Texas History Postcard Database Project

Loaded Images

Abilene Library Consortium
Date:June 27, 1921
Postcard of a group of men and women posed in front of the Weeber House in Marlin, Texas. According to a handwritten note on the back of the postcard, Walter Schuhmann stands second in the back row.




Abilene Library Consortium
Date:unknown
Postcard of 7 men posed in a line on the seats of bicycles in front of the Fred Machotka Store in Rowena, Texas. Another man can be seen standing on the porch of the store in the background.




Abilene Library Consortium
Date:[1910..]
Postcard of several men sitting on bicycles in front of the Fred Machotka general store. The sign on the building describes the store as a “Dealer in saddles, harness, bicycles, etc.” Other buildings in Rowena, Texas, including a church, can be seen in the background.




Abilene Library Consortium
Date:unknown
Postcard of the Olfen Brass Band, comprised of eleven members, posed in two rows with their instruments. The conductor is shown standing in the very back, forming a third row.




Abilene Library Consortium
Date:unknown
Postcard of Schuhmann & Feist and a bank in downtown Rowena, Texas. The back of the postcard includes a handwritten note that reads, “Property of Uncle G[?] Schuhmann in Rowena, Tex.”




Abilene Library Consortium
Date:unknown
Postcard of the Schuhmann & Feist on Rowena Street in Rowena, Texas. The store is attached to the bank on the right and a building under construction to the left. Ladders and wooden barrels clutter up the street.




Abilene Library Consortium
Date:unknown
Postcard of the crowded grounds around the O.D.H.S. Hall in Rowena, Texas, showing picnic tables and a gazebo. A stand with an advertisement for the Schuhmann Company can be seen to the left.




Anderson County Historical Commission
Date:1940~
Postcard of the highway going from Jacksonville to Palestine. This highway is now U.S. 79




Anderson County Historical Commission
Date:1900~
Photo of a postcard of Avenue A looking east toward the courthouse. Notice the Third Anderson County Courthouse at the end of the avenue, McKnights Plaza on the right, and the Temple Opera House on the left.




Anderson County Historical Commission
Date:1925~
Postcard taken c. 1925 of Spring Street, a street that was once knicknamed "The Great White Way" because of the streetlights running down the center of the street. Note the train depot on the right and the business on the left.




Archives of the Central Texas Conference United Methodist Church
Date:unknown
Postcard dated 1909 of the "Epworth By the Sea" Hotel and Pavillion.




Arlington Historical Society's Fielder House Museum
Date:1909
Postcard of a street in downtown Arlington in 1909. People are gathered in front of stores by the street. Some are in cars, including a Studebaker. J. H. Douglass Grocery store and Coulter and Sons Drug Store are pictured. The postcard is primarily black and white, but has some items spot colored red.




Arlington Historical Society's Fielder House Museum
Date:1900~
Postcard of the power plant, water works, and ice plant in Arlington around 1900. There are buildings and power lines along the street. A water tower stands in the middle. There are two horses pulling a wagon and another standing in the street.




Arlington Historical Society's Fielder House Museum
Date:unknown
Postcard of Main Street in Arlington on Trades Day. There are people with cars, horses and wagons gathered in the street. Buildings stand on the left and right including a bank and the Corner Drug Store. There is a note from Belle to Mr. J. M. Anderson on the back.




Arlington Historical Society's Fielder House Museum
Date:unknown
Slide of a postcard featuring the Interurban train at Lake Erie in Fort Worth. The train has a banner on the side reading "Lake Erie To-night." Some people are on the train, and others are walking beside it. There are fields and trees in the background. The postcard is stamped April 18, 1908.




Arlington Historical Society's Fielder House Museum
Date:1900~
Postcard of Interurban Station in Arlington around 1900. The Interurban Depot is on the left with people in front of it. A trolley is in the middle with people boarding it. Another building with "Capadura" advertised on the side is on the right.




Arlington Historical Society's Fielder House Museum
Date:1921
Postcard of the Masonic Home for the Aged in Arlington in 1921. The front of the postcard features a photograph of the building and garden in front with the sky hand colored blue.




Arlington Historical Society's Fielder House Museum
Date:1900~
Postcard of the mineral water well in downtown Arlington at around 1900. To the left and right of the well are businesses, including a bank, hardware store, and real estate business. There are power lines along the street. A water tower stands behind the buildings on the left.




Arlington Historical Society's Fielder House Museum
Date:unknown
Postcard of the T&P railroad station at 110 N. Center St. in Arlington. There is a building beside the tracks with some equipment in the area. Power lines are behind the station. Jack D. Caffey's address is on the back of the postcard.




