2018-04-22: Geocaching Through a Cemetery, Ghost Towns, and an Old Bridge in West Texas

Here we go again, another Sunday and another 360+ miles of driving from Killeen in Central Texas to Monahans in West Texas. My wife lives and lives in Killeen and I work in West Texas as a Construction Surveyor building wind and solar farms. So after working 5 or 6 days every week, I drive eastbound on Friday or Saturday night. On Sunday's it's time to drive back westbound. That's also a time to find some geocaches along the way and do some exploring. So let's get started and find some smiles!

After a quick stop at Duncan Donuts for a caramel iced coffee and a bagel, I begin the journey. My first geocache is at the Garden on Memories Cemetery (GC480M4) on the south side of Killeen. Connected to the Calvary Baptist Church, this fairly new cemetery dates back to 1983 and only has just over 300 interments here. Being in a military community, there were a few military themed grave sites as well.

Passing through Lampasas every week, I see this old building. But I can't find any information on it online. Responses from the Backroads of Texas Facebook Group say it was definitely a church, but haven't gotten any dates or name of it. If any of you happen to know what it might be, please leave a comment. (Update: thanks to the great group over at "BackRoads of Texas", they have posted this link to a KCEN TV News report on the church which was built in the 1940's.)

Continuing on my way westbound, I took Farm Road 580 instead of the usual US-190 out of Lampasas. Soon I arrive at my next geocache called "Double Smiley Cache" (GC10CCX). A quick roadside geocache that gives you one smiley for the find and one smiley photo opp waaaayy up on the hill. You can barely see it in this photo below, but I zoomed in close for the photo at the top of the page. Looks like it used to be one of those large old fashioned TV satellite dishes you used to see more often before the small ones commonly used now.

Continuing down Farm Road 580, I came to the community of Nix, Texas. I guess it could be considered a ghost town, but the population never really took off. From the historical marker: "Settlers came to this site along Fort Phantom Hill Road in the 1860's and established the Village of Nix. Harvey Wallace opened a general store in 1875, and his wife Elizabeth became the first postmaster. Several springs ran nearby, including Dripping Springs near the Nix Cemetery founded in 1878. By 1885, citizens started a school on the Levi Ringer Place. The town boasted a cotton gin, blacksmiths, and stores, and citizens built a new schoolhouse in 1920. Rock quarries and cedar yards begun in the 1940's supported the local economy. Nix schools absorbed Bend, Lynch Creek, Ogles before consolidating with Lampasas in 1952. The historic Nix Schoolhouse later became a community Center."

The highest population ever recorded was only at 27 in 1896. The post office was discontinued in 1906. The general store with gas pumps have been restored, though it does not function as a store and is located on private property. There are two geocaches in town. One called "Why Not #4" (GC15VTB) and the other called "Deliverance #14" (GC193Y4) located at the Nix Cemetery.

Nix General Store

Nix Cemetery

Low Water Crossing
Who says a Prius isn't an off-road vehicle!

Old House in Nix, Texas

Former Schoolhouse now Nix Community Center

Leaving Nix, I make it back to US-190 for three more quick geocaches: "Our First of Many Firsts" (GC7G49E), "Flying Goose" (GC15VRP), and finally a backroad "Deliverance #7" (GC17NE8) which hadn't been found in two years! I almost passed it up because of that. But it was a very rural road and it didn't have any DNF's logged. That just told me that it was probably still there and nobody has made any attempts to find it. So always nice to find a lonely cache!

After finally making it to and passing through San Saba, I turned north on County Road 208 on my way to my next geocache. Then I saw this building with a historical marker and had to stop and investigate.

"A site once famous for its horses and racetrack. Riley Harkey (1832-1920) and Israel Harkey (1835-1914) were Indian scouts in Texas in 1850-53. In 1855 they led their parents, Mathias and Catherine Harkey, to move here from Arkansas with other adult sons, daughters, in-laws and grandchildren. The families ranched, and Mathias Harkey ran a country store for many years.

"Riley Harkey brought to Texas a fine, fleet footed mare, who with her racing progeny drew crowds of enthusiasts to this site for half a century. Other sons and grandsons of Mathias Harkey also joined in the breeding, training, and racing of horses. Stores, blacksmith shop, and other businesses all faced east on a single street overlooking the flat with its racetrack and baseball diamond. There was no post office, but the village was so well known that mail addressed to Harkeyville promptly arrived here.

