Historical Markers in Hallettsville, Texas

Hallettsville · 1936

Named for Mrs. Margaret Hallett, widow of John Hallett, a member of Austin's colony and a veteran of San Jacinto, who donated the town site. 1936

Petersburg · 1936

County seat Lavaca County, 1846-1852. Founded upon the town site donated by Arthur Sherill. Named by order of the Commissioners Court August 31, 1846. First officers, 1846-1848, Andrew Ponton, chief justice; B.…

Captain Leiper Willoughby · 1956

Star and Wreath Came to Texas in 1831. Member Captain William H. Patton's Company at the Battle of San Jacinto. Served in the Vasquez Campaign and against the Indians in 1842. Died in 1874. Erected by the State of Texas…

Stephen Tucker Foley · 1957

Star and Wreath Born in Alabama. Came to Texas in 1834. Served in the Army of Texas, 1836. A member of Captain William Heard's Company of Citizen Soldiers at the Battle of San Jacinto. Erected by the State of Texas 1956

General John W. Whitfield · 1962

Born Tennessee. Legislator. Went to Missouri 1853. Indian agent Kansas. Territory Kansas representative U.S. Congress 1854-57. Moved Texas before Civil War. Organized Lavaca County company for C.S.A. 1861, led 4th…

Joseph Kent · 1962

Came to Texas about 1832. Taught in the Texas War for Independence at Bexar, 1835 and at San Jacinto, 1836. Died in Lavaca County, 1849. Erected by the State of Texas - 1963

Joseph Lawrence · 1962

Star and Wreath A volunteer in the Texas War for Independence; a San Jacinto veteran. Erected by the State of Texas 1962

Paul Scarborough · 1962

Star and Wreath Came to Texas in 1835; served in the Texas Army from October 3 to December 14, 1835. Member Company D, First Regiment Texas Volunteers at San Jacinto, 1836. Erected by the State of Texas, 1962

Arthur Pendleton Bagby · 1963

(May 17, 1833 - February 21, 1921) Star and Wreath Native Alabamian, last surviving member of West Point class of 1852, lawyer, colonel in 7th Texas Confederate Cavalry, participant in Sibley's New Mexico campaign,…

John Wilkins Whitfield · 1963

Star and Wreath Brigadier General, C.S.A. Battle of Pea Ridge, commanded "Whitfield's Legion" at Iuka, Brigade commander Vicksburg Campaign, Texas legislator. Erected by the State of Texas 1963

50th Anniversary of Battle of Galveston · 1967

Jan. 1, 1863 --- Jan. 1, 1914 In commemorating the 50th anniversary of the capture of Galveston by the Southern Confederacy. Gen. Arthur P. Bagby commanding the "Neptune." Dedicated to the heroes who wore the gray at…

Estate of John Hallett · 1967

Member of Stephen F. Austin's colony, and an old sea captain. His log cabin was the first home in the area, 1833. Hallettsville is named for his widow, Margaret, who gave land for the town in 1852, when it became the…

Old Hanging Tree · 1967

Gallows used Sept. 12, 1879, at public hanging of "Pocket", an Indian, killer of Englishman Leonard Hyde. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1967

Pioneers Settlers Killed by the Indians Comanches and Tonkahues · 1967

Memorial Park, 315 South Dowling Street, Hallettsville

Hallettsville · 1968

Founded 1833 when John Hallett erected a log cabin near Lavaca River. Town was named for his widow, Margaret, who gave the land when town became county seat in 1852. Farming, livestock, poultry processing, and cotton…

The Lay-Bozka House · 1968

One of distinctive structures of 19th century Texas. Sometimes called the "Wedding Cake House". Built 1878-1882 by B. J. E. Dietz at cost of $4,750 for Dr. James E. Lay, local physician and Civil War veteran. The…

Hallettsville Memorial Park · 1970

Land originally property of Mrs. Mary Jane Hallett Ballard, who deeded it to trustees of the "Hallettsville Graveyard" in 1870. Area pioneers were buried here until 1898. The monument in center honors county's heroes in…

Joel Ponton · 1971

(July 3, 1802 - February 1, 1875) Born in Virginia. Came to Texas 1833. Settled first at Gonzales. Served in the 1836 Texas War for Independence. Later moved to his land here on the Navidad, where he was a farmer,…

Murchison Lodge No. 80, A.F. & A.M. · 1971

Considered oldest organized group in Lavaca County. Under dispensation granted March 29, 1850, Lodge was chartered January 31, 1851, and named for early Texas colonist and Masonic leader John Murchison, Fayette County.…

St. Mary's Parish · 1971

Considered the oldest rural Catholic parish in Texas, St. Mary's was settled before the Texas War for Independence by such pioneers as James Brown, who was killed in the siege of the Alamo. First church edifice for St.…

