Montgomery Scavenger Hunt
By. Caitlyn Marie Gebert
Mrs. Morgan's 2nd period class
Friday, April 25, 2014
State of Old Prince Hotel
The State Bank
Shelton-Smith House & Slave Quarters
Most people believed their money was safe
Until 1929
After the Great Depression
was not that far behind
When Houston traveled
Homes they would share
Your job is to
Find the hotel and two houses somewhere
The hotel was built in the early 1800's, and was tore down in about mid 1900's. Within that time, 3 families ha downed it; first it was the Pierce's then it was the Rabon's and lastly it was the Berkley's. When they were breaking ground to build Jim's Hardware, they found many items including; Medicine Bottles, a wooden marble, musket shots, one leg of a child's doll, a doorknob and a key hole, handle cutting tobacco machine, a Sam Houston doll without its head and McCormick spice bottles.
Table Of Contents
"Before the Civil War
Slaves were people owned
Behind the green roofed two dormer house
You will find the slave's home."
Located at 211 Liberty, was one of the first state banks in Texas. It was chartered in 1906 and prospered along side the town of Montgomery. Just two years later, In 1908, the bank moved into its fine brick building. It offered the usual bank services and also sold insurance. Most of the banks original journals are preserved in the vault. The bank's manager made a monthly income of $125. The bank peaked in 1917 with assets totaling $191,000. Just four months after the financial crash of the Great Depression, the total assets were $18,233.50. The bank fell victim to robberies and voluntarily liquidated in 1934.
Part of the house existed in 1855 when it was sold to John E. Shelton, a Master Craftsman. Shelton built the main portion of the house in 1858, for his friend and business partner Thomas Wesley Smith, who owned the house until 1924. One of Smith's granddaughters added the dormer in 1922. The 1924-70 owner were Mr. & Mrs. Gay. The present owners are Richard and Mary Ekhart.
New & Old Cemeteries
Montgomery History Summaries
In this town we have the "Old and New", explain to us why we have two. A third was started in 1865, you could not get out of these alive.
Oral History Summary
The Old cemetery is located at Hwy 105 West and Pond st.next to the Old Methodist Church. It has about 100 graves. They started burials here in the 1840's. Burials included veterans of the war of 1812, Mexican war and the civil war . There are also burials from the war for Texas Independence. There is also a plaque for James Alexander McGowan who developed the town of of Montgomery and gave the land for the Methodist and Baptist churches.
In 1823 when Andrew J. Montgomery established a trading post to the west of the current town site. December 14, 1837 Montgomery became the 1st county seat of Montgomery County & the 3rd county formed in the Republic of Texas. In July 1837 an ad placed in the Telegraph & Texas Register advertised the sale of lots in the newly organized town of Montgomery. The article stated a new county was to be create & Montgomery, from its central position, would be selected as the seat of justice which it remained at that until 1889, when the records were moved to Conroe. In its early days, Montgomery was trading post for a large farming area. A post office soon opened in 1846. In 1848, the city was officially incorporated with Judge Nathaniel Hart Davis as Mayor. A Yellow Fever Epidemic & the Civil War stopped ALL progress in Montgomery. The political and economic power shifted to Conroe in 1870. Montgomery returned to the little town it is today soon after the county seat was moved to Conroe.
Founded on December 1, 1868. The New Cemetery is the burial place for many honorable Texans and many of those were Soldiers of the Texas army. Veterans of the Civil war are also buried here The New Cemetery was made for four criminals of the Jesse James gang. They were buried here because the citizens of Montgomery did not want them buried in the Old Cemetery
1. Nathaniel Hart Davis Museum & Law Office
2. Shelton-Smith House & Slave Quarters
3. Texas Flag, President Lamar, Charles B. Stewart
4. Addison-Gandy House
5. Baptist & Methodist Churches
6. Olde School House
7. State Bank
8. Cemeteries New & Old
9. Community Center
10. The Oaks
11. Homewood
12. State of Old Prince Hotel
13. Thank You Letter
14. Bibliography
I believe that the factual story is correct because, well you can prove it. It has facts to back it up. Also it had bibliography so that you can go and check the information if you would like. But that is only my opinion. It also seems more logical than the oral story. so in conclusion, I personally believe that the factual one is correct bceause you can prove it.
