Showing posts with label Waco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Waco. Show all posts

Saturday, January 23, 2021

2019-05-03: Moving Day Roadtrip from Texas to North Carolina Day 1 in TX, LA, & MS Cemeteries, Historical Sites and an Old Church

Well it's that time again. I finished up on the wind farm down in South Texas and have to be in North Carolina on Monday to start a solar project. So another roadtrip is ahead of me. Supposed to be 2-3 months there in NC. Unfortunately the wife will still be here in Texas working. But hopefully the time will pass quickly and the next project will be back in Texas. But for now, lets hit the road and see what kinda cool places we can find.
 


My first stop, after Duncan Donuts for iced coffee and a bagel of course, was just outside of Waco, Texas. "Sleepy Hollow" (GC3D0BB) was a cemetery and the location of a geocache. Unlike the typical cemeteries I visit, this one is a pet cemetery! I think I've only encountered maybe one or two pet cemeteries before. This one had a doghouse and a fire hydrant as headstones. One thing I didn't see were any zombie cats or dogs that have been resurrected!



Also a little further east outside of Waco was the "Shootout at the Double EE" (GCGM3X) Ranch Road is a virtual geocache. On April 19, 1993, the FBI and ATF raided the compound of the Branch Davidian Church. After 100 canisters of tear gas being deployed over a 6 hour period, a fire broke out and the compound was engulfed in flames. David Koresh and 75 of his followers, including 25 children, perished in the blaze. Only nine managed to escape. The church has since been rebuilt.



My next two geocaches are in Corsicana, Texas at the Oakwood Cemetery (GC3EXG7, GC4G8EJ). There are nearly 14,000 burials dating back to 1833. There are several historical markers throughout the cemetery as well. One of the caches highlights a native of Huntsville, Texas, Samuel R. Frost grew up in Navarro County and in 1863 enlisted in the Confederate army. After the Civil War, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1870. In the years that followed, Frost served as Navarro County attorney, county judge, district judge, and state legislator. He and his wife, Mary (Winkler), were the parents of nine children. The town of Frost (20 mi. W) was named in his honor.

Another interment, and a more recent one, is Aaron Dale Allston (1960-2014). He is the author of 13 Star Wars novels as well as many other science fiction, game based fiction and mystery novels, short stories and technical guides for writers.

But the one historical marker that caught my attention was by the grave of David Reed Mitchell. Like myself, he was also a surveyor. From the historical marker: "Born in 1797 in North Carolina, arrived in Robertson County, Texas in 1845. He was a surveyor by trade, and had surveyed the upper Trinity and Brazos river areas in 1844. He became surveyor of the Robertson County land district, as well as the original land of Navarro County and Corsicana.

Mitchell was also a land speculator of sorts, and by 1847 he owned a large amount of land in Navarro County. With two partners, Thomas I. Smith and James C. Neill, he donated one hundred acres on which the town of Corsicana was founded. For a time he operated an inn in the town, sometimes referred to as the "lower hotel" because of its location in proximity to another hotel run by pioneer Hampton McKinney.

David Reed Mitchell married Mary Ann Higgins, and they were the parents of five children. Mitchell continued to live in Corsicana until his death on Oct. 7, 1853. He was buried in Oakwood Cemetery, and the citizens of Corsicana erected a monument at his grave in 1899. Of the three partners who donated land for the city of Corsicana, Mitchell is the only one buried here."



Before leaving Corsicana, I had to stop and get one more geocache here. "The Fruitcake Factory" (GCF11B) is located at the Collin Street Bakery. Yes, that dreaded fruitcake that usually makes an appearance around the Christmas holidays. The Collin Street Bakery is the largest producer of fruitcake in the world. They have been baking since 1896 and are shipping to almost 200 countries around the globe.



Another goal of this roadtrip is to pickup new geocaching counties. I've already completed my Texas counties. Now that I've crossed over into Louisiana it's time to pick off a few more of those. Bienville Parish was the first one with a quick roadside park and grab geocache (GC5BQVX).

My next geocache and county was in Quachta Parish in the town of Calhoun. "Breaker 19" (GC1V79Q) was a creative cache at a CB shop. I posted a photo below and also my first attempt at bringing you a video. Hopefully it works.





Just up the street in Calhoun was the Mount Zion Cemetery. There wasn't a geocache there, but it's still hard to pass up an old cemetery. There are over 500 interments that date all the way back to 1852 belonging to an eight year old boy named Robert Simmons Gaston who died in 1852 while visiting this country with his mother.