Arlington Historical Society's Fielder House Museum
Date:January 1, 1939
Photograph of Chester Morris standing on a sidewalk and leaning against a tree. Morris is wearing a military uniform and has his hands folded in his lap. Text on back reads, "Chester Morris, Jan 1, 1939, In front of Dr. Davis' house on Abram Street."




Arlington Historical Society's Fielder House Museum
Date:August 1944
Postcard written to Lieutenant Roy E. Johnson from Grace Schiverea, that says: "Hi, Lt. -- Roy - the navy was never like this!!! It sure is a wonderful life - sleeping, swimming & sunning. - Time is going much too quickly. - will see you, on the 25th. (Note "Air Corp" insignia on the front of card - Ahem!!!) Grace." The front of the postcard contains an illustration of a military airplane flying over an ocean at night. The moon is visible in a cloudy sky above the plane and the Air Corps insignia is in the lower-left corner. Text above the image says "Keep 'em Flying."




Arlington Historical Society's Fielder House Museum
Date:unknown
Postcard of Charlie Parker in his military uniform. Parker is holding a rolled up newspaper or magazine.




Arlington Historical Society's Fielder House Museum
Date:May 1945
Postcard of Hannah B. Preston and two other women walking through a street. The woman on the left is wearing a military uniform and carrying a purse, shoebox and paper bag. The woman in the middle is holding a handbag and is wearing a dark skirt and coat. The woman on the right is holding three packages and is wearing a dark skirt and light colored blouse. A woman in the background is looking over her shoulder at the women in the photograph. Text on back reads "May, 1945 Hannah B. Preston, Ms. De[...], Jolette."




Arlington Historical Society's Fielder House Museum
Date:2003~
Postcard with a copy of a photograph showing Charles Hawkes in Paris, France with the Eiffel Tower in the background. Hawkes is standing in his military uniform. A handwritten note on the back says "Charles Hawkes, 1944 or 5 - just after the war - my dad in Paris." The postcard is an advertisement for the book "To Talk of Many Things" by George Hawkes, from Charla Hawkes Price for Ebby Halliday Realtors. It also has a note saying "Honor our Veterans this Month, Take one to lunch!" and includes Price's picture and contact information for the realtors.




Arlington Public Library
Date:1944
Photograph of the Administration building at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. It is a long two-story building with a clock tower.

Arlington Public Library
Date:1944
Photograph of the camp hospital at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Several cars are parked in front of it.




Arlington Public Library
Date:1944
Photograph of the camp headquarters at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. It is two-story brick building with two wings and a bell tower. An American flag flies in front of the building, and two cars are parked in the parking lot in front of it.




Arlington Public Library
Date:1944
Photograph of the road leading up to the camp headquarters at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and the building itself. It is two-story brick building with two wings and a bell tower. An American flag flies in front of the building.




Arlington Public Library
Date:1944
Photograph of the Dispensary at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. A line of cars stretches in front of the building.




Arlington Public Library
Date:1944
Photograph of the hostess house, a long two-story building, at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.




Arlington Public Library
Date:1944
Photograph of the married officers' quarters at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. They are two-story white wooden buildings with trees in the front yards.




Arlington Public Library
Date:1944
Photograph of the Officers' mess building at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. A truck is parked in front of the building.




Arlington Public Library
Date:1950~
Card from the Veterans Administration to Jack C. Vaughan, informing him that they have received his life insurance application.




Arlington Public Library
Date:1944
Photograph of the Typical theatre at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Two sidewalks intersect in front of the building, and there are trees surrounding it.




Austin College
Date:October 28, 1879
A postcard from Ann Farman to her sister, Junia Roberts Osterhout, expressing Ann's desire to see Junia before she returns home. She told Junia she could not visit yet because her mother was feeling ill and she was disappointed that Junia could not visit.




Austin College
Date:August 18, 1873
Postcard from John Patterson Osterhout to his wife, Junia Roberts Osterhout. He wrote to update her on where he was in his travels. In the postcard, he included brief news about who he was staying with and the weather.




Austin College
Date:August 23, 1873
Postcard from John Patterson Osterhout to his wife, Junia Roberts Osterhout. He wrote back to her and let her know how he was on his travels. The postcard includes small bits of local news and his current location of La Grange.




Austin College
Date:August 25, 1873
Postcard from John Patterson Osterhout to his wife, Junia Roberts Osterhout. He wrote his wife to inform her that he had arrived at his mother's, Sarah Osterhout's, home. He included some news about a woman who was sick and that he had received something his wife had sent.




Austin College
Date:September 10, 1873
Postcard from John Patterson Osterhout to his wife, Junia Roberts Osterhout. He wrote a brief message to his wife to inform her that she would need to send for him soon.




