HISTORY OF BLANCO COUNTY

CITY HALL ON BLANCO SQUARE / PHOTO BY J. MCKENZIE

ORGINS AND FOUNDING FATHERS:

In 1836 the Comanches had claimed all the lands within the present boundaries of Blanco County. The tribe made war on Apaches and white settlers, causing them to unite together to fight their common enemy. Capt. James Hughes Callahan first visited the Blanco River area on his way to an Indian battle. He was impressed with the land along the river and returned with his friend Eli Clemens Hinds in 1853. Both men became the first white settlers in what is now Blanco County by building their homes on the Blanco River in 1854. Gen. John D. Pitts, who had fought in Indian campaigns with Callahan, also built a home in the Blanco County area in 1854. Pitts, Callahan, Judge William S. Jones from Curry's Creek, F. W. Chandler of Travis County, and Andrew M. Lindsay of San Marcos chartered the Pittsburgh Land Company that laid out the town of New Pittsburgh (otherwise known today as Blanco) between 1854 and 1855. Daniel Rawls, a Methodist circuit rider, built the first church in the county in 1854. Missionaries from various Christian churches also established themselves in Blanco County. The act that established New Pittsburgh also stipulated that the county seat should be called Blanco and that an election should be held to determine the location, which should be within five miles of the center of the county. The Pittsburgh Land Company donated a 120-acre tract of land there, and Blanco was founded.

THE OLD BLANCO COUNTY COURTHOUSE, 300 MAIN ST / PHOTO BY J. MCKENZIE

A courthouse was constructed on the town square in 1860. It was replaced in 1885 by a limestone structure that came to be known as the Old Courthouse after Johnson City became the county seat. The Old Courthouse was restored in the early 1990s.

ECONOMY:

Blanco County was settled primarily by natives of Tennessee and Alabama. Although most residents were Anglo-Saxon Protestants there were also residents that were natives of Germany. By 1860 1,218 people, including 98 slaves lived in the new county, and 184 farms had been established according to the United States census. The county's most important crops were Indian corn and wheat, but settlers also grew small amounts of rye, tobacco, and cotton. Cattle and sheep were essential to the local economy. In 1860 over 13,000 cattle, 4,179 milk cows and 19,000 sheep brought from Missouri were counted in Blanco County. The war disrupted economic expansion and by 1870 the county's livestock population and crop had declined dramatically.

ENVIRONMENT:

BLANCO RIVER BY THE WAYNE SMITH DAM / PHOTO BY J. MCKENZIE

The terrain is generally hilly to mountainous, and along some streambeds the landscape has limestone benches and steep slopes. The vegetation consists mainly of stands of live oak and Ashe juniper, with mesquite and grasses. The soils are generally dark, calcareous, stony, clay loams with rock outcrops. Mineral resources include limestone, lead, oil, gas, industrial sand, and dolomite. Most of the county is best suited for range land and wildlife habitat. The temperatures range from an average high of 96° F in July to an average low of 34° in January, the rainfall averages 34.39 inches per year, and the growing season extends an average of 234 days.

Drought Article

This article appeared in the San Antonio Express-News on Sunday, September 3, 2000. It was a special report on the drought of the Blanco River. The river is the primary souce of water in Blanco.

HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT STORIES:

Round Mountain, Texas, August 15th, 1872

Editor, Gazette

The Indians have been in, and again the Round Mountain boys have met and fought them, but not with the usual result. The following named boys, to wit, J.T. Bird, J.D. Bird*, D. W. Roberts**, George T. Roberts, W. E. Ingram, James Ingram, John Biggs, F. S. Waldrope and J. C. Davidson struck the Indian trail at what is known here as the Porter Gap, and followed the trail about sixteen miles and came upon the Indians on the head of Deer Creek, near the Austin and Fredericksburg road, not far from Hiram Bryant's place. The Indians had stopped and tied up their horses in a cove of the mountains where they could have a natural fortification from all sides, and were barbecuing meat, as they had killed four beeve on the trail. When in about one mile we discovered the spies coming off the mountains and charged them. When we got up in about sixty yeards the Indians fired a volley of about twenty or twenty-five guns at us, and wounded Mr. George T. Roberts through the nose with a Winchester ball. They were well armed with Winchester rifles. We then dismounted and began fighting in hard earnest for it began to look like business. After fighting about twenty minutes in that way, Mr. D. W. Roberts was wounded through the thigh and J. D. Bird slightly in the shoulder. Mr. J. D. Bird and F. S. Waldrope's horses were both wounded. Twelve Indians left us to cut us off from the wounded; and we were forced to leave the Indians, as we had charged them over a bald prairie and were fighting on the prairie on the side of the mountain without any protection. The Indians were in front of us in the cove and twelve on the mountain to the left. We were thus compelled to retreat. We killed two Indians that we are pretty certain of (though could not get them as the Indians carried them off) and two horses. the Indians numbered between twenty-five and thirty-five, with as good a fort as they could desire, and we had to charge and fight them from the open prairie. Since an examination of the ground, it is agreed, by the most of old Indian fighters, that forty men could not have driven them out of the fort. Knowing what I now do, I do not see how a man of us escaped alive, for the Indians were well armed and shot well. I never in all my life saw more determined bravery or more coolness than was there displayed. Every man got off his horse and fired as cool and deliberately as though he was firing at a target, until they saw and knew they were overpowered and further resistance was useless. We rode off leisurely and they never followed us. The wounded are doing extremely well and will be ready, ere long, to meet the red devils again, in the protection of their homes and famlies.