"On Nov. 26, 1873, George W. Barnett (1823-1885) gave land for the first school; the schoolhouse was used also for church services and public meetings. The racetrack closed in 1907; the cotton gin burned in 1920, and was not rebuilt; school consolidated in 1929 with San Saba. The last store closed in 1954. A community hall, built 1973, marks site of the town."

From Harkeyville to China! Well not exactly China but the China Creek Cemetery (GC3PC66). With over 700 interments here, this cemetery is still in use today. You'll find many of the Harkey family members buried here. There's also many members of the Ketchum family who were also some of the early settlers of San Saba County.

Green B Ketchum, Sr. relocated with his family to Sangamon County, Illinois from Alabama about 1825. The family then moved to Texas about 1848 with his father Peter Reasor Ketchum, a preacher and rancher, and two brothers and their families. Brother James arrived in Texas in 1846 and uncle Jacob earlier, fighting in the Texas War of Independence from Mexico.

The family went first to Limestone County, Texas for a short stay, then to Caldwell County, Texas where Peter Reasor Ketchum and some others remained, and Green Berry Ketchum moved on to San Saba County about 1855 where they were early pioneers of the County, settling on the San Saba River on the place known later as the Rainey place in China Creek Community.

Now trying to make up time, I drive straight through San Angelo. After a while though and passing caches, it's time to make another stop. On US-87 nearing Sterling City, I turn down a side road for the Sherwood Lane Bridge geocache (GC14VW4). Built in 1920, this 96 foot pony-truss bridge crosses the North Concho River. A single lane bridge that still allows for vehicle traffic or you can use the lower water crossing off to the side. And if hunting for the geocache and you are having a hard time finding it, well somebody has made it obviously clear of its location. And if you still cannot find it, then I think you may need to find a new hobby!

One more quick roadside geocache (GCXRZJ), then straight on towards Monahans. That's all for the day. Just a reminder to Like Us on Facebook or Follow Us on Twitter. Or just Subscribe to my blog directly using the buttons to the right. See you next week.

Exploring the Ghost Town of Girvin, Texas and Hiding a Few Geocaches

For my blog post for today, I thought I'd do something a little different than usual. Instead of me finding geocaches and seeing interesting places, this is about me finding an interesting place and hiding caches there.

Shortly after arriving in West Texas in early 2016, I started working in construction on a solar farm just south of Girvin, Texas. Passing through here every day going to and from work, I would often stop and explore a little more as I noticed different buildings. I also researched the internet to find it's history. And on one occasion, I had the opportunity to talk to one of the locals there and learned a rather interesting story which I'll reveal in a moment.

Old Store July 2016

Surprisingly there weren't any geocaches here. As a matter of fact, the nearest cache was at a picnic area four miles up the road. Then ten more miles beyond that. As I learned more and found more I began hiding geocaches so that other geocachers could also learn of Girvins' history.

So going back in time; a community, originally named Granada, began there in the 1890's when cattle ranchers moved into the area. In 1912, the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railroad completed track construction from Mertzon after crossing the Pecos River. A post office was established on January 31, 1913 and the town was officially named Girvin, after local rancher John H. Girvin. The original town site was located on both sides of the tracks, near the rail station. You can see in the second photo below where I think that train station was once located by the raise ground and old railroad ties lay where perhaps a separate track once was for loading and unloading.

Some of the remaining buildings can be seen through the mesquite on the right.
August 2016

Was this where once laid tracks for the train depot?
August 2016

Old water tower for the steam engines.
August 2016

Soon after the railroad began stopping, the town grew and had a store (pictured at the top of the page), a hotel, a saloon, and a lumber yard. Stock pens were built nearby while awaiting shipment. You can still see some remnants of those below. Look hard enough in the photo and you can also see the geocache I hid there as well (GC6PCFM).

Stock pens. July 2016

Eventually as more and more automobiles arrived in West Texas, you needed a gas station and garage (GC6P64R). The building in the photo below used to be two stories. The gas pumps and shop below, and storage and perhaps even living quarters above. I've seen photos from as recently as 2000 that still showed walls for the second floor above the fuel island to halfway back. Sometime after that an arsonist set fire to the place and that came down.