Austin College
Date:March 23, 1886
Postcard from John Patterson Osterhout to his son, Paul Osterhout, regarding requests from others that he was passing along. A doctor wanted Paul to look up where and for how much he could obtain a couple of books. The doctor was also waiting on Paul to let him know what the cost would be to get to where he was.




Austin College
Date:May 21, 1884
Postcard from John Patterson Osterhout to his son, Paul Osterhout, about traveling he had been doing in Pennsylvania. He told him that his daughter, Gertrude, may be staying a few months longer.




Austin College
Date:May 21, 1886
Postcard from John Patterson Osterhout to his son, Paul Osterhout, regarding finances. John wanted to send his son money to return home, but he had to wait until he had more.




Austin College
Date:December 1876
Postcard from Pastor G. S. Bailey to Sarah Osterhout. The postcard detailed the information for the Baptist Centennial at Pittston, Pennsylvania.




Austin History Center, Austin Public Library
Date:October 1926
Advertisement offering 274 O. Henry stories in one volume.




Austin History Center, Austin Public Library
Date:unknown
Postcard for Austin Boy Scout Training Camp in Sattler, Texas. A photo collage on the front includes pictures of preparing for tent inspection, the mess line, the ole swimming hole, preparing for evening campfire, the camp signal tower, and looking down the river from camp. There is a postage stamp affixed to the back




Austin History Center, Austin Public Library
Date:1938~
Postcard of a dinner bell in a field. There is a field of trees in the background. The text on the back reads, "How about answering the dinner bell on Pride Ranch". There is a stamp affixed to the back of the postcard and it was mailed July 25, 1938.




Austin History Center, Austin Public Library
Date:1937
Back of postcard reads: "Cradle in which O. Henry was rocked."




Austin History Center, Austin Public Library
Date:1937
Postcard with an illustration of a small, one-story building surrounded by a fence with a forest in the background; text beneath the image says, "Little School House Where O. Henry Went to School." Printed text on the back of the postcard reads: "This is the only school that O. Henry (Wm. Sydney Porter) ever attended. He was taught by his Aunt, Miss Lina Porter, and left this school when he was only fifteen."




Austin History Center, Austin Public Library
Date:191u
Postcard of a soldier standing in a tent camp. There are other soldiers and an American Flag in the background.




Austin History Center, Austin Public Library
Date:unknown
Back of postcard reads: "Greensboro, N. C. W. C. Porter Drug Store is partially reconstructed in the O. Henry section of Greesboro Historical Museum. Wm. Sidney Porter (better known as O. Henry) was born in Greensboro, and worked in the store as a boy. This is the largest collection of O. Henryana in America."

Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Date:unknown
Photograph of the side of a Mexican Presbyterian church. There are three long windows and a sign in Spanish that translates to read, "Mexican Presbyterian Church" on the side facing the front of the image. The yard surrounding the building and in the foreground is made up of dirt, and there is a large palm tree at the front. The front entrance of the building, which faces the left-hand side of the image, extends past the main front wall of the church, and has three steps leading up to the double doors. There are more windows at the front of the church, which extends into the background of the image. The front yard is decorated with several trimmed bushes and palm trees. There is writing on the front of the image that reads, "San Benito Wright" There is a handwritten note in Spanish on the back of the photograph that translates to read, "Memories of the Christian Endeavor, aug. 20, 1946". There is also a stamp on the back that reads, "Post Card Correspondence Address" along with a place for a stamp.




Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Date:unknown
Postcard of a seated couple and three children, one man, and one woman standing behind. The seated man is wearing a dark suit and bow tie. The other man and the boy are both wearing heathered suit jackets and pants. Both the seated woman and the woman behind her are wearing long dark skirts and cardigans along with elegant necklaces. The two girls are wearing light-colored dresses. There are stamps on the back of the card as well as a handwritten note that is partly in Spanish. I translates to read, "CC Ruvedo and family, children L-Rt. Rugerio, Olga, Emma, Berta, Joel, Parents: cayetano y Santos acevedo".




Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Date:unknown
Postcard of a young boy and girl dressed in traditional Mexican costumes. The children are standing on a woven rug with a traditional Mexican motif woven into it; two more hang side by side behind them. The boy, who is standing on the left-hand side of the image and facing the girl on the right, is wearing shiny black shoes, a billowy white shirt, and fitted black pants with a scroll design piped up each leg. He is also wearing a wide satin sash, a fitted vest that is decorated with traditional motifs, a scarf around his neck, and a wide brimmed hat. The girl is wearing a full high-waist skirt that has sparkly designs sewn onto it, a small white shirt with a motif design on the front, and a scarf that forms a sash and a vest. The girl is also wearing a flower headband in her hair, which is bobbed. Along with postcard stamps, there is a handwritten note on the back of the image.