Thank You Letter
Factual History Summary
Dear Mr. Jamie Barnes
The very first settlers came with Stephan F. Austin to the county of Montgomery with Austin's 2nd colony to the state of Coahulila y Tejas in 1831.3. In 1837 the town of Montgomery was founded on John Carter's land. Shortly after the settlers arrived the land between the West Fork of the San Jacinto River and the stream commonly known as Lake Creek became known as The Lake Creek Settlement. Which is also known as The Precinct of Lake Creek, the District of Lake Creek, or simply Lake Creek. In 1831, William C. Clark purchased 600 acres from John Carter in the northwestern part of the John Carter League. Which then William C. Clark sold 200 acres to William W. Shepperd. W.W. lived on these 200 acres and established a trading post and store in 1835. This was the first trading post and post office in The Lake Creek Settlement. During July of 1837, the town of Montgomery was founded by W.W. Shepperd and J.W. Moody on the 200 acres in the middle of The Lake Creek Settlement. Shepperd owned all of the land and buildings including; the houses, the store, the gin, and the stockyard. John Wyatt Moody was the First Auditor of the Republic of Texas. Moody was also the key to finding out how the town got its name. A very important thing to know is that J. W. Moody lived in and was the County Clerk of Montgomery County, Alabama for many years before coming to Texas. So basically he decided to call it "Montgomery" after Montgomery, Alabama. On July 8, 1837, the names "Montgomery" and "The Town of Montgomery" appeared in the Telegraph and Texas Register for the very first time published in Houston, Texas. In the July 8, 1837 advertisement, Shepperd and Moody stated their expectations for the town. On October 13, 1837 the citizens of Washington County made and signed a petition requesting the creation of a new county which they presented to the Congress of the Republic of Texas. Five months after the town of Montgomery was founded, the County of Montgomery was created by the Congress of the Republic of Texas in an Act signed by president Sam Houston on December 14, 1837. Soon after the County of Montgomery was created, the first county seat of Montgomery County was located at the original site of the town of Montgomery, which was founded in July of 1837. The first County Commissioners' Court meeting was held on March 1, 1838. At this meeting W.W. Shepperd donated an equal half undivided interest in 200 of these 212 acres, that he bought from John Carter on January 26, 1838, to the County of Montgomery. The first Montgomery Court House was owned by W.W. Shepperd. W.W. Shepperd sold the town to James McCown in October of 1839.
Thank you for helping me with my scavenger hunt project. I appreciated all that you helped me with. I found the Olde School House to be much more interesting than I thought it would be. I just wanted to say thank you one more time because without your help i would not have finished this project.
Yours Truly,
Caitlyn
The Oaks
Homewood
The cook lived at HOME
Where she cooked for all three
The HOME of the WOOD'S is not named for the trees
But it is also part of the Davis families
Texas Flag,
Registered with the State of Texas as a Texas Historical landmark, the home was
built in 1869 by Nathaniel Hart Davis. He was the first Mayor of the city of
Montgomery, and the first Montgomery County Judge. It is built on 3 private acres
just off the original City Square that once housed the original Montgomery
County Courthouse. The House is one of several Historical Homes within the core
of the City but “The Oaks” is unique in its location and significance. The
provenance of Judge Davis and this home is extensively documented by the
owner and by The Montgomery Historical Society at the Nat Hart Davis Museum
and Law Office in Downtown Montgomery
Homewood was built in 1887 by Mr, Baker Wood and Mrs. Amelia Davis.
It is made with- choice heart pine square nails, board, and a batten kitchen that was at first made with detached cypress, and lined with underground cistern.
"Find the history Signed by Lamar
It is red, white and blue and has a star
explain to us why it signed upside down
name the man who made history for this small town."
With Santa Anna's surrender, Texas gained its independence, and became a sovereign nation. With this new found independence, it was logical to create a better flag. In 1839 the flag that we now associate with Texas was designed and approved. The flag maintained its lone star, and serves as a banner and symbol for state to this day. When the commite was approving the flag it was slid over to President Lamar upside down so that is why it is upside down.
As Nathaniel Hart Davis' family grew,
There is one thing he certainly knew,
He entertained many folks
So he decided to build the _______.
Methodist & Baptist Churches
Old School House
Nathaniel Hart Davis Law Office & Museum
Addison-Gandy House
Isacc L.G. Strickland Established a Methodist Congregation in Mintgomery in 1838, while under the instruction of Littleton Fowler of the Mississippi Methodist Conference. Strickland was assigned all the territory between the Brazos and Trinity Rivers.