Remains of the gas station and garage.
May 2016

The first school was a small wooden building. In 1924 Girvin had an estimated population of only 15. In the late 1920's, with the production of oil in the nearby Yates and Trans-Pecos oilfields, Girvin became a hub for the delivery of equipment, supplies, and workers with families. A larger brick schoolhouse was being constructed and was already proving to be too small as one class had to meet in the lumberyard during the 1930-1931 school year. Oddly enough though, that is the one public building that is still maintained today. It is used by those few remaining residents as a community center and voting place (GC6QRXC).

Former school, now a community center. August 2016

Unfortunately, in 1933 a new highway from Fort Stockton to McCamey bypassed the original townsite about a mile to the south, and Girvin immediately began to decline. The community reported five businesses and a population of seventy-five in 1939. In 1944 the Panhandle and Santa Fe Railway, which by then owned the track through Girvin, razed the section of the Girvin depot used for freight; and the passenger station was closed in 1955. By 1963 the estimated population of Girvin had declined to thirty, with only two businesses reported. And by 1967 the original townsite was abandoned all together. A few of the businesses and residents had moved down closer to the highway (now US-67), but even they eventually left. In 2000 the population at the new site was still estimated at thirty.

One of the those businesses which remained open until the very end was the Girvin Social Club (GC6P62F). This small red building was once a popular place. A cafe and saloon, it finally shut it's doors in 2011. The first pic below is a painting of what it looked like in it's peak. The second photo is what I saw back in 2016. Now, I'm back working on another solar project west of Girvin and am happy to say that it's back open again as McKee's Bar.

https://www.gboutwell.com/paintingdetails.aspx?id=418

The Girvin Social Club July 2016

McKee's Bar December 2019

I read another article about a Arno and Mildred Helmer purchased the railroad depot in 1956 after it closed. Then moved it down near the new highway where they opened it as the Girvin Store and Post Office. That was where most of the traffic was passing through now. It was also remodeled so that the Helmer family could live in it as well. It was said to be next to the Social Club and these two buildings are across the street on the next corner. I'm not sure exactly which one it was, but my guess was that it's the white building below. There was also a gas station on the corner and that would fit more of the yellow building with the rail car. I'll need to stop at the bar one day and see if any of them know. I do know that the yellow building below is where some of the remaining residents meet on Tuesday nights, hang out, and play poker.

Maybe former gas station? December 2019

Perhaps the former rail station converted to post office, store, and house.
December 2019

And finally I come to the Girvin Cemetery (GC6QRW8). While there are dozens of graves there, most are unknown and are just iron crosses. Only six still have headstones which have names and dates. And it isn't maintained. The few headstones that are identified range from 1917 through 1941.

Now remember at the beginning I told you that I talked to one of the locals when I first started working nearby in 2016? One of the interesting headstones is a double sided headstone for J. W. Steele and J. P. Ryan who both died on Feb 9, 1927. I Googled the names but came up empty. I heard the story from the resident about 2 boys who were passing through town and killed in a car accident near one of the Pecos River bridges. They were buried as unknowns before the families came looking for them several months later. The families followed the route towards their intended destination asking people if they remembered seeing them. The people of Girvin told them the story of the accident and they matched the description. Could these be the two boys? I don't know. I haven't been able to confirm the names or date. If you have any information to add, please forward it to me.

Girvin Cemetery August 2016

Update 03-19-2020: I found a newspaper story from the Fort Worth Record-Telegram dated March 1, 1927. The first sentence doesn't make sense to me, but I'll post exactly how it's printed:

ANOTHER BODY FOUND IN PECOS

Two Men Identified as River Recedes
and Discloses Second Victim of Mishap.

"SAN ANGELO, Feb 28, -- The with a wound on his forehead and the Sunday in the Pecos River at the Girvin bridge, according to late advises today from McCamey. Both Ryan and J.W. Steele, pipe line workers for the Southern Crude Oil Purchasing Company, met death when their roadster missed the bridge on a curve in a rain and sleet storm and was hurled into the stream.

"Steele's body was found Friday and a wound on his forehead and the absence of money led to a search for a companion with whom Steele was said to leave McCamey for Pyote. This man's identity was not known until the second body was found. Besides a time check identified as Ryan's, there was about $50 in his pockets. Receding of the water three feet disclosed the submerged car Saturday."

