Temple, TX RoadyGoat

Temple feels like a warm, friendly hug. You know, a lot of folks don’t realize the kind of talent that’s come out of this place. Take Sammy Baugh, for instance.

7.8 mi away

Temple, TX RoadyGoat

Temple, Texas, feels like a familiar, warm hug, and that feeling is woven into its very beginnings. The town owes its existence to the railroads. Imagine the late 19th century: Central Texas, ripe for development, and the iron horse pushing its way through. Temple sprang up in 1881, named for Bernard Moore Temple, a railroad official. The rails brought commerce, people, and opportunity. It incorporated quickly in 1882, solidifying its place on the map. The slightly rolling terrain, sitting higher than Dallas, became a hub for agriculture and trade. The town grew, and with it, a spirit of resilience and community. While agriculture remained important, Temple eventually diversified its economy. Healthcare became a major pillar, alongside manufacturing, providing stability and opportunity for generations. And Temple has always celebrated its own. Just outside town, a legend was born: Sammy Baugh, the Pro Football Hall of Famer whose name echoes through the history of the sport. The Friday night lights shine bright at Temple High School, where the Wildcats have brought home state football championships, a testament to the community's pride and passion.

7.8 mi away

Temple, TX RoadyGoat

Temple, Texas, nestled in the rolling hills just a bit higher than Dallas, wasn't always Temple. Before the railroad came snaking through this part of Central Texas, it was just open land. But in 1881, everything changed. The railroad needed a town, a hub, and so one sprang up almost overnight. And who got the honor of having their name attached to this new, bustling place? Bernard Moore Temple, that's who. He was a big shot with the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway, and naming the town after him was a way to say thank you for bringing the iron horse and all its possibilities. It's a simple story, really, no grand legends or mythical origins. Just a practical decision that reflects the town's roots. Temple is a place built on connection and industry. The railroad brought people and opportunity, and even now, healthcare and manufacturing keep the town humming. It's a place named after a man who helped build it, and the name "Temple" quietly reminds us of that history every day.

7.8 mi away

Bell County Jail

1874

In 1854, four years after the county was organized, a 2-story structure of logs was built on this site, to serve as the first Bell County jail. That log jail was replaced in 1873 by this building of native limestone. In 1874, vigilantes from all parts of Texas raided this jail and executed nine men charged with murder, robbery, horse theft and other crimes. This citizens' attack was regarded as a major factor in ending lawlessness in Bell County during the 1870's. Building was rented to city of Belton in 1884 when third county jail was completed. Sold later. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1967

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Belton Woman's Commonwealth

1860

The Belton Woman's Commonwealth, a commune based on the doctrines of religious perfectionism, celibacy, and Wesleyan sanctificationism, grew out of a small group of middle-class Protestant women that began to form in the late 1860s under the leadership of Martha McWhirter , a prominent figure in Belton's nonsectarian Union Sunday School, who organized a women's Bible study and prayer group that met weekly in the members' homes. After she professed to have been sanctified, she urged her followers to seek divine revelations and to share them with the group. At the same time, the women prayed about the trials in their everyday lives, especially for guidance to deal with authoritarian husbands sometimes given to unscrupulous business practices, intemperate drinking, and physical abuse. The wives increasingly sought personal, that is, religious and financial, autonomy. Gradually an alternative communal life evolved, which replaced the unsatisfactory situations of these women. A number of developments took place concurrently in the 1870s. The religious separatism of the Sanctificationist women provided a sheltered environment for the development of idiosyncratic religious practices; the women believed themselves to be the recipients of prophetic dreams and direct revelations from God. Further, by a revelation for which McWhirter claimed Pauline scriptural authority, the sanctified were required to separate themselves from the undevout; sanctified wives were to live in their marital homes and perform their household duties, but with no sexual and as little social contact as possible with their unsanctified spouses. Following McWhirter's example, the women began to make money by marketing eggs and dairy products and by taking in laundry, hauling wood, and working as domestic servants and home nurses. Much of the work was collective, and in 1879, having become financially independent, the women started a common treasury. Because some of the husbands reacted angrily or violently, McWhirter's home began to fill with sanctified sisters seeking refuge. Her husband moved into rooms over his store, and the women began to live communally by making use of their various homes and by building houses on properties owned or claimed by members. Job rotation reinforced communal values, allowed each member a variety of tasks and responsibilities, and provided leisure to pursue various other educational and financial enterprises. Thus, individual members were able to educate themselves in such useful trades as dentistry, blacksmithing, and shoemaking. Authority was shared by all members in principle, although in practice McWhirter exerted much influence. At first the property owned and inherited by various women served only to provide them with shelter. Eventually it became the basis for more ambitious economic efforts; one home became a boardinghouse, and a commercial laundry was started. From these and their other work the women profited financially. In 1886 they bought one hotel and began building another by expanding the boardinghouse. Title to property was held in individual names for some time, but in 1891 the group incorporated as the Central Hotel Company. By this time they owned a large amount of property in town as well as three farms. Though Woman's Commonwealth had successfully established itself economically and administratively by the early 1880s, community hostility remained. Belton citizens blamed Martha McWhirter and the Sanctificationists for separations and divorces. When two immigrant Scottish brothers sought out the group for religious reasons they were kidnapped, whipped, warned to leave town, and briefly committed to the state asylum. No other males tried to join. The hotel had become successful by 1887, and hostility gradually dissipated. Throughout the decade the Belton Woman's Commonwealth became increasingly respected and accepted. The sisters' book collection, housed in a small room in their hotel, became so popular that it