These two sit side by side, and monitor the people, although different they are the same, complete with a steeple
Not so many years ago, schools were black and white. Find the Dobbin landmark moved to this new site.
Bibliography
In 1850, Baptists in Montgomery organized a Fellowship and purchased land at this location in the same year. Just three years later, in 1853, Reverend Thomas Chilton became the Church's first full time pastor. This building came to a completion in 1902 and was used for the next 77 years there as a place of worship for Baptists in Montgomery. These two churches are located next to each other so it must of been a busy street on Sunday mornings
Thought to be built in the 1920's, the Olde School House was originally the Dobbin Elementary School. It was used as a school until 1965. When it was not being used as a school it remained empty until Bill & Candace Witzig, who purchased it moved it to Montgomery and remodeled it. The Olde School House is now a antique and gift shop. In August of 2006 it was purchased by John "Cotton" Rouse and Bea Rouse.
Climbing a fence with a gun, can give you a hole and not much fun.
The Davis Cottage is located at 308 Liberty Street. This house was once the home of a judge named Nathaniel Hart Davis, and his wife, Sarah E. White. The judge received this log house as a legal fee in 1831 and was later built in 1851. In 1880 he added a kitchen section of the house to the back. In 1881 through 1891, Texanna Snow taught school in this house. Later, in 1895 the south wing was built. Currently it serves as the Chamber of Commerce Office and N. H. Davis Museum.Pictured below are the logs that Mr. Hart was paid with. He used these logs to construct the cottage. In the front yard of the Davis cottage are the grave markers of their two children. We don't know much about them, but they could have been victims of one of the yellow fever epidemics that affected Montgomery. Their actual graves are located next door in the vacant lot to the south.
Evans, Dustin. "Dustin Evans - Montgomery Scavenger Hunt." Dustin Evans - Montgomery Scavenger Hunt. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.
Evans, Dustin. "The Hunt." Dustin Evans. Dustin Evans, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
Gandy, William H. "History of Montgomery by William Harley Gandy." Montgomery TX. Wordpress, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.
"Google Drive Viewer." Google Drive Viewer. MJH History Teachers, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
"Montgomery Texas Scavenger Hunt." Montgomery Texas Scavenger Hunt. Blogger, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.
Sherman, Carter. "|| Montgomery, TX || - A Historical Scavenger Hunt." || Montgomery, TX || - A Historical Scavenger Hunt. Carter Sherman, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
Sherman, Carter. "Montgomery_Community_Center_Trio." Montgomery_Community_Center_Trio. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.
"Texas Historical Marker." Texas Historical Marker. Groundspeak Inc., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.
Community Center
The Addison-Gandy House was built in 1892 for Martha Gandy's grandparents, J. B. and Martha Davis Addison. The hearthstones around the fireplace are hand-cut native sandstone with mantles and doors woodgrained by a traveling German carver known only as "Mr. Patch". He signed his work with his portrait.
Story has it, Bo Addison went hunting with a 16 year old friend and Bo propped his gun against the barbed wire fence. As Bo went to grab his gun, the trigger was hooked on a barb and shot him in the gut. His operation on the kitchen table was successful and he lived to be 84
"Find the center of our hometown
Many markers may be found.
Be persistent, Time will tell
Or you could end up in jail."
The jail is set on the corner and was used for those certain characters who partook of a little too much drink. Most were corralled into this jail overnight so they could sober up and stay out of trouble.
On a hot, dusty day in 1906, a goat came trotting into town. No one knew who the goat's owner was. The goat was hoping if he stayed around the well long enough, some kind person would come along and give him a bucket of water. As time passed, the goat wised up and realized if he went to the saloon and begged for handouts, food and drinks would be given him. Other businesses felt sorry for him and gave him food also. It is said that after a handout, he would let people pull his long beard. This billy goat started to think of himself as a celebrity and would station himself at the well, waiting for attention. It was not uncommon to see him standing on top of the well door, waiting for someone to come to draw water. No one is certain if he was ever given a name or how long he stayed in Montgomery. Reminds me of the time that we had goats, Pumpkin, Paul, and Mary. Goats are a lot of fun to have around.
The museum is the clue you gave us
The man who lived there was named Davis
He rendered service and logs he was paid
From that payment his house was made
Two babies are buried near this homestead
Search for the resting place of these young dead.