Lavaca County Courthouse · 1972

Fifth structure to serve as seat of justice for Lavaca, created originally as "La Baca", a judicial county, by Congress of Republic of Texas in 1842. Declared unconstitutional along with other judicial counties, it was…

First National Bank of Hallettsville · 1973

Oldest bank in Lavaca County; has operated in this city block continuously since its establishment by Friench Simpson (1848-1923) and Carey Shaw (1854-1944), former employees of the J. H. Simpson Bank, Columbus. Shaw…

William Smothers · 1977

(1760-1837) A Veteran of the American Revolution. A native of Virginia, William Smothers was orphaned at 12 when Indians killed his father, and his mother died of shock. In the American Revolution, he fought at King's…

Hallettsville Public Schools · 1986

The existence of schools in Hallettsville can be traced to the early 1850s. Alma Male and Female Institute was established in 1852 just east of the town square on land donated by Margaret Hallett. The local Masonic…

Zion Lutheran Church (Hallettsville) · 1986

Site of Moravia School · 1989

Many Czech and German immigrants settled in this area of South Texas in the 1870s. Moravia was a Czech farming community that included homes, a Catholic church, businesses, and a school. The first school in the Moravia…

St. Peter Lutheran Church · 1989

The history of Lutheran ministry in the Hallettsville area can be traced to 1868, when the Rev. Christian Geiger began missionary work among the area's German immigrants. Meeting first in the nearby Pagel settlement, a…

Sacred Heart Catholic Church · 1990

This congregation was founded as a mission of St. Mary's Catholic Church (about four miles west of Hallettsville). The Rev. John Anthony Forest served the new congregation, as well as other missions in Lavaca County.…

First Baptist Church of Hallettsville · 1991

According to local oral tradition, Baptists in Hallettsville began worshiping together about 1851. A congregation of fourteen people was in operation by 1854. Early worship services were conducted in a three-story…

Vsetin Cemetery · 1991

About 1865, newly arrived Czechoslovakian immigrants settled in this vicinity, named Sublime by earlier Irish immigrants. The Czech settlers began calling the community "Vsetin" in remembrance of the area in Austria…

Arthur Henry Vollentine · 1994

Arthur Henry Vollentine was born in New Jersey or Virginia about 1807. He came to Texas about 1833 as a colonist of Empresario Martin de Leon and in 1834 he married Maryland native Mary Ann May. They moved to a Mexican…

Ezzell School · 1994

In the early 1850s pioneers of this area erected a building 2 miles north of this site which they called White House Christian Church and School because of the contrast its lime coating presented against the surrounding…

First Methodist Church of Hallettsville · 1994

Methodist circuit riders under the stewardship of John W. DeVilbiss and Henderson D. Palmer served this area as early as 1842. This congregation traces its origin to a Methodist society established by eleven charter…

Shiloh Community · 1994

Settlement of this area of Lavaca County began in the 1850s, when a group of about thirty families relocated here from Mississippi. The settlers named their new community Shiloh in honor of the church they had left in…

Rabb Switch · 1997

Edward M. Rabb (1855-1908) a native of La Grange, Fayette County, Texas, was the son of William and Prudence Smalley Rabb. In the 1880s Dr. Edward M. Rabb settled in this area and purchased 2089 acres of land from S. W.…

West-Wagner Homestead · 1997

Washington West and his wife Mary Willauer West moved their family from Tennessee in 1854 and settled in Lavaca County, Texas. Their home became a stagecoach stop which developed into the community of Old Sweet Home.…

Moravia General Store · 1998

Ignac (J. E.) Jalufka and Jakob Hollub brought their families to northern Lavaca County in 1874, followed by several other Czech families. Founded in 1881, Moravia was so named to honor Moravia, Czechoslovakia, the…

John Himes Livergood · 2001

(September 10, 1815 - October 3, 1893) A native of Pennsylvania, John Himes Livergood came to Texas in 1837 and received 640 acres of land on Peach Creek near Gonzales. From that time until Texas' annexation to the…

Site of the Alma Male and Female Institute · 2003

As early as the 1840s, area residents could send their children to the few small private schools available. In 1852, when Hallettsville was chosen as Lavaca County seat, the town founder, Margaret Hallett, donated land…

Andrews Chapel Cemetery · 2004

Associated with the Hackberry community, the Andrews Chapel Cemetery was named for settler A.G. Andrews, who by 1866 had donated land for a burial ground and Baptist church. The oldest marked grave dates to 1860 and the…

Andrew Kent · 2005

Andrew Kent was born c. 1791 in Kentucky, to Isaac Kent; his mother's name is unknown. On April 30, 1816, he wed Elizabeth Zumwalt, a Missouri native born in April 1798. Andrew worked as a carpenter, and he and…