Bee County Historical Commission
Date:unknown
Postcard of a scene showing the area "Along the Highway Near Beeville, Texas" as printed at the bottom of the postcard. Note the electrical lines along the road. Beeville first connected with the outside world by telegraph on July 20, 1885, when the first telegraph office opened on the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad, even before the tracks were completed. Later, in 1891, Wright Van Meter set telephone poles along the Beeville-Refugio Road to Quincy’s Land and Colonization Company. Before 1900, Beeville had two telephone companies, the Southwestern Telephone and Telegraph Company and Eureka Telephone Company. Electrical lights went on in Beeville on November 30, 1896. L.D. Rhodes set up a plant near the Sims gin. Before 1900, lights were turned on and off because too many preferred the oil lamp. Central Power and Light came to Beeville in 1925 and the R.E.A. served all other rural areas.




Bee County Historical Commission
Date:unknown
Postcard showing the Bee County Courthouse built in 1912. The Bee County Courthouse was built in 1912 by local architects W.C. Stephenson and F.W. Heldenfels. It is the county’s fourth courthouse. Recorded as a Texas Historical Landmark in 2000, the county courthouse is part of the Texas historical Courthouse Preservation Program. In 2006, after a large scale restoration, a rededication ceremony took place. Features original to the courthouse, such as the rotuda and district court balcony, as well as the details of the tile and marble, were carefully restored. After being repaired and regilded, Lady Justice was returned to the top of the courthouse in 2005. Unlike most representations of Justice, this lady reigns from her top-of-dome perch, not with a blindfold, but with her eyes open. W.C. Stephenson sculpted Lady Justice. The Courthouse is also on the National Register, and is located on the courthouse square which borders Washington, Houston, Corpus Christi, and St Marys Streets.




Bee County Historical Commission
Date:unknown
Postcard of the "Bee County Jail, Beeville Texas" 1893. The first Bee County jail was built in 1874 west of the courthouse on the courtyard, or public square. Prior to its completion, prisoners were guarded by private citizens who were paid by the county. Nineteen years later, in 1893, this new jail was built. The first jail, a wooden building whose jail cells were lined with cast-iron material, was moved and is now preserved on the grounds of the Sheriff’s Office at 1511 E. Toledo. This second Bee county jail was completed in January of 1893. It was a two-story brick structure that, for almost half of a century, stood as a symbol of Bee County law enforcement. It was torn down and a new facility was built in 1936. In 1989, it was replaced by the present modern jail on Toledo Street.




Bee County Historical Commission
Date:unknown
A 1909 postcard of Washington Street facing north in downtown Beeville. On the left of the card a corner of the Grand Opera House is visible. The First National Bank of Beeville can also be seen at the corner of Bowie and Washington on the same side of the street as the Grand Opera House. Washington Street is not paved in this picture. It will be 1921 before Beeville paved her principal streets.




Bee County Historical Commission
Date:September 29, 1914
View of Washington Street in 1914 looking north. The red brick three stories building on the left was the first “skyscraper” for Beeville. It was the Grand Opera House, built by A.F. Rees and E.J. Kinkler at the corner of Washington and Bowie Streets in 1907, and opened in 1908. Many Broadway stage plays, musical comedies, and light operas were presented in the opera house. The building was destroyed by fire in 1919. The building to the left of the Grand Opera House was Beeville’s first bank, the First National Bank of Beeville, which opened in 1890, and moved to this location by 1894. This postcard shows the modes of transportation available in the early 1900’s, a buggy, automobile, wagon and horse. By 1908 automobiles were owned by several individuals in Beeville.




Bee County Historical Commission
Date:1918
In 1857, Michael Seeligson was the first postmaster at Beeville-on the Medio (originally Medio Hill in Goliad County), five miles northeast of the present town of Beeville. In the new county seat after 1889, the Beeville Post Office was moved several times. Opened on June 5, 1918, the present neoclassical building was built under Secretary of the Treasury William G. McAdoo, with Supervising Architect James A. Wetmore. During construction, on May 7, 1917, contractor Robert B. Brown shot and killed Drayman J.P. Hermes. Found guilty of homicide in federal court, Brown appealed. In 1921, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Homes ruled that Brown acted in self defense, thus establishing the right to stand one’s ground in federal law. With the WWII boom and Chase Naval Air Field, the Beeville Post Office was upgraded to a first-class post office in 1944. Other changes followed, such as the end of mail contracts for the railroads in December of 1952. In 1961, the size of the building was doubled by the matched addition of the north half of the present structure. Much needed parking space was provided on the south side of the building in 1989. One block from the courthouse, this historic building and its postal services continue to be vital to the life of the town.