Located in Richland Parish, Holly Ridge was established in the early 1900's as a sawmill town in the middle of a large farming area. The company started with making barrel heads and later changed to the lumber industry. The company that owned all the timber land was Chess and Wymond out of New York state. Mr. Franklin leased all the land and cut all the timber. After the timber was gone it became a large farming area owned by the Franklin family. A quick roadside geocache (GC29MH5) in Holly Ridge off of I-20 to claim that county. Some dark clouds overhead isn't very promising though. I did get some heavy rain along the Louisiana / Mississippi state line.



After the rain and crossing over into the state of Mississippi, I jump off of I-20 and drive up into Madison County and the town of Annandale. There I find my next virtual geocache at the Chapel of the Cross (GC29MH5). After John and Margaret Johnstone arrived in Mississippi from North Carolina in 1840, they lost two of their sons that same year and buried them on their land, which would become the Annandale Plantation. John had the idea to build the chapel but died in 1848 before he accomplished it. The Gothic Revival chapel was erected in the 1850's by his wife Margaret L. Johnstone as a memorial to her husband.



Behind the chapel is the cemetery which now contain over 250 interments, the oldest being the two sons from 1840. The geocache page mentions one grave in particular as a question from which you need to answer in order to claim credit for the virtual geocache. But it doesn't give you the history of the grave. Henry Grey Vick was killed in a duel at age 23, just days before he was to marry Helen Johnstone, the daughter of John and Margaret. Helen was said to have worn her wedding dress to Henry's funeral. And legend has it that the "Bride of Annandale" continued to love Henry the rest of her life, even after marrying George Harris, and that her ghost is often seen sitting on a bench near Henry's grave.





Now that the sun is down and it's dark out, my plan is to keep going as long as I can find the geocaches. If I can't find a cache and need the county, then it's time to find a hotel and wait for daylight.

But next up is another virtual cache in Canton, MS. "Casey's Intended Destination" (GCF5FE) was located at the old train depot, now a museum. Canton was the destination of the famous train engineer John Luther "Casey" Jones when his train derailed after colliding with a stalled freight train 15 miles up track. He was traveling at about 75 MPH when he noticed the broken down train cars still on the track about 300 feet ahead near a side track switch.

While he could have jumped off the engine to save his live, as did the fireman on board, he stayed with the engine pulling on the brake and reversing throttle to protect those on the ground and passengers of the other train. He managed to slow down to approximately 35 MPH before colliding with the caboose and 3 of the freight cars when his train derailed. He died upon impact and time was recorded at 3:52 AM by his cracked watch.

I would liked to have gotten some more photos of the outside and down the side with the tracks in view. It was lit up enough. But there were some shady characters hanging out across the tracks on this Friday night. So a quick photo of what I needed for answers and moved on. (answer covered)



From here to the Alabama state line, I found several quick parking lot geocaches in Leake County (GC3CMVJ), Neshoba County (GCV8ZT), and Kemper County (GC7KCNW). Then I continued over into Alabama where I already had the next  few counties. Getting close to midnight I found a hotel in Birmingham for the night.

A long drive today, but I did get to pick up some new counties and see some great places. I especially like that old chapel in Mississippi and wish I got there just a little earlier to get some better photos.

Anyway, tomorrow is another day and another adventure. Do I make it all the way to NC or stop short. Guess you'll have to come back to find out. See you next time...

Saturday, February 22, 2020

2018-05-05: Meeting Up With Friends From Florida To Go Geocaching and Exploring Waco Texas

Hello friends, adventurers, history lovers, and fellow geocachers! Welcome back to AwayWeGo's (that's us!) Geocaching Adventure Blog. I really appreciate all the likes and comments that we've been receiving on Facebook, Twitter, and here on this blog. Feel free to share our stories with your family and friends. Also, keep leaving your comments, suggestions, as well as a critique every now and then on how I can improve our blog.

OK, on to the fun stuff. I only worked 5 days this week so I arrived home in Killeen last night. That gave us a rare Saturday to go exploring together! WOHOO!! And doubly fun because we have a couple of our Florida geocaching friends staying nearby on their Spring/Summer RV tour. Well in reality, they're camping north of Dallas about 200 miles away. But for Texas that IS nearby! So we decided to meet up with the YankaBucs about halfway in Waco, Texas.


