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Hempstead

The bandstands you see here are smaller versions of what you would have found in town squares or parks earlier in the twentieth century. Bands would assemble on them to provide entertainment for the townspeople. They also provided a place, more formal than the soap-box, for candidates who were running for office to give speeches expressing their views.

Imagine flags hung on each of the poles, and bunting draped around the railing. Do you know your U.S. Senator or the person who represents you in the U.S. House of Representatives ? What about state representation?

Bandstands like these were, no doubt, used in the spring of 1905 when the people of Hempstead were arguing over the sale of "intoxicating liquor". When the vote was held on April 20th, the county outlawed the sale of alcohol. "The Drys", who had won the election, circulated a petition which asked the Governor to send in Texas Rangers to maintain order. At an April 24th town meeting to discuss the petition, heckling, interrupting, and languaguge not suitable for the ears of the ladies who were present caused a Hempstead lawyer to strike one of the Prohibitionists on the head with the handle of his gun. When others around the room saw the gun, theirs were taken out and firing began. All but one doctor in town had gone to Houston for a meeting of the State Medical Association. Four men including a Congressman were killed. Two men were wounded giving the town its SIX SHOOTER JUNCTION nickname.If you could campaign to prohibit something, what would it be and why?

Just east of Hempstead is the Liendo Plantation. It was one of Texas' earliest cotton plantations built with the use of slave labor. At one time, 300 slaves were needed to keep it running.

The plantation later (1873 to 1911) became the home of Elisabet Ney and her husband, Dr. Edmond Montgomery. They are buried there. How many years was this their home? Elisabet Ney was a German immigrant and a world renowned sculptress. She is the person who created the statues of Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin that stand in the state capitol. Where is the state capitol ?

Following the Civil War, Union General George A. Custer was stationed at Liendo as head of a prison camp for Confederate soldiers. Both Custer and his wife so appreciated the hospitality shown them by the southerners they made sure the plantation was not destroyed when they left. What would be the reason for Northern troops to destroy property when they no longer needed it?

As towns grew, schools formed to take over the education of children that had formerly been done by parents. Children were part of the necessary work force at home. Schools usually did not start until October so students could help with the harvest. They were back out of school in time to help with spring planting. There was no school during the summer-- not because students needed a vacation, but because they were needed to work. Times and needs have changed, but we still retain the old school year. How many days out of the year do you spend in school? How many are left as days when you are not in school?

Ministers had to travel from town to town, so congregations often met only once a month. This made it difficult for the church to be the social center for the community. Schools and school officials filled the gap when they sponsored speakers, plays, and box suppers.

Hempstead is where Sam Houston regrouped his men after the fall of the Alamo and before the Battle of San Jacinto. His "retreat" was misunderstood by the settlers and caused them to "run for their lives."

Books to Read and Other Resources

• EARLY RURAL TEXAS SEEN THROUGH A KNOTHOLE by Mildred W. Abshier; Waller County Historical Society, 1989
• LONE STAR by Kathleen V. Kudlinski; Viking Press, 1994
• LILLIE OF SIX-SHOOTER JUNCTION by Florence Guild Bruce; The Naylor Co., 1946
• THE GREAT TEXAS SCARE by Martha Tannery Jones; Hendrick-Long Publishing Co., 1988
• TWENTY TEXANS: HISTORIC LIVES FOR YOUNG READERS by Betsy Warren; Hendrick-Long Publishing Co., 1985

Photographs of the American West
from the National Archives

Kicking Bear: Battle of Little Big Horn

Chiefs and Generals

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