Yours truly,

JAMES INGRAM

Blanco County Courthouse:
Marker Description- Designed in Victorian style by architect F. E. Ruffini. Erected in 1886 as first permanent county courthouse, building served only four years--until 1890. County seat then moved to Johnson City. Purchased by Chas. E. Crist, the structure entered varied career as school, Blanco National Bank, office of "Blanco County News," opera house, Farmers' Union Hall, and hospital (1936-70). Now houses Blanco Museum of Early West. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark -- 1972

COURT HOUSE HISTORICAL MARKER / PHOTO BY J. MCKENZIE

Blanco High School:
Marker Description- Chartered in 1883, Blanco High School began as a combination private and public school. A white limestone schoolhouse was constructed at this site and opened for classes in October 1884. During its early years, Blanco High School offered a six-month public school term and a 10-month private school term. Over the years, the school has grown through consolidation, and new facilities have been built to match its growth. Throughout its history, Blanco High School has continued to meet the need for rural education in the surrounding area.

BLANCO HIGH SCHOOL HISTORICAL MARKER / PHOTO BY J. MCKENZIE

First Baptist Church of Blanco:
Marker Description- Led by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Silliman and the Rev. Joseph Bird (1821-1909), this congregation was organized on November 6, 1859, with five charter members. Worship services were held in a Union church shared with the local Methodist and Church of Christ congregations until 1902, when the Baptists purchased land and built a frame sanctuary. It was replaced in 1951, and the congregation built a new facility at this site in 1975. Throughout its history, the First Baptist Church of Blanco has emphasized worship programs and missionary activities.

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF BLANCO HISTORICAL SITE / PHOTO BY J. MCKENZIE

INTERVIEW:

WITH MR. ROY BYARS
Q: How long have you resided in Texas?
A: I've lived here for 82 years. I was born in a place called Rosebud Texas up near Temple and I moved here around 1918. Most of my family was born in Blanco.

Q: Over the years that you have been here have you seen the town change?
A: Yeah, things are not like they used to be. It's a different world today than it was 60-70 years ago.

Q: Have the changes been for the better or the worst?
A: Well it hasn't gone for the worst I would think.

Q: Was there more farming in Blanco back then?
A: It was farming years and years ago. Everybody who lived in or around Blanco made their living raising cotton. At one time there was five cotton gins in and around Blanco, but the boll-weevil came along in 1925 and killed the cotton business and they never did recover from it. Right now the only farming that's done here is for raising cattle, they grow something to make hay. You can't grow alfalfa here, it has to be something else…oats…wheat…whatever. You can't raise any corn, there's to many deer. They quit planting corn years ago.

Q: What is a boll weevil?
A: It is an insect that preys on cotton. It killed the cotton business completely.

Q: We heard you were the old postmaster of Blanco. What did you do as postmaster?
A: Well I was postmaster of Blanco for 22 years and I did just about everything. More than any human should be asked to do. Then I worked the mail just like everybody else.

Q: How many people did you know as postmaster?
A: Well I've been retired for about 11 years but back then I know every man, women, and child in Blanco. I just looked it up yesterday just for the heck of it. What was it?…Five hundred-fifty that I served but that wasn't in Blanco. Blanco right now I'm guessing has about 1500 people, but we had lots of people out in the country. We had lots of sub divisions, a whole lot more now than there was then.

Q: Five thousand people in the county of Blanco?
A: No, that's just the south part.

Q: Why was the county seat changed from Blanco to Johnson City?
A: It was real simple, no big problem to tell you how or why. Blanco was formed in 1854 and they said it was Pittsburgh, it was across the river and we were in Comal County. New Braunfels was our county seat and in 1858 Blanco County was formed by the legislature in Austin. They named it Blanco and they also named the county Blanco. The river was named Blanco and supposedly somebody back in the 1700, some Spanish explorer named it, but it was commonly know as the north fork of Martins branch and Twins Sister down here, which we now call little Blanco River. It was called the south fork of Martins branch in the old time history. But they still went with the name Blanco, meaning white in Spanish. It was named after the rivers white bed rock. After they formed Blanco county they also formed Kendall County 1873 and when they did they took 312,000 acres of land out of Blanco county and formed Kendall County. The law of the book said that the county seat had to be within five miles of the center of the county and the reason for it supposedly was anybody can go by horseback or wagon or buggy and get back home in a days time. Johnson City was then formed along in there. When we ended up in the south end of the county they were in the center of it, they immediately ended up with elections and after the third election they finally won one. The courthouse downtown actually the third courthouse in town they decided to build the courthouse in 1885 on the square.

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