August 2016

August 2016

Well that's about it for my trip through historic Girvin Texas. I'd like to recognize a few websites recommend them to you for even more information: Texas State Historical Association and TexasEscapes.com . Both of these are excellent resources for Texas history. And as always, be sure to Like my https://www.facebook.com/AwayWeGoUS page or follow my blog directly using the buttons on the right column of this blog. Until next time...

2018-01-21: Geocaching Counties in South Texas

Hello and welcome back to my Geocaching Adventures blog. If you've been following regularly, you may recall that my wife had flown out to Philadelphia on a business trip. So It's just me for the weekend and I decided to go chasing counties in South Texas. Originally from Florida, I completed finding a Geocache in every Florida County several years ago. We were working on Georgia and had passed the halfway mark when we moved out here to Texas. So been working on the 254 Texas counties since November 2015. Well as a goal anyway. I already had some finds in Texas since my very FIRST Geocache was in Texas while on vacation way back in 2006. Then picked up a few more during my truck driving days from 2007-2010.

So far I've got most of the state covered with a few scattered here and there. But this weekend I'm hoping to finish up the southern tip in the Rio Grand Valley of Texas. So having charted a course already and had my bags packed, after work on Friday I hit the road to the south.

My first stop wasn't for a new county but for a virtual geocache called "Davy Who?" (GCE612). Located in Ozona, Texas, which is the county seat for Crockett County, was this statue of Davy Crockett (1786-1836, died at the Alamo) whom it was named for. Formed from the Bexar Territory, the county was created on January 22, 1875. After several reconfigurations, on March 15, 1887 it was reduced to its current size and finally organized on July 7, 1891. I also stopped for another geocache at a native plant interpretative trail called "What's the Interpretation?" (GC5EVXE).

After grabbing a bite to eat, I continued my driving down to Three Rivers, Texas where I found a hotel in my first caching county on the list, Live Oak. But for now it's late, it's dark, and after working all day and driving another 372 miles 6 hours after that, I'm tired!

Saturday morning first thing, I drive over to the Three Rivers Cemetery (GC4GE3G) for my first cache in Live Oak County. The community was first named Hamiltonburg when Annie T. Hamilton paid the San Antonio, Uvalde, and Gulf Railroad to build a depot there on her land in 1913. Since mail for the town was often mistakenly sent to Hamilton, TX, the local residences asked for a name change. Charles R. Tips, who'd be called a realtor today, suggested naming the town for the location near the rivers. Three Rivers was approved by the Post Office department on May 1st, 1914.

From there I headed west on TX-72 into McMullen County to the town of Tilden. Boot Hill Cemetery (GC26GM0), one of the only two authentic cemeteries of its kind in the southwest, was named Boothill because so many of those who were interred there died violently, "with their boots on." Many of the early graves were those of people killed in accidents, murdered, died of cholera during the cholera epidemic in 1869, but some were known to have died of natural causes.

The cemetery was established sometime after Frio Rio came into existence in 1858. Frio Rio has gone through several name changes; Dogtown, Colfax and finally Tilden when it was established the county seat in 1877. The cemetery is located behind the bank 1/2 a block north of the courthouse plaza on highway 72 and 1/2 block east of State Highway 16. Tilden was on the caravan route between San Antonio, Dogtown, Fort Ewell, Laredo and Mexico. Some time during the Civil War a stage route was also added and saloons began to spring up in Dogtown. These all brought many undesirable characters to the town as well as men who were on the run from the law that used the surrounding area and brush to hide. Some of these undesirables provided quite a few occupants for Boothill.

In 1877 Boot Hill Cemetery was abandoned in favor of the present Hill Top Cemetery. Hill Top Cemetery was originally called Graveyard Hill and many early setters as well as several generations of their descendants have been buried in Hill Top. Hill Top Cemetery still serves the community today. Boot Hill Cemetery was neglected for more than half a century. During this time the "old timers past away, the markers deteriorated, fell down, became lost and more and more of the Boothill lore and history went with them. In 1955 when the Cenizo Garden Club was organized they began at once to clean up and restore the cemetery. They cleaned the plots, cleared out the brush, and located as many graves as possible. The grounds were enclosed by a low border of native stone and the Boothill Cemetery Sign with a large boot made of masonry mounted on a huge slab of a petrified palm stump was added to the cemetery grounds. They were also instrumental in obtaining a Historical Marker, which stands at the entrance of the cemetery.