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Brown, George Rufus

1929

George Rufus Brown, businessman, civil engineer, and philanthropist, son of Riney Louis and Lucy Wilson (King) Brown, was born in Belton, Texas, on May 12, 1898. After studying at Rice University he graduated from the Colorado School of Mines in 1922. He joined the marines in the final months of World War I and later worked briefly as a mining engineer in Butte, Montana. After suffering a serious injury in a mining accident, he returned to Texas to join a small construction firm founded in 1919 by his brother Herman Brown and Dan Root, Herman’s brother-in-law. After Root died in 1929, George became vice president of Brown and Root, Incorporated. Herman’s wife Margarett Root Brown was also a partner. The paving of dirt roads and building of steel bridges for municipal and county governments in Central Texas led the firm to successful joint bids to construct the Marshall Ford (now Mansfield) Dam on the Colorado River. In 1940, the company won a $90 million joint bid to build the Naval Air Station at Corpus Christi. By the late 1950s Brown and Root became one of the largest engineering and construction companies in the world. In the 1960s and 1970s the firm completed jobs world-wide, including Guam, Spain, the United Kingdom, Iran and the Persian Gulf. In 1942 the brothers formed the Brown Shipbuilding Company on the Houston Ship Channel , which built 359 ships during World War II , employed 25,000 people, and was awarded the Army-Navy "E" and a presidential citation. Soon after the war, George and Herman Brown and a group of other investors purchased the Big Inch and Little Inch pipelines with a high bid of $143 million and founded Texas Eastern Transmission Corporation. After the death of his brother Herman in 1962, George became president of Brown and Root. Later that year the corporation was sold to the Halliburton Company. Brown served as a director of the Halliburton Company, Armco Steel Corporation, Louisiana Land and Exploration Company, International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation, Trans-World Airlines, Southland Paper Company, First City Bancorporation, and Highland Oil Company. He served on important commissions for presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson, and was appointed to commissions for the state of Texas, from the 1930s under Governor James Allred to the 1970s under Governor Dolph Briscoe. He was a well-known friend and visible supporter of Lyndon B. Johnson throughout his political career. He was the recipient of many honors during his lifetime, including Awards from Rice University, Colorado School of Mines, Southwestern University, and the University of Texas. He received several awards in construction and engineering, including the John Fritz Medal in 1977 from the five national engineering societies, and the American Petroleum Institute Gold Medal. Brown served as chairman of the board of trustees of Rice University for fifteen years of his twenty-five years of service on the board. In 1951 the Brown brothers and their wives established the Brown Foundation , through which they pursued a strong and generous interest in philanthropy. By June 30, 1994, the foundation had granted more than $381 million to charitable institutions, primarily in higher education and the arts. In 1925 Brown married Alice Nelson Pratt of Lometa, Texas, who became well-known for her support for the arts at the local, state, and national levels. They had three children: Nancy, Isabel , and Alice Maconda . Brown died on January 22, 1983, and was buried in Glenwood Cemetery, Houston.