On the way to our rendezvous point, we passed by this old building. Since YankaBucs were a few minutes behind schedule, we decided to stop for a closer look and photos. A faded sign on the back side said "Water Works." Though it confused me about the train caboose coming out the side of the building.



Further research from a 2015 Waco Tribune-Herald Article, this 7,000 square foot brick building was built before 1902 as a pump station for the private Bell Water Company. They punched wells into the adjacent sands for Brazos alluvium groundwater. Acquired by city of Waco in 1904, it continued as a pump station even after the Riverside treatment plant was built in the late 1910s. Contractor F.M. Young acquired the property for his headquarters in the mid-1950s, then leased it to Geoffrey Michaels from 1975 to 1989 as the popular Water Works restaurant. A variety of less successful restaurants and nightclubs followed until disorderly crowds forced closing in 2009.


Continuing down the road a little ways, we met up with YankaBucs at the Waco Mammoth National Monument and our first geocache for the day. It was an Earthcache (GC5ZKCB). Waco Mammoth National Monument sits within 100 acres of wooded parkland along the Bosque River on the outskirts of town. Surrounded by oak, mesquite and cedar trees, the site offers an escape from the modern world and provides a glimpse into the lives and habitat of Columbian mammoths and other Ice Age animals.



On a spring day in 1978, Paul Barron and Eddie Bufkin embarked on a search for arrowheads and fossils near the Bosque River. To their surprise, the men stumbled upon a large bone eroding out of a ravine. Recognizing the unusual nature of the find, they removed the bone and took it to Baylor University's Strecker Museum (predecessor to the Mayborn Museum Complex) for examination. Museum staff identified the find as a femur bone from a Columbian mammoth. This now extinct species lived during the Pleistocene Epoch (more commonly known as the Ice Age) and inhabited North America from southern Canada to as far south as Costa Rica.

Strecker Museum staff quickly organized a team of volunteers and excavation began at the site. Using hand tools such as brushes and bamboo scrapers, crews slowly excavated a lost world. Between 1978 and 1990, the fossil remains of 16 Columbian mammoths were discovered. Their efforts uncovered a nursery herd that appears to have died together in a single natural event. Between 1990 and 1997, six additional mammoths were excavated, including a large male. Crews also uncovered the remains of a Western camel, dwarf antelope, American alligator, giant tortoise, and the tooth of a juvenile saber-toothed cat, which was found next to an unidentified animal.


Getting back into Waco, our next stop was at the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum. First opening in 1968 on the banks of the Brazos River, a smaller museum preserved the history and heritage of the Texas Rangers. The newer Hall of Fame displays many artifacts, exhibits, artwork and documents relating to this legendary group of law enforcement officers of Texas and the old west. There was even a whole room dedicated to the "Lone Ranger" fictional character full of TV and movie memorabilia, which Mr YankaBucs really appreciated.




Next to the museum is the historic First Street Cemetery dating back to Waco's founding in the 1850's. First Street Cemetery is the oldest public cemetery in Waco and is composed of three distinct cemeteries: City Cemetery, Odd Fellows Cemetery and Masonic Cemetery. In 1852, City Cemetery and Masonic Cemetery were officially established. It is not known when Odd Fellows Cemetery was officially established, but it was acquired by the City of Waco in 1866.

Now it really gets interesting when you combine the cemetery, the museum, and the Fort Fisher Park in the same area. It was discovered during the Hall of Fame expansion during the 2007-2010, that there were human remains underneath. It turns out that during the creation of the Fort Fisher Park and first Ranger museum in the late 1960's, as well as a "relocation" of graves to the larger Oakwood Cemetery to the south years earlier, that ONLY headstones were moved and not the remains of the bodies buried underneath. As you can imagine, that caused a LOT of community outrage and delays during the renovation and expansion plans!

As a surveyor myself, I had to include a photo of the Major George B Wrath statue there. Perhaps they could have used him to relocate the cemetery.



Now it is time for lunch. We saw this place across the highway also on the river called Buzzard Billy's. The decor and location were great and the food was excellent! However, I forgot to take any pictures. After filling up with a delicious lunch, we decided it was time for a walk along the river front to burn off some calories.

We crossed the Waco Suspension Bridge first. This was the Brazos River Crossing of the Chisholm Trail and a virtual geocache (GC2B5A). Imagine all the history that once crossed over this bridge.



