerous stories from long ago waiting to be retold. This is Part I of three articles about events that happened in Fayette County a century ago.
The Jan. 1, 1925 issue of the La Grange Journal reported that another barn in the Carmine area had been destroyed by fire.
It noted that “this is the fifth barn in that section to have been destroyed by fire within the last three months…the fact that so many barns have been claimed encourages the opinion that there is someone unnecessarily busy” [i.e., purposely setting the fires]. The barn building, hay, corn, harness, etc., was considered a total loss.
These fires of unknown origin followed a pattern. They were quite prevalent in some of the rural areas, especially the communities of Carmine, Ellinger, Winchester, etc., where the railroad ran through the communities, and happened to be a considerable distance from the Sheriff’s Office in La Grange.
One can draw their own conclusion to these occurrences.
The Jan. 8, 1925, Journal reported that “early Sunday morning a freight train on the Katy [MKT railroad], headed for Houston, was wrecked near Halsted—at Heller’s pasture— and for the wonder no lives were lost.
In rounding the curve toward the bridge that spans the [Baylor] creek, the cars left the rails, ploughed along the ties for a distance, and then crashing down, carried a part of the bridge.
Automobile tires, cotton, and oil in the train of forty cars was scattered.” Obviously, the wreck caused a delay of passenger and mail service.
The Jan. 29 issue of the Journal informed the public that there was a lot of cold weather sickness in the area near Schulenburg and also informed the public that everyone took a glance at the recent eclipse that darkened the sun across the state of Texas. The same issue of the paper also stated that the city of Fayetteville was installing concrete sidewalks around town and had a variety of pecan trees planted on the Courthouse grounds.
There was also a report that the community of Ellinger, as well as other parts of the county, was hit with an outbreak of pneumonia, flu, and severe cold. The newspaper had even printed a simple home remedy for pneumonia, which was a formula for a poultice of onions, rye meal, and vinegar that was to be applied to the chest of the patient and which assured the public that the patient would be out of danger in a few hours.
The Feb. 5 issue of the Journal published a picture of what is currently referred to as the Casino Hall in La Grange. The article informed the public that the building had been recently vacated by the La Grange Independent School District and would be used by the La Grange City Council for its meetings.
The lower part of the building would be used by the La Grange Fire Department to house its REO Fire Truck and Pumper.
There were also several stories in the newspaper concerning the trial of William Langhorne of Washington County for the murder of a local girl and the assault of her sister in February 1925.
A Fayette County jury found the man guilty of the highly publicized and gruesome charges and sentenced him to the death penalty.
By the 23rd of April, the Journal was in the process of printing articles concerning the historic drought which had settled upon the majority of the counties in the state of Texas. Stories of this incident will follow in an upcoming article.
The May 21st issue of the Journal provided readers with the information that Farmers Lumber Company in La Grange had built some new lumber sheds which would make the company “a credit to the city.”
Also, an advertisement informed the public that Farmers Lumber was now selling “Sheet Rock, the Fire-Proof Wall Board.