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Brown, Herman

1914

Herman Brown, business founder and executive, was born in Belton, Texas, on November 10, 1892, the son of Riney Louis and Lucy Wilson (King) Brown. His Texas roots went back two generations to 1839; his mother's grandfather, Hugh B. King, and his mother's father, Rufus Y. King, were county judges of Milam and Lee counties, respectively. After studying briefly at the University of Texas in 1911, Brown was employed by a contractor in Belton. In 1914 he was given eighteen mules in lieu of back wages and went into the construction business. In 1919 his brother-in-law, Dan Root, advanced him money for working capital, and the company was named Brown and Root, Incorporated. In 1922 Herman's younger brother, George Rufus Brown , joined the firm. Dan Root, a prosperous Central Texas cotton farmer, died in 1929. The paving of dirt roads and building of steel bridges for municipal and county governments in Central Texas led the firm to a successful joint bid in 1936 to construct the Marshall Ford Dam (now Mansfield Dam) on the Colorado River. A 1940 contract to construct the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station was the first of their big federal war projects. The brothers formed the Brown Shipbuilding Company in 1942 and constructed more than 350 vessels for the navy. The shipyard had a labor force of 25,000 and won the Army-Navy E and a presidential citation. After World War II the Brown brothers and other investors purchased the Big and Little Inch pipelines from the government with the winning high bid of $143 million and organized a new company, Texas Eastern Transmission Company, which is now a part of Panhandle Eastern Corporation. Brown and Root was widely known during the 1950s and 1960s for constructing United States air and naval bases (in Spain, France, and Guam) and roads, dams, bridges, petrochemical plants, and large offshore drilling platforms. In 1961 the company won the planning contract for the $200 million Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston. In December 1962 the Halliburton Company of Dallas purchased Brown and Root, which continues to operate under its own name. In 1917 Brown married Margarett Root ; they later adopted two children. Brown died on November 15, 1962, and was buried in Glenwood Cemetery, Houston. Margarett Root Brown died on January 25, 1963, and is buried by his side. Brown was a cofounder of the Brown Foundation . He was a member of the board of directors of First City National Bank of Houston, Texas Eastern Transmission Corporation, Southwestern University, Armco Steel Corporation, and Texas Children's Hospital in Houston. He was also active in oil and gas exploration and ranching.

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William Whitaker Reed

1833

(January 23, 1816 - August 21, 1891) A native of Tennessee, William W. Reed came to Texas with his parents, Michael and Martha Reed, in 1833 and joined Robertson's colony in 1834. His land grant was situated near his parents' land on the south bank of the Little River. The family survived "The Runaway Scrape" during the Texas Revolution, after which William W. Reed and his brother, Jefferson Reed, joined the Republic of Texas Army. William Reed was among those who buried the remains of Colonel James W. Fannin's men at Goliad. After the war he returned to his homestead and married Emeline Cobb (1825-1890); they had ten children. In 1850 Reed participated in the election of a commissioners court to organize Bell County. He was elected the first county sheriff and served two terms. Reed died in 1891 and was buried on his land. (2000)

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Hardin-Kelton, Sarah Ann

Widow of William Hardin before her marriage to Dr. O.P. Kelton. Many of the Mexican officers and men were placed in the care of Judge and Mrs. Hardin after the victory at San Jacinto and were mercifully treated by them.

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Belton, Texas

Music in Belton

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History of Belton

Temple, TX RoadyGoat

Temple, TX RoadyGoat

Temple, TX RoadyGoat

Bell County Jail

Belton Woman's Commonwealth

Brown, George Rufus

Brown, Herman

William Whitaker Reed

Hardin-Kelton, Sarah Ann

Things to Do in Belton

Everything Near Belton