The Hockley Horror RoadyGoat

About seven miles northwest of Hockley, out on the dark Waller County prairie, stood the home of George W. Lynch, a native Texan and Master Mason raising eight children alone after his wife, a Miss Hargrave, died just two weeks earlier. Late on a Friday night in October of 1878, sometime after midnight, Lynch was jolted awake by a pistol blast, shot twice in the chest and collarbone, and fell senseless. He came to staggering onto his veranda to find the house a sheet of flame, his sleeping children inside. When investigators sifted the ashes, the bodies lay in the exact positions the children had slept in, not one turned over, suggesting they were drugged or killed before the fire ever started. Then came the deeper mystery: Lynch insisted only six of his eight bodies were ever recovered, and the fate of his eldest, seventeen-year-old Carrie, was never resolved. No one was ever arrested, and the case went cold. With no answers, local legend filled the silence, and they say on still nights near Hockley the prairie still listens for Carrie. (Source: St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 1878.)

Warren Ranch & the Vanished Wild of the Katy Prairie RoadyGoat

1870

You're on the Katy Prairie near Warren Ranch in northwest Harris County, Texas -- once one of the great coastal tallgrass prairies. Pioneer Chester Jordan recalled 'thousands of prairie chickens, quail, and millions of jackrabbits on those knolls,' and in winter the rice reservoirs out here drew snow geese by the hundreds of thousands. Warren Ranch remains one of the largest working cattle ranches on the prairie. Farming, grazing, and the loss of natural grass fires erased the habitat the prairie chickens needed -- Jordan saw his last one in the 1970s -- and in 1992 the Katy Prairie Conservancy (now the Coastal Prairie Conservancy) formed to protect the remnant prairie, the wetlands, and the headwaters of Cypress Creek. (Source: Katy Prairie / Coastal Prairie Conservancy.)

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How a Mountain of Salt Climbs Up Through Solid Rock RoadyGoat

United Salt Corporation mines a buried mountain of salt right under Hockley, and here is the part that sounds impossible: that salt climbed upward through solid rock to get there. But that is exactly what lies under Hockley, and the physics is beautiful. Long ago a shallow sea covered this region, evaporated, and left a thick bed of salt that geologists call the Louann. Over millions of years, layers of sand and mud piled on top of it, thousands of feet deep. Here is the key: salt is lighter, less dense, than all that rock pressing down on it. And salt under enormous pressure does not just sit there like a brick. It slowly flows, almost like extremely stiff putty. So the buried salt, being lighter than its surroundings, began to rise, squeezing up through cracks and weak spots, doming and even piercing the rock above it. The result is a tall near-vertical plug called a salt dome, and the slow upward creep is called salt diapirism. The Gulf Coast is dotted with hundreds of them. Hockley's is just one buried mountain that happened to surface beneath a Texas pasture.

McCarley, Samuel

1836

Texas Army Camp - April 15, 1836 Samuel McCarley (1775-1838), his wife Celia (1794-1873), and their ten children settled near here on Spring Creek in 1831. By 1836 the McCarley home was located on a well-traveled road linking Washington-on-the-Brazos (30 mi. NW) with Harrisburg (40 mi. SE). Their neighbor, Abraham Roberts, lived about three miles east at a fork in the road. One fork led east to the Trinity River and the other southeast to Harrisburg. On April 15, 1836, the Texas army led by General Sam Houston left camp near the Brazos River and marched east, arriving here at dusk. Overnight, Houston's 1100 hungry soldiers consumed cattle, corn, and bacon belonging to the McCarleys and burned about 4,000 of their fence rails for fuel. According to post-war accounts, many in the Texas army strongly suspected that Houston was unwilling to engage the Mexican army, known to be advancing toward Harrisburg. On April 16, however, Houston and the Texas soldiers took the Harrisburg Road at the fork and on April 21 defeated the Mexican army at the Battle of San Jacinto to win Texas independence. Samuel McCarley died in 1838 and in 1858 the state of Texas awarded his widow, Celia, $460 as compensation for damages caused by the Texas army. Sam Houston Bicentennial 1793-1993

Historical Marker → · 3.8 mi away

Bland, Sandra Annette [Sandy]