Bee County Historical Commission
Date:January 7, 1907
Postcard of the two-story Baroque architecture styled home of Mrs A. C. Jones located at 611 East Jones St. Philanthropist and supporter of local schools, Mrs. A.C. (Jane Field) Jones (1842-1918) built the house on this site after her husband Captain Jones’ death in 1906. Governors and other Texas leaders were welcomed here. Located on the hill where the college stands today, the first and much grander A.C. Jones home was sold to the John Flournoy and moved into town by mule and wagon. It stood facing Flournoy Park until it was razed in 1946.




Bee County Historical Commission
Date:unknown
Postcard of the "Swimming Pool, Chase Field, Beeville, Texas" as printed at the bottom of the card. On June 1, 1943, Chase Field was commissioned as a Naval Air Auxiliary Station to train naval aviators during World War II. The base was named for Lt. Cmdr. Nathan Brown Chase, who went down in the Pacific on a training flight in 1925. After the war, Chase Field was closed until 1953, when it was reopened during the Korean War to help with the over-crowding at NAS Corpus Christi. In July 1968, Chase Field was elevated in status to a full naval air station. With the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the number of armed forces was greatly reduced and on July 1, 1991, Chase Field was put on the list for closure. VT-26 was decommissioned May 22, 1992, with VT-24 and VT-25 de-commissioned on September 18, 1992. Finally, on February 1, 1993, Chase Field was officially disestablished, bringing an end to fifty years of service in naval training.




Bee County Historical Commission
Date:unknown
Postcard of Cleveland Street in Beeville. The large church on the right side of the street is the First Methodist Church which was erected in 1904-1905.




Bee County Historical Commission
Date:unknown
Postcard showing people sitting on the porch of the "Commercial Hotel" in Skidmore. The picture was taken on December 4, 1912. The names of the individuals sitting on the porch are on the back of the postcard going from left to right. The Commercial Hotel was destroyed by fire.




Bee County Historical Commission
Date:unknown
Postcard of Washington Street in Beeville in 1917. The person who sent it mentioned going on an "auto ride".




Bee County Historical Commission
Date:unknown
Postcard of First Methodist Church of Beeville, Texas. In 1861, three years after Bee County was organized, the Rev. Berry Merchant of Corpus Christi assisted Beeville Methodist in establishing the Methodist-Episcopal Church. Circuit-riding preachers served the congregation and held services in the courthouse until the early 1870’s, when they built their first church on the corner of Bowie and Monroe Streets. Relocated to 106 East Cleveland in 1904, and blessed with a new sanctuary in 1955, the church continues its role in the religious life of the community.




Bee County Historical Commission
Date:unknown
Postcard of the "First National Bank Building, Beeville, Texas". This first bank in Beeville opened its doors in 1890. In 1894 it moved to this location at Washington and Bowie Streets. Notice that there are no powerpoles in this picture. According to the message on the back, this postcard was part of a package of letters sent by family members to a soldier in WWI. The writer mentions a hope for peace. “The Express said last night that the Germans only had until 11 o’clock Mon Nov. 11 to give their answer whether they surrender or fight. Of course we are all praying anxiously as I know you boys are too.”




Bee County Historical Commission
Date:January 24, 1913
A 1913 postcard with an image of a two-story, brick building labeled "First National Bank Building, Beeville, Texas." The postcard was sent from Beeville January 24, 1913 and addressed to Mr. & Mrs. W. M. Billingsly in Mineral, Texas. Part of the postcard is damaged, but the text reads "...certainly did...ourselves while w...all day think I will fo...my good time any ways...You must come and see us when you come...With Love from R[..]erta & Lonnie"




Bee County Historical Commission
Date:unknown
Postcard showing Washington Street in Beeville Texas. The ornate building on the left, at the intersection of Bowie and Washington, was the First National Bank of Beeville's location from 1894 to 1960. The First National Bank of Beeville was organized on December 30, 1889, and opened on the courthouse square in 1890. Prior to the opening of First National Bank, people left their money either in sacks under loose floor boards behind the counter of Captain A.C. Jones’ store on the east side of the Public Square, or in kegs under that same counter. The increase in population and trade volume brought on by the arrival of SA&AP, and the Gulf, Western & Pacific Railroads in the late 1880’s made the establishment of a bank necessary. Note the electrical lines along Washington Street. Electrical lights went on in Beeville on November 30, 1896.