Some of those buried here are: Dick Gosset killed in Ft Ewell gunfight Feb 1869; E. M. Crain a Confederate veteran and one of 4 cholera victims of 1869; John Smithwick murdered 1870; Jim ? assassinated in from door of Old Rock Store (2nd photo below) in 1872; Unknown killed in gun battle while standing in front of Old Rock Store 1873; Unknown killed unintentionally by Clabe Young while playing a prank; S. Glenn Greer thrown from a horse 1874; Unknown Negro drowned in the Nueces in 1875; Unknown murderer of James Minter, presumed to have been a Dalton Gang member; Lige Harrison Jr killed at age 17 in a hunting accident 1876; Samuel Wm. McCreery murdered at his sheep ranch 1877; Pemanio Palacios and Phelix Wheeler (infant) both died of natural causes.

Going south on Hwy 16, I arrive in Duval County and the town of Freer, Texas. To claim the county, I grab the geocache in Hahl Cemetery (GC21AYW) and see the most unusual headstone / marker. This person must have been a bird lover.

One more cache before leaving town at the Rattlesnake Roundup (GC4XR84) to see the world's largest rattlesnake. The Freer Rattlesnake Roundup attracts more than 35,000 visitors who gather at the Freer Cactus Corral for the biggest party in Texas celebrating the area's most popular resident. Don't worry about getting the photo opp, this one don't bite!

Next up down in Hebbronville and Jim Hogg County was a quick roadside cache called "RJ's txrancher Cache" (GC367D8).

Staying on TX-16 into Zapata County were my next two quick roadside caches: "Zapata County Helper TX-16 #1, #2" (GC3N21V, GC3N24W). A few miles down the road was a small community called Escobas and there was a cemetery and a few old long abandoned houses. There wasn't a cache there but I had to check it out anyway. 

Settled by Mexican ranchers as early as the mid-1700s, it later became part of the colony of Nuevo Santander. Settlement began in the late 1800s and by 1897 the area was populated enough to support a school of thirty students. The town had been known as Laguna de Escobas but when oil was discovered, it was renamed Escobas. The Texaco oil company provided a primary school (to 5th grade) and a post office was opened. Escobas had a single business in operation in 1940 and a population of just 25. The population remained at that level through the 1990's. In recent years it has declined to only 10 residents.

Once in the town of Zapata, I stopped by the cemetery for another geocache (GC6786A). Settlements began in the area in the 1750's. Soon after 1767, the first settlement on the north bank of the Rio Grand River was established here and called Habitación. The name was changed to Carrizo sometime later, after a local Indian group that lived in huts made of cane. Then in 1858 the named was changed to Bellville in honor of Governor Peter Hansborough Bell, who signed the bill officially making Zapata County separate from Webb and Starr Counties. Finally in 1898, the town name was permanently changed to Zapata, in honor of Col. Antonio Zapata, a local rancher who became one of the leaders of the federalist movement and founded the Republic of the Rio Grande back in 1839.

The population of Zapata made a sudden jump in 1913 during the Mexican Revolution when many residents of Guerrero fled across the river. The townsite relocated to higher ground at its present location when the Falcon Dam and Reservoir was created, putting the original townsite under water. Below is a photo of the 1901 Zapata Courthouse from 1939 which now sits submerged under water.

photo from TexasEscapes.com

Moving on down to the south along US-83, I enter Starr County and my next cache called "Roma: Bluffs, Landmark, Rio, Ford" (GC4ZD6Z). It is an earthcache on the Roma Bluffs, a high point along the banks of the Rio Grande River. Also a great bird watching spot, in more recent years a good viewing spot for border patrol agents. Roma and Los Saenz are two adjoining settlements that have incorporated jointly. And they sit directly across the river from Ciudad Miguel Alemán, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Corrales de Saenz was founded in the 1760's by local ranchers. Later the area became known as Buena Vista and the Garcia Ranch. It is also possible that what came to be known as Roma-Los Saenz and Ciudad Miguel Alemán were originally part of the same city, San Pedro de Roma, Tamaulipas. In 1848, when it became a part of the United States, the name was changed to Roma, suggested by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, who founded a mission there in the mid-1850s.