City Cemetery · 2005

On July 19, 1889, the Hallettsville town council met to discuss the poor condition of various small cemeteries in the city. Mayor Fritz Lindenberg appointed Volney Ellis, W.H. Turk and E.H. Mitchel to find suitable land…

SPJST Velehrad Cemetery · 2005

Residents of the Velehrad community, who were mostly immigrants from Moravia, created this cemetery to serve their burial needs. Filip Bucek, a Czech resident of the community, envisioned the idea of creating a national…

St. James' Episcopal Church · 2006

The community of Hallettsville began in 1836, when Margaret Hallett donated land for the townsite. By that time, there were several families living in the area, and settlement increased throughout the 19th century. In…

Radhost School · 2007

Settlers of the community of Radhost, many of whom were immigrants from Czechoslovakia, funded the building of a school which opened in 1873. Beginning as a one-teacher school taught in the Bohemian language, it became…

Vysehrad School · 2007

Established north of Worthing community in 1887, Vysehrad School reflects the area's Czech heritage; the name means "high castle" in the Czech language. Frank Jakubik was the first teacher in the original schoolhouse at…

Wied School · 2007

Opened in 1895, Wied School served the primarily German and Czech population of the Wied community over 70 years. Anglo-American settlement in this area began in the 1830s, and by the early 1870s, German immigrants,…

Hackberry · 2010

THE HACKBERRY COMMUNITY WAS ESTABLISHED BY GERMAN IMMIGRANT LUDWIG EDUARD NEUHAUS, WHO CAME TO TEXAS IN 1846, SETTLING IN NORTHERN LAVACA COUNTY. HE ENCOURAGED AND SPONSORED OTHER GERMAN IMMIGRANTS TO SETTLE IN…

SPJST Moravia Cemetery · 2011

IMMIGRANTS FROM NORTHEASTERN MORAVIA (CURRENT CZECH REPUBLIC) SETTLED IN THE AREA PRESENTLY KNOWN AS MORAVIA, TEXAS. MORAVIA WAS FOUNDED BY JAKUB HOLLUB AND HIS SON-IN-LAW IGNAC (J. E.) JALUFKA WHEN THEY ESTABLISHED A…

Old Kinkler Cemetery · 2012

ESTABLISHED 1880 HISTORIC TEXAS CEMETERY – 2010

Stacy School · 2012

STACY SCHOOL NEAR THE TURN OF THE 20TH CENTURY, LARGE NUMBERS OF GERMAN AND CZECH IMMIGRANTS SETTLED IN LAVACA COUNTY. TO EDUCATE THE INFLUX OF CHILDREN, THE COUNTY CREATED NUMEROUS RURAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS. IN THE 1880s,…

William E. Summers · 2012

(March 29 1811 – March 6, 1836) William E. Summers is inextricably tied to Texas history through his involvement with the election to name delegates to the Texas Independence Convention and in the fall of the Alamo as…

Richardson Chapel United Methodist Church · 2013

The early members of the Richardson Chapel United Methodist Church were former slaves that attended the Methodist Episcopal Church of Hallettsville prior to emancipation. Freedom allowed these former slaves to form…

American Legion Hudgeons Post 230 · 2015

Following World War I, local veterans of Hallettsville created the Hudgeons Post 230 in 1920. They wanted to serve fellow veterans and the community through an American Legion Post. The branch was named Hudgeons Post in…

Hallettsville Public Library · 2015

As early as 1893, the citizens of Lavaca County expressed an interest in establishing a county library. In September 1932, two local citizens, Mrs. Harvey Renger and Miss Evelyn Lacy, organized a rental library known as…

Marshall and Malinda Mitchell · 2015

Mitchell Family history in Lavaca County began with Bankston Mitchell (c. 1845-1914), a slave born in Virginia who moved to this area with Plantation Owner and Military Scout Isaac Newton Mitchell. Bankston and Maria…

Shiloh Cemetery · 2016

Located between Schulenburg and Hallettsville, the first pioneer settlers in the Shiloh community were of English and Scots/Irish descent who immigrated to South Carolina and then Mississippi seeking warmer climates and…

Brown School · 2017

Located in the rural farming community of St. Mary's, the Brown School began when Benedict Brown deeded land in 1894 to Lavaca County for use as a public school. By the late 1800s, Lavaca County had 85 schools across…

Sublime Baptist Church · 2017

Originally called Sublime Missionary Baptist Church of Christ, the Sublime Baptist Church first held services in 1853, four miles south of its present location at a place known as “tick hill,” near Geiger Cemetery.…

East Side Church of God · 2018