Bee County Historical Commission
Date:unknown
Postcard showing men standing in the Fowler Saloon in Skidmore. Skidmore In the early 1900’s the population of Skidmore was close to 3,000. Skidmore had eight stores, three saloons, two drug stores, three garages, three churches, a lumber yard, bakery shop, two gins, a newspaper, and the First State Bank of Skidmore (1907-1937). Most of these businesses were burned in the fires that almost destroyed Skidmore through the early years of the 1900’s.




Bee County Historical Commission
Date:unknown
Postcard of the John Pettus Homestead, the name sake of Pettus, Texas. Virginian, John Freeman Pettus, was one of Stephen Austin’s original “Old Three Hundred” settlers. Mr. Pettus’ land grant was in Goliad, but he bought thousands of acres near what is now Pettus in north Bee County because he needed more grazing land. He paid 25 cents to $1.25 per acre. In order to watch his stock Mr. Pettus built an adobe one-room cabin with a chimney. Here he lived for approximately twenty years, but went home on weekends to stay with his family. Over time more people moved to the area and established a community, which was named Pettus in honor or John Pettus, the first land owner. John Pettus daughter Sarah married John Sutherland Hodges, and the young couple came to live near her father. They built a five or six-room cottage. The lumber for the cottage was brought by wagon train from Saint Mary's. The wagons were pulled by oxen. The Hodges family lived here until the land was purchased by the late G.A. Ray St. in 1895. Mr. Ray built a two-story house on the same spot as the Hodge/Pettus house and used some portions of the cottage in his house.




Bee County Historical Commission
Date:unknown
Postcard of the cotton gin in Normanna in 1910. Santa Domingo was the community’s first name. It was located nine miles north of Beeville where the Santa Domingo Creek joined the Medio Creek, and was settled about 1848. Jose Maria Uranga’s eleven leagues, the largest single Mexican grant in Bee County (1831), covered much of the community. In 1874 it was known as Walton Station after the sheriff of Bee County, D.A.T. Walton. In 1893 a Norwegian colony moved into the area and settled two miles east of Walton. That settlement is still called the Colony. A Walton post office was established in 1894, but another Texas town already had the name of Walton, so the town became Normanna. (Norwegian for “far north or one from the far north”.) In the early days Normanna had three churches, two doctors, two schools, a hotel, a weekly newspaper, five general stores, a drugstore, a gin, barbershop, a tin shop, a saloon, dance hall, the post office and a general store.




Bee County Historical Commission
Date:unknown
Postcard of the first Humble Oil Tanker taking out the first load of oil from the Maggie Ray McKinney oil well. On December 29, 1929 as the Houston Oil Company drilled for gas, the first oil well in Bee County was brought in on the JJ McKinney land east of Pettus. Humble Oil and Refining Company completed McKinney No. 1 Oil Well, Bee County, January 31, 1930. The discovery brought a rush of people to the community of Pettus. The discovery of oil relieved the pressure of depression. By 1937, the county boasted of 53 gas fields, with 212 wells, and 62 oil fields, with 456 wells, producing 1,863,806 barrels of oil. Oil and gas are still important industries in Bee County.




Bee County Historical Commission
Date:unknown
Postcard of school children standing in front Pettus school. In 1892 this one-room schoolhouse, 18’ by 24’, was built in Pettus. It had two windows on the north side and two windows on the south. The boards on the inside of the east end were painted black to be used for a blackboard. The only door was to the west. The benches were home-made and the children brought their own lunches and water to drink. Miss Evelyn Hardeman was the first teacher and she had 13 students in grades first through fourth. As the community continued to grow the school was classified as a third-class high school in 1912. In 1917 or 1918, a stucco school building was erected




Bee County Historical Commission
Date:unknown
The building of the San Antonio & Aransas Pass Railroad through Bee County in 1886 was one of the greatest history-making events that occurred in this little pioneer section. Driving cattle to various markets was a tiring trip; cattle could now travel by rail. Frank O. Skidmore, a rancher on the Aransas Creek, gave SA&AP the right of way across his land and also donated land to develop the town site of Skidmore. To provide a rail connection with the Texas Mexican Railway, Uriah Lott, the man who built the SA&AP Railroad, built a line south from Skidmore to Alice in 1887. As an indication of the importance of Skidmore as a rail center, it had a round house and by 1926, an icing dock to re-ice the vegetables from the alley. It was the only icing dock between Edinburg and Hearne. The eleven-mile section between Skidmore and Beeville accommodated an average of eighteen trains a day, with as many as forty-two trains during the peak of the harvest season




Bee County Historical Commission
Date:unknown
This postcard, sent in 1907, shows a horse drawn buggy crossing the St. Mary’s Street Bridge over Poesta Creek. In the 1870’s the county provided roads with plowed furrow on each side of a clearing in the direction of Refugio, Goliad, San Patricio, Oakville, Saint Mary’s, and Helena. In 1888, a bond issue called for four bridges. Eight wrought iron bridges were reported at the turn of the century.