Roma is regarded as one of the best remaining Spanish colonial townsites in the lower Rio Grande Valley. In 1971 it was designated as a Historic District and many of the buildings are adorned with the Texas Historical Markers.

Before I could leave Roma and continue my quest to pickup new counties, I passed by one of several cemeteries. They did not contain a cache but it was still hard to pass up. I've noticed that the Hispanic cemeteries are more colorful and festive. Most gravesites have large headstones and/or statues. Like this next photo for example. This sitting angle was "life-size" for a woman. I've not seen an angelic being before so I'm not sure how tall they really are. But if this statue was standing, she would have been 6 or 7 feet tall.

One more quick cache behind the Chili's restaurant called "Red and Hot" (GC67R7V), just in case my answers for the earthcache were incorrect, so I could get a Starr County find.

Getting late in the afternoon now, I'm trying not to spend much time now enjoying the sites but focusing on getting the counties. A quick "Shop Til You Drop" (GC5M5ZG) geocache in a parking lot got me Hidalgo County.

Going north on US-281, with a quick drive east towards Raymondville over the Willacy County line gets me to a quick "Guardrail on West Side" geocache (GC5JTN6).

Then back into Hidalgo County on TX-186 towards US-281, I passed by and grabbed "Rio Grande Virtual Salt Cache" (GC40A0) and "La Noria Cardeneña" (GC4366). Both were old virtual geocaches from back in 2002. It's hard to pass up on the old virtual caches when you're so close.

I had to skip Brooks County as it was dark now and did not consider it easy nor safe getting the roadside caches along the highway.

I did stop at the "Royal Rest Stop" (GC17BDQ) geocache in Jim Wells County along US-281. That was my last cache for yesterday before heading back to the hotel in Three Rivers. A total of 445 miles, 12 hours, and 9 new counties.

Today is all about the drive back home to Monahans. Reaching the north-west side of San Antonio, I saw an exit with a Starbucks and decided to grab a coffee. Across the parking lot was a quick cache called "Whiskerfish" (GC5RX36), so of course I had to find it also.

Continuing westbound on I-10 for a little while is just what you need after drinking a large cup of coffee, a rest area! Plus there are THREE geocaches here as well for a bonus. "Poppy's Pit Stop" (GC10A6X) and "Rest Stop Nature Walk" (GC380JX) were traditional caches. The nature walk gave cachers a nice birds eye view of the highway. There was also an earthcache located at the rest area. "Plateaus, Mesas, or Buttes" (GC77VYH) gave you a lesson on the types of hills you are able to see from the parking area. (not in photo below)

Making it back to Ozona, Texas, I stop again to find a couple of the remaining caches that I didn't get on Friday. One of them was called "Well Water" (GCZ7DQ) by a historical marker. The other was "A Look 2 The Past" (GC1ZTZV) located at the cemetery.

Another rest area further west on I-10 and another quick cache called "Republic of Texas" (GC2KF2Q).

I exit I-10 in Bakersfield going north on Hwy 11, through Girvin and almost to Imperial getting closer to home. I stop for "Shine Bright Like a Diamond" (GC7H4GB) geocache which was a sneaky little hide out in the middle of nowhere.

One final stop for the "Butterfield Overland Stage Line" (GC7H6EY) historical marker: One of the longest stage routes ever established, the Southern Overland Mail Line (Butterfield Route) which provided semi-weekly service from St Louis to San Francisco, 1858-1861. Followed substantially the route of this highway (Hwy 18) through Ward County.

Several miles later and I finally made it back home in Monahans. Add 430 miles today for a total of 1247 miles on this weekends adventure. I hope you enjoyed the ride while I did all the driving. Until next time...

2017-11-04: Geocaching Cemeteries, Ghost Town, and the Texas State Capital

Welcome back! Today's adventure brought us down to the Austin, Texas area where my wife had a business seminar to attend. So while she spent the day in meetings, I used that time to explore some rural areas around Austin. Then after rescuing her after the meetings were over, we took a tour of the capital building in Austin. Let's get started...

After dropping her off, I headed south on I-35 out of Austin to just past San Marcos. Exiting the highway to get to a couple of small family cemeteries a block away, I was delayed by a long slow moving freight train. Looking at my c:geo live cache map, I noticed two caches located just in the shopping center to my right. Might as well make this delay useful! So I gave up my spot in line and grabbed caches GC1PX9A and GC33APV. By now the train had passed and I was able to continue on.