In 1866 the Waco Bridge Company was granted a 25 year charter to build a toll bridge here. The charter guaranteed that no other bridge or ferry could be built within five miles. Construction began in 1868 and, after much financial difficulty, was finished in 1870. Bridge traffic included wagons, pedestrians, and cattle herds. Special rates were given to heavy users. From 1875 to 1889 the public agitated for a free bridge, but the company retained its monopoly. Then, in 1889, the bridge was sold to McLennan County which gave it to the city of Waco as a free bridge.




We continued strolling along the riverwalk finding various geocaches along the way and enjoying the day. (GC7ETPC, GC7ETQF, GC7ETQ9, GC7ETPY, GC6D2E, GC7C2NN, GC7C2N7) One of them had this monument. The inscription read: "Shakespeare! Daign to lend thy face, This romantic nook to grace, Where untaught Nature sports alone, Since thou and Nature are but one…1616-1916."



An easily overlooked memorial that pays tribute to William Shakespeare (1564-1616). How and why is it there? In 1916, on the 300th anniversary of his death, the Waco Shakespeare Club had it constructed and designed by Paul G. Silber, Sr. According to the Waco Shakespeare Club record’s at The Texas Collection, Baylor University, the organization began in the late 1890's at the Waco home of Kate Harrison Friend and her mother, Arimenta Harrison Friend, “conducting a private school guaranteeing their pupils thoroughness for higher grades.” Here, Kate Friend “…organized a class in the study of Shakespeare for the single young ladies of the elite of Waco. Here so much profit and enjoyment was experienced, that on request, a class for young matrons was formed.” Thus officially forming the club in 1899.



After making it around the riverwalk, we drove a few blocks over to the Dr Pepper Museum (GC2ATKV). Dr Pepper is a “native Texan,” originating at Morrison’s Old Corner Drug Store. It is the oldest of the major brand soft drinks in America. Like its flavor, the origin of Dr Pepper is out-of-the-ordinary. Charles Alderton, a young pharmacist working at Morrison’s store, is believed to be the inventor of the now famous drink. Alderton spent most of his time mixing up medicine for the people of Waco, but in his spare time he liked to serve carbonated drinks at the soda fountain. He liked the way the drug store smelled, with all of the fruit syrup flavor smells mixing together in the air. He decided to create a drink that tasted like that smell. He kept a journal, and after numerous experiments he finally hit upon a mixture of fruit syrups that he liked.



Dr Pepper gained such widespread consumer favor that other soda fountain operators in Waco began buying the syrup from Morrison and serving it. This soon presented a problem for Alderton and Morrison. They could no longer produce enough at their fountain to supply the demand. Robert S. Lazenby, a young beverage chemist, had also tasted the new drink and he, too, was impressed. Alderton, the inventor, was primarily interested in pharmacy work and had no designs on the drink. He suggested that Morrison and Lazenby develop it further. Morrison and Lazenby were impressed with the growth of Dr Pepper. In 1891, they formed a new firm, the Artesian Mfg. & Bottling Company, which later became Dr Pepper Company. Lazenby and his son-in-law, J.B. O’Hara moved the company from Waco to Dallas in 1923.



Around the corner from there was the Magnolia Market. Magnolia Market at the Silos, commonly called Magnolia Market, is a shopping complex that encompasses two city blocks in downtown Waco, Texas. It is marked by two 120’ high silos, built in 1950 as part of the Brazos Valley Cotton Oil Company. The grounds opened to the public in October, 2015.

The complex is owned by Chip and Joanna Gaines, TV personalities best known for HGTV's Fixer Upper TV series. The Silos, Waco, TX The grounds include a 12,000 sq. ft. retail store located in the historic grain barn and office building, a food truck park with picnic tables, a garden store, bakery, and lawn area. There was some kinda 5K event in the area today, so the place was just packed! This is the line below just for the bakery!


While the YankaBucs took a peak inside the Market, Candy and I stayed outside in the courtyard / lawn area because it was so crowded.

As we walked around the corner on our way to dinner, we passed by the First Baptist Church which I thought was worthy of a photo.


Then we arrived at Hecho En Waco Mexican Restaurant for another good meal. After an exhausting nut rewarding day, it was time to say our good-byes to our good friends the YankaBucs and head home. I hope you have enjoyed our tour of Waco, Texas. Until next time...