Bee County Historical Commission
Date:unknown
Postcard of the 1886 Railroad Section House in Pettus. On May 17, 1886, the first passenger train backed into Pettus. A depot and a section house had been built; a well was dug, and a cedar tank had been erected just north of the depot, where the train got water. A section house was where the crew foreman and his family normally lived. Most meals and other get together would take place for all the railroad workers at the section house. There was usually a bunk house where the crews slept near the section house. A tool shed would also be nearby to store the tools used to maintain tracks along the section, and there had to be a source of water. The spacing of the camps was based on the distance a locomotive could travel on a tank of water and how far a maintenance crew could travel by handcart in one day.




Bee County Historical Commission
Date:unknown
Postcard showing the Skidmore High School in 1929. This modern seven-classroom school was built with a large auditorium and library after the old high school was condemmed in the late 1920's. Professor R.J. Gladney was superintnedent then. This high school was used until the present one was built in 1953, when a larger high school became necessary.




Bee County Historical Commission
Date:unknown
A 1934 postcard of a Washington Street in downtown Beeville.




Bee County Historical Commission
Date:unknown
Postcard showing the business section of Washington Street in Beeville in the 1930 or 1940's.




Bell/Whittington Public Library
Date:unknown
Postcard of the boat, Japonica, damaged by a storm in Corpus Christi, Texas. The ship is washed up on shore with debris surrounding it. A leaning house with a destroyed fence is to the right of the boat. In the background, there is a body of water.




Bell/Whittington Public Library
Date:unknown
Postcard of an exterior view of the DeMouche Home, built in 1915. The wooden house is two-stories tall, with various plant vines growing on the sides. Two chairs are sitting on the porch. Other plants and trees are growing around the house. The home overlooks Corpus Christi Bay.




Bell/Whittington Public Library
Date:unknown
Postcard of an exterior view of First Presbyterian Church. The building is wooden with a steeple toward the center-back of the roof. The church later burned in a fire.




Bell/Whittington Public Library
Date:unknown
Postcard of flood waters at U. S. General Hospital #15 on Rincon Street in Corpus Christi, Texas. The water floods into the first floor of the brick building. Debris is scattered in the water. In the background, there is another building. The hospital was originally the Beach Hotel.




Bell/Whittington Public Library
Date:unknown
Postcard of flood waters from a storm surrounding the home of Judge Henry D. McDonald in Corpus Christi, Texas. The house is several stories high, and the water reaches the first floor. In the background, there are trees and buildings.




Bell/Whittington Public Library
Date:unknown
Postcard of storm damage on the corner of Water and Resaca in Corpus Christi, Texas. A pile of debris in the street stretches the length of three homes; one house is owned by Henry Edwards. Amongst the debris, there is the remains of a building that says "Grocery Meat Market." Text at the bottom-left of the image says "Henry Edwards Home[,] Cor. Water & Resaca."




Bell/Whittington Public Library
Date:unknown
Postcard of storm damage at the home of J. E. Loyd. The house is leaning, and debris is scattered about. Loyd built Loyd's Pavilion and Pleasure Pier at the end of Mann Street in Corpus Christi, Texas.




Bell/Whittington Public Library
Date:unknown
Postcard of storm damage at U. S. General Hospital #15 on Rincon Street in Corpus Christi, Texas. The brick building is several stories high with damage to the first two floors. The entire first floor was washed away by flood waters. A staircase in the center of the building is falling down. There is a group of damaged trees beside it. The hospital was formerly the Beach Hotel.




Bell/Whittington Public Library
Date:unknown
Postcard of storm damage at Reed Auto Company in Corpus Christi, Texas. Piles of debris fill the street in front of the building. Four men are standing amongst the debris. Three windows above an awning on the building are broken. Signs at the top of the building say "Reed Auto Company" and "Buick."




Bell/Whittington Public Library
Date:unknown
Postcard of storm damage on North Chaparral Street in Corpus Christi, Texas. The damaged building on the right is identified as Horne Apartments. The remains of a new fish market are also identified. Debris is scattered in the flooded street. Text at the bottom of the image says "42 Chap. St." and "[xx]42."




Bell/Whittington Public Library
Date:unknown
Postcard of storm damage at Hardin Court Grocery and Market on North Water Street in Corpus Christi, Texas. The building is partially intact with wooden planks hanging from the second floor and ceiling. Debris is piled around the building. Text on the side of the building says "Dignified Helpful Credit" and "Hardin Court Grocery and Market."