My first planned cache was at the Pitts Cemetery (GC2ZQ9Z). From the historical marker: John Drayton Pitts was born at sea on August 26, 1798. During the voyage of his parents John and Jane Pitts, from England to Charleston, South Carolina. They moved to Georgia during the war of 1812, and John D. married Eliza Permelia Daves in April 1819.

John D. Pitts was elected to the Georgia Legislature in 1841 but later moved to Grimes County, TX. He persuaded his extended family in Georgia to join him, and in 1843 eleven Pitts families moved to Texas.

John D. Pitts served as Adjutant General under Texas Governor George Wood from 1848 to 1849. Pitts bought land here from his friend General Edward Burleson in 1850. And eventually much of his extended family settled along the San Antonio - San Marcos stage route in a community called Stringtown.

Pitts Cemetery began in 1850 with the burial of John Malone, infant son of James L. and Eliza (Pitts) Malone and grandson of John D and Eliza Pitts. Eliza Pitts was buried here in 1851. In 1861 John D Pitts died on his way home from a secessionist convention in Austin, and was buried here. The cemetery was set aside by Pitts' sons-in-law James Malone and Samual Kone Sr in 1875. The cemetery continues to serve as a burial site for the descendants of John D and Eliza Pitts.

Just down the same road was another small nearly forgotten cemetery on private property and difficult to see. The Byrd Owen - Payne Cemetery (GC2ZQ96) is located in an area of Hays County south of downtown San Marcos known as Stringtown. This area was settled in the early 1840's and was "strung out" along the road; thus the name "Stringtown."

Being on private property there's not much to see from the road except an old wooden sign. The Find-A-Grave website shows 9 marked graves dating from 1879 through 1910. There was a Boy Scout restoration project back in 1994. Then again in 2008 by the Hays County Historical Commission. You can see some photos from their efforts at the HCHC website.  

Jumping back onto I-35 south, I get to New Braunfels and my stomach starts reminding me that it hasn't gotten any food yet! I spot a Golden Corral sign and take the exit. After satisfying the stomach, I open the app to see a parking lot cache right there. So naturally you have to grab it also to commemorate the meal right! (GC6ZHQW)

Taking some backroads south to get a couple of new caching counties reminded me of why I prefer driving over flying. Even when traveling long distances, I prefer to take a drive. Geocaching can take you to some interesting places as a destination. But it's the Adventure of getting there and seeing the unexpected. Like this relic from the past. An old Willys Jeep Wagon now used as a billboard for a salvage company. Somebody needs to restore that piece of history. Or perhaps an upgrade retro-rod with modern powertrain and interior conveniences. 

Further down the road in the town of Stockdale was this old Jeep sitting neglected at the corner property of another business.

OK, back to geocaching. My next stop was at the Stockdale Cemetery (GC5G6W8). Based on the historical marker: Before the Stockdale Cemetery was begun in the 1870's, most burials took place in private, family graveyards. About 1873, however, a young man who was not related to any of the local settlers was thrown from his horse and killed. To provide a place for his burial, Dr. T. M. Battle gave one acre of land at this site, and the burial ground has been used by Stockdale citizens since that time. Additional acreage was either purchased or donated over time.

The earliest marked grave in the Stockdale Cemetery, that of Sallie A. Pope, is dated 1873. Many early settlers are buried here, including the towns founder and Texas Ranger, John R. King (next photo), and the first schoolteacher Martin West. The cemetery also contains the graves of numerous war veterans and victims of the post-World War 1 flu epidemic.

From there I go down to a very rural tiny town called Gillett in Karnes County. I'm not sure if it's considered a ghost town. At it's peak it only had a population of 200 and now down to about 120. But it did have several abandoned buildings, stores, and even this two room jail that sat back in the overgrown brush and trees that you could barely see it from the road. The front room was used as a courtroom and the back was jail (GC1MC5N).
The site was first settled around the time of the Civil War at the junction of the San Antonio-Victoria and Helena-Seguin roads. In 1869 Carl Edward Riedel constructed a dam on nearby Ecleto Creek to power his sawmill, gristmill, and cotton gin. The small settlement that developed was named in his honor, but when the community applied for a post office in 1871, postal officials inexplicably changed its spelling from Riedelville to Riddleville. By 1882 Riddleville had, in addition to Riedel's industries, a Methodist church, a school, a physician, and two general stores. Daily mail came from Helena and Luling by hack. By 1895 the town had a third general store and congregations of Methodists, Baptists, and Cumberland Presbyterians. Among its most notable residents were author and industrialist Max Krueger, horse-trader Sarah Jane Scull, and pioneer airplane builders Prentice and Arthur Newman. Gunfighter John Wesley Hardin also reportedly resided there for a time.