2015

Sandra Annette "Sandy" Bland, an African American social activist whose death in police custody sparked national momentum for the Black Lives Matter movement, was born on February 7, 1987, in Naperville, Illinois. Raised by her single mother, Geneva Reed-Veal, Bland was the fourth of five daughters. As a child, she was active in the DuPage African Methodist Episcopal Church in Lisle, Illinois, and around the age of ten she started playing the trombone. In 2005 Bland graduated from Willowbrook High School in Villa Park, Illinois, and earned a marching band scholarship to attend Prairie View A&M University, a historically Black institution in Prairie View, Texas. Bland studied agriculture and had the goal of becoming an inspector for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. While earning her degree, she became a member of the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority, a historically Black Greek-letter organization. In 2009 she graduated with a bachelor's of science degree in agriculture. Bland lived in Houston before moving back to Illinois in 2012. In January 2015 she started a video blog series on her social media account titled "Sandy Speaks." She used this platform to discuss a number of topics, including police brutality, inattentive parents, and mental health. Later in the year, on July 9, Bland returned to Texas for a job interview at Prairie View A&M and was hired as a community outreach coordinator. She was to begin her new job on August 3. Arrest and Death On July 10 Bland returned to Prairie View A&M to fill out some paperwork. As she drove away from the university, she was followed by Brian Encinia, a White state trooper, who eventually pulled her over on University Drive for changing lanes without signaling. Dashcam footage from the trooper's vehicle showed Encinia ordering Bland to extinguish her cigarette. After she refused to do so, he then ordered her to exit her vehicle. Bland challenged Encinia's authority to order her to do so, at which point Encinia attempted to physically pull Bland from her vehicle and then drew his Taser gun. Bland exited her car and was led out of view of the dashcam. She was forced to the ground and handcuffed before being taken to the Waller County jail in Hempstead, Texas, and jailed on suspicion of felony assault on a public servant-Encinia wrote in his arrest affidavit that Bland had kicked him. Despite informing police during booking that she had previously attempted suicide, Bland was not placed under observation and assigned to an isolated cell. Her bail was set at $5,000. During the following days, she made several phones calls from jail to friends and family as efforts were made to raise the money to post her bail. On July 13, 2015, police reported that Sandra Bland had used a plastic garbage bag to hang herself in her cell. Following an autopsy, the Harris County Institute of Forensic Science concluded that her death was a suicide. This judgment was quickly challenged by Bland's friends and family, who insisted that Bland was not suicidal and called for an independent autopsy. Impact of Death and Legal Consequences Bland's death came in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement and heightened scrutiny of police violence towards African Americans. Her death sparked a series of demonstrations throughout the United States, including Hempstead, Texas, where Black Lives Matter protesters and armed members of the New Black Panther party gathered outside the Waller County jail. Her death galvanized the #SayHerName movement, which addresses police violence against Black women. Bland's funeral was held at DuPage AME Church in Lisle, Illinois, and she was buried at Mount Glenwood Memory Gardens in Hickory Hills, Illinois. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) placed Trooper Encinia on administrative duty for violating protocol for traffic stops, and a joint investigation into Bland's death was launched by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Texas Rangers , the investigative arm of the DPS.

Tsha Handbook → · 8.8 mi away

Roberts, Abraham

1836

Texas Army Route - April 16, 1836. Abraham (Abram) Roberts (1773-1850), a native of Georgia, came to Texas as a widower n 1827 and settled at this site on Spring Creek about 1829. His home was located at a prominent crossroads in the sparsely populated community of New Kentucky about three miles east of his neighbor Samuel McCarley. On March 21, 1836, the interim government of the Republic of Texas stayed at Roberts' home overnight while enroute to Harrisburg to establish the Republic's new capital. On April 16, 1836, the Texas army under Sam Houston left McCarley's home and arrived here about midday. Houston's soldiers, aware that the Mexican army was advancing on Harrisburg, were concerned that Houston would continue to retreat east to the Trinity River. Still uncertain about Houston's chosen route, the Texas army paused upon reaching the crossroads. Soldiers in the army asked Roberts, who was standing on his gate, to show the way to Harrisburg. A great shout arose as Roberts pointed southeast. Houston took the Harrisburg Road and on April 21 his army defeated the Mexicans at the Battle of San Jacinto. The decision to take the Harrisburg Road became famous as a turning point in the campaign for Texas independence. (1993) Sam Houston Bicentennial 1793-1993 Incise on base: Project of Jeffrey D. Dunn and Edward W. Turley, Jr.