Bell/Whittington Public Library
Date:unknown
Postcard of flood waters on Peoples Street from a storm in Corpus Christi, Texas. Debris is floating in the water. In the background, there are buildings; the building on the left says "Ragsdale Plumbing." Text on the bottom-left of the image says "Peoples St."




Bell/Whittington Public Library
Date:unknown
Postcard of storm flooding in Corpus Christi, Texas. Two people are walking through the ankle-deep water. Trees are scattered through the water. In the background, there are buildings identified as Plaza Hotel, California Bakery, Tribbles Market, and Givens Apartments.




Boyce Ditto Public Library
Date:unknown
A panorama View of the Baker Hotel with all the surrounding buildings is shown here. Note: The general appearance of the city surrounding the hotel suggests strongly that this picture was heavily edited. Perhaps it was taken from a postcard. Although it has twice as many floors (14) and twice as many rooms (400) as the Crazy Hotel, it was forced to declare bankruptcy in 1932 . It was formally closed in 1963.




Boyce Ditto Public Library
Date:unknown
This appears to be a photograph of an old postcard entitled "Boating on Pinto Lake, Mineral Wells." It shows a boating party taking a cruise by motor boat, which was an activity enjoyed by many tourists to this area. The picture appeared in the Daily Mineral Wells Index on May 6, 1902, but no date was assigned the picture.




Boyce Ditto Public Library
Date:unknown
This photograph shows a view of the Casino and gazebo in Elmhurst Park, Mineral Wells, Texas. The Park was constructed by the Mineral Wells Electric System (which operated a street-car line from 1907 to 1913). The street-car was the primary transportation from downtown Mineral Wells to the park. As America became enamored with the automobile as a personal vehicle, street-car passenger traffic declined, and the street-cars went out of business for lack of passengers. When the street-cars of Mineral Wells shut down, so did Elmhurst Park. The Casino was the center point of Elmhurst Park, and a popular gaming-house until both the Park and Street-Car Line that transported its customers went out of business in 1913. This image was used in a postcard.




Boyce Ditto Public Library
Date:unknown
A postcard of the first Crazy Hotel, looking west-northwest, with part of a park visible at its east side is shown here. The photograph was given to A.F. Weaver by Margaret Tompkins. The entrance to the Crazy Hotel faced south on 100 NW 3rd Street, which is on the left side in this picture.




Boyce Ditto Public Library
Date:unknown
This picture illustrates a postcard of the Crazy Hotel, taken about 1930, well after the "Crazy" burned in 1925. This is a view of the rebuilt hotel, which opened in 1927. It was considered completely up-to-date, and built with solid masonry interior walls to make it fire-proof. The facility is currently [2008] used as a retirement home. In 2010, it was put out of business.




Boyce Ditto Public Library
Date:unknown
This is a photograph of a post-card showing the south (front) and west side of the Crazy "Water" Hotel in the 400 block of NW 1st Avenue--the street on the left side of this picture. There is an advertisement for Crazy Water Crystals superposed in the upper right-hand hand corner. The title at the bottom of the card reads "Crazy Water Hotel, Mineral Wells, Texas--Where America Drinks its Way to Health". (This advertisement--although a household phrase in its day--is one of the few references to "Water" in the Hotel's history, although a woman with presumed mental problems drank from the well next to the hotel, and was reported to have been healed of her affliction by the water. "Crazy Woman's Well" evolved into the "Crazy Well", and gave the generic name to the mineral waters of the area.)




Boyce Ditto Public Library
Date:1907/1913
This illustration is numbered "30". It appears to be a picture postcard of the entrance to Elmhurst Park, an amusement park on Pollard Creek, about five miles southwest of Mineral Wells. The park operated from 1907 to 1913 by the Electric Company,, and was a major attraction in "The nation's most popular health spa" at that time. A lawsuit was entered by he City of Mineral Wells in 1912 against the Electric Company by reason of the Company's refusal to pave its right-of-way for trolleys in the city streets, and to pave its right-of-way to Elmhurst Park. The company tried to remove all trolley tracks in reprisal, but continued to supply electric lights to the park--and to City Hall--by way of compromise.




Boyce Ditto Public Library
Date:unknown
Shown here is a an extensively damaged and repaired postcard of the Fairfield Inn. The inn, built by Colonel Walter H. Boykin around the turn of the twentieth century, was located at 814 N. Oak Avenue and faced west. The postcard is addressed to A. J. Ryder, Mallory Docks, Galveston, Texas. The postmark it bears dates to 1911.