In 1905 residents petitioned to change the town's name to Gillett in honor of E. G. Gillett, a lawyer and newspaperman in Runge who encouraged the town's development. During the early 1900s Gillett developed into a trade and social center for northeastern Karnes County. In its heyday between 1910 and 1920, Gillett had a post office, a school, a hotel, a cafe, a meat market, a barbershop, a pool hall, a wagonyard, a cotton gin, a physician's office, a blacksmith shop, a Woodmen of the World lodge, two general stores, two drugstores, and two saloons. A community church served congregations of Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, and Cumberland Presbyterians. With the advent of the automobile, three garages were built at the community. Gillett's population grew to 200 by the mid-1920s but declined markedly during the drought of the 1950s. The community's school closed in the 1970s. In the early 1990s Gillett was a center for a cattle-raising area. The former school building was used as a community center.

I headed over to the cemetery to check it out. There wasn't a cache there, there's only one cache in town and that was by the jail. But I still can't pass up the cemetery visit. I was kinda odd that most of it was kept up and mowed while other parts overgrown. You can see in the first photo the two towering headstones near completely hidden by the brush. When walking through these old cemeteries, it's not uncommon to see a lot of infant and toddler graves. However this more recent 2008 headstone really caught me off guard. Imagine having triplets. Delivering one 4 days before the other two. Only to have life for one day. Then a few days later the other two are born. One lives a couple of days and the last only a couple of weeks. I can't imagine what they must have gone through. Another headstone not far away is another who had a long journey in this world of 120 years. We'll never understand these things until we take that first step into eternity ourselves when all things become clear. 

Moving on to another type of memorial and another new caching county. A newly erected memorial paying tribute to those Dewitt County residents who served in Vietnam and crosses with a photo for each who "gave all" in combat (GC67G39).

Moving onward to continue picking up needed caching counties, brought me to Goliad County and the little town of Weesatche, Texas. Established in the late 1840's to early 1850's, it was originally called Middletown because it was halfway between Goliad and Clinton. The post office was established on November 22, 1855, but confusion soon followed thereafter with another Middletown, Texas town in Comal County. The residents decided to rename their town Huisache for the sweet acacia tree in the area. The new post office was named in May 1860, but misspelled as Weesatche to match its phonetic pronunciation.

The first cache was located at the Woodlawn Cemetery near the center of town (GC27R6Y). The second at the St. Andrews Lutheran Church Cemetery on the south side of town (GC27R77). You can see from the first headstone pictured below the influence of German and other eastern European settlers there were in early Texas history. The St. Andrews Lutheran Church was organized in 1891 by Rev. Theordore N. Ander, who left Ander, Texas to become the regular pastor.

While it may look like a set from an old west movie or TV show, these really are the original storefronts from the 1800's along Main Street in Weesatche, Texas.

Finally making the u-turn and heading back up to Austin, I pass through Luling, Texas and a quick virtual geocache (GC8655). I won't give you any clues about the virtual, but I will tell about this historic old west cabin. The Rev. William Johnson (1822-1889), farmer and Baptist minister who came to Texas in 1833, built this shotgun-style cabin near Tenny Creek (11 miles NE of Luling). In the 1870's, family included five children. His son W. E. (Billie) became a physician in Tilmon.

Since 1893, the Jeff Connolly family has owned Johnson's land. T. B. Coopwood, M.D. used this cabin as an office in the late 1890's. Mr. and Mrs. Jett Connolly donated this house in 1972 to be relocated in this public park.

Now that I've picked up my wife, we head to the State Capital building for a walk through. There is a lot of history here and the surrounding grounds. We were running out of time plus we were both hungry! We did manage to grab four of the virtual caches outside (GCA4F6, GC588B, GC142B, GCB231) before calling it a day and headed to dinner and home.