Historical Marker → · 6.3 mi away

Kleb Family House

1890

Constructed c. 1890s, the Kleb Family Home and its location in the wooded northwestern part of Harris County represent a time of dispersed rural settlement in the area. Edward Kleb, a descendant of German immigrants who arrived in Texas in 1846, built the house on property acquired from his father, Andrew. Elmer "Lumpy" Kleb (1907-1999), son of Edward and Minnie (Willmann), was born in the house and inherited the property when his mother died in 1967. (Edward passed away in 1951.) Deeply attached to the family land, Elmer planted many of the trees in the area and cared for wildlife, often nursing injured birds. Elmer lived a unique existence - a life without utilities in the natural setting. He also did not pay taxes and amassed a debt of more than $150,000 by 1986. Over Elmer's wishes, a court-appointed law firm worked to sell a portion of the property, which had grown significantly in monetary value, to cover the amount owed. Elmer, however, wanted to donate his land to the Audubon Society. The situation attracted national attention and soon lawyers, county officials, charities and other agencies began work to find a way to pay the bills and preserve the habitat. In 1991, a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department grant enabled Harris County to buy the land. The county paid the debt and created the Kleb Woods Nature Preserve. Kleb's determination, as well as help from others, led to the preservation of a wildlife refuge in a rapidly urbanizing area. The county started a trust fund to cover Elmer's needs until he passed away. Later, restoration began on his house, a vernacular hall and parlor style home featuring side gables with returns. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2006

Historical Marker → · 7.0 mi away

Mueschke Road & the Mueschke Homestead

1851

In 1851, German immigrant Gustov Mueschke settled about 80 acres at what is now Mueschke Road and FM 2920 in Rosehill. Because reaching Houston meant a long detour west through Waller, he donated land and rallied his neighbors and the county to build a dirt road south to US 290, the route to Houston; it still carries his name. His son Fritz's gray homestead, since painted blue, still stands near the corner.

Curated → · 8.1 mi away

Bernardo Plantation

1822

Bernardo Plantation, one of the plantation homes of Jared E. Groce , was located on a high bluff on the Brazos River four miles south of the site of present Hempstead in Waller County. In 1822 Groce, the first large planter in Texas, built a rambling story-and-a-half house of cottonwood logs, hewn and counterhewn, at the site. When completed, it had four large rooms downstairs, two rooms and a hall upstairs, and a house-length gallery supported by polished walnut columns. The other plantation buildings included a kitchen, the doctor's house, Bachelor Hall for entertaining guests, a dairy, and quarters for the house slaves. Removed near a lake were quarters for the field slaves, an overseer's house, a kitchen and dining hall, and a day nursery for children of the field workers. Cotton was planted in 1822, and a gin was in operation in 1825. About 1833 Groce divided his plantation property, and Bernardo fell to Leonard Waller Groce . Jared Groce, Sr., was back at Bernardo from March 31 to April 15, 1836, when the Texas army under Sam Houston camped near Groce's Ferry . A hospital was set up for the soldiers; all plantation facilities were at their disposal. Bernardo was filled with refugees of the Runaway Scrape . There the women made sandbags for the army, and Groce melted his lead pipes for bullets. On April 12 the Twin Sisters were unloaded and placed in front of Bernardo. The army crossed the river on the Yellow Stone on April 12–14. Jared E. Groce died in Grimes County on November 20, 1836, and was buried at Bernardo. Leonard Groce lived at Bernardo from 1833 until 1853, when he moved his family to a new home at Liendo Plantation , although he continued to own and plant Bernardo until his death in 1873. Several of his relatives occupied the house in the years following his move to Liendo. A son, William Wharton Groce, tore the log house down in 1865 in order to build a new home a few miles from Bernardo. After Leonard Waller Groce's death in 1873, another son, Dr. Leonard Waller Groce, bought Bernardo from other heirs and constructed a frame dwelling. He later sold the plantation, which subsequently had a number of owners. A historical marker at a rest area on U. S. Highway 290 three miles east of Hempstead commemorates the Groce family plantations.

Tsha Handbook → · 8.2 mi away

Hockley, Texas

Music in Hockley

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