BELTON, TEXAS. Belton, the county seat of Bell County, is on
Nolan Creek at the junction of Interstate 35 and U.S. highways 81
and 190, near the geographic center of the county. The area was
first settled in the late 1840s. When Bell County was established
in 1850 the small settlement of Nolan Springs, named for
adventurer Philip Nolan, was chosen as county seat and
renamed Nolanville. Col. Henry B. Elliot surveyed the area, and
E. Lawrence Stickney made a plat of the town. The town was laid
out on the Shelbyville plan, with a large courthouse square as
its focus. The first sale of town lots was held on August 26, 1850.
Joe Townsend and A. T. McCorcle were among the first
merchants to build stores. W. H. Tichenal is reported to have
sold goods from his wagon on the square, and John C. Henry,
with a barrel of whiskey and a tin cup, is supposed to have
operated a saloon under a tree just east of the site of the later
Main Street bridge. The post office was established as
Nolanville in October 1850. In December 1851 the Texas
legislature incorporated the town and changed the name to
Belton, after Bell County. A small log courthouse was erected on
the courthouse square in 1852. Weekly stagecoach service
began the same year, and the town became a stop on the mail
route from Little Rock, Arkansas, to San Antonio.
By the mid-1850s numerous merchants had opened stores on or
near the courthouse square, and Belton emerged as a regional
trading center. The original log courthouse was sold at auction
in 1855, and a new two-story limestone building was constructed
in 1859. In 1860 Belton, with a population of 300, was the largest
town in the county.
During the secession crisis there was some pro-Union
sentiment in Belton. A Whig newspaper, the Independent, was
published there, and in the election of 1859 Bell County
residents voted overwhelmingly for Sam Houston. Nonetheless,
in 1861 the county voted for secession by a wide margin. A large
number of men from Belton served in the Confederate forces,
and local residents established several small industries to
support the war effort, including a complex of stock pens and
slaughterhouses to process dried beef.
After the war Belton experienced a protracted period of
violence and lawlessness. Federal troops were stationed in the
town to protect federal judge Hiram Christian but were unable to
stop a series of political murders and lynchings. Several
pro-Union sympathizers being held prisoner for political
murders were lynched by a Belton mob in 1866, and by the late
1860s the Ku Klux Klan and several other similar organizations
had grown up. The Republicans proved powerless to stop the
growing tide, and by the early 1870s conservative Democrats
were once again firmly in control.
After Reconstruction the town continued to grow as a business
center for the surrounding agricultural area. One of the main
feeder routes of the Chisholm Trail ran along the eastern edge
of the town, and numerous cattle drives originated in or passed
through the area during the 1870s and 1880s. In 1867 the town's
first bank was organized by Josephus Zacharias Miller and
others, and Belton soon developed into a regional banking
center. The late 1860s and 1870s also witnessed the beginning
of a religious and social experiment, the Belton Woman's
Commonwealth or Belton Sanctificationist movement. Led by
Martha White McWhirter and several other prominent Belton
women, the Sanctificationists broke away from the town's
established Protestant churches and formed an economic
cooperative. In 1887 they opened the three-story Central Hotel,
for many years the town's largest and most modern, and in later
years operated a steam laundry and several nearby farms. The
group also founded the town's first library in a room in the hotel.
In 1879 a fire destroyed much of the town's central business
district, but the stores were quickly rebuilt. A new Renaissance
Revival courthouse, designed by architect Jasper N. Preston,
was constructed in the late 1870s, and by the mid-1880s Belton
had a population of 4,000, daily mail and stagecoach service,
three newspapers, an opera house, five schools, steam grist
and flour mills, two hotels, thirteen grocery stores, and three
banks. During this period Belton also developed into a
processing and shipping center for the region's growing cotton
crops. The first cottonseed oil mill was built in the town in 1879,
and a number of cotton gins began operating.
In the early 1880s the first railroad, the Gulf, Colorado and Santa
Fe, reached the town, and the Missouri, Kansas and Texas was
built through in 1882. Nevertheless, Temple, established by the
Santa Fe eight miles to the northeast in 1881 and aggressively
promoted by the railroad, quickly surpassed Belton as the
county's largest town. Some Belton businesses moved to
Temple, but Belton's importance as a county seat and cotton
center ensured its survival. An electric interurban line was
constructed linking the two towns in 1905, and commerce
developed between them. The late nineteenth century also saw
other important developments: a public water system was built
in the mid-1880s, a fire department was organized in 1884, and
the town received electricity in 1889. In 1885 Baylor Female
College, later the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, was moved
to Belton. Belton Academy, founded in 1886, operated until 1911.
A large cotton yarn factory opened in 1901, and by 1904 the town
reported a population of 3,700. In December 1913 much of the
downtown was flooded when Nolan Creek overflowed its banks,
but the town continued to prosper until the early 1930s, when
falling cotton prices and the onset of the Great Depression
forced many businesses to close. The population, which
reached a peak of 6,500 in 1928, fell to 3,779 in 1931. The
economy only began to recover in the early 1940s with the
development of nearby Fort Hood.
After World War II the population grew steadily. In 1950 Belton
reported a population of 6,246 and 180 business establishments.
By 1990 the town had a population of 12,476; about 67 percent of
the inhabitants were white, 17 percent were black, and 12
percent were Hispanic. The largest employers were the city of
Belton, Bell County, and the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. By
2000 the population had grown to 14,623.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Bertha Atkinson, The History of Bell County,
Texas (M.A. thesis, University of Texas, 1929). Bell County
Historical Commission, Story of Bell County, Texas (2 vols.,
Austin: Eakin Press, 1988). Oscar Lewis, On the Edge of the
Black Waxy: A Cultural Survey of Bell County (Washington
University Studies, St. Louis, 1948). George Tyler, History of Bell
County (San Antonio: Naylor, 1936).
Christopher Long
Nolan Creek at the junction of Interstate 35 and U.S. highways 81
and 190, near the geographic center of the county. The area was
first settled in the late 1840s. When Bell County was established
in 1850 the small settlement of Nolan Springs, named for
adventurer Philip Nolan, was chosen as county seat and
renamed Nolanville. Col. Henry B. Elliot surveyed the area, and
E. Lawrence Stickney made a plat of the town. The town was laid
out on the Shelbyville plan, with a large courthouse square as
its focus. The first sale of town lots was held on August 26, 1850.
Joe Townsend and A. T. McCorcle were among the first
merchants to build stores. W. H. Tichenal is reported to have
sold goods from his wagon on the square, and John C. Henry,
with a barrel of whiskey and a tin cup, is supposed to have
operated a saloon under a tree just east of the site of the later
Main Street bridge. The post office was established as
Nolanville in October 1850. In December 1851 the Texas
legislature incorporated the town and changed the name to
Belton, after Bell County. A small log courthouse was erected on
the courthouse square in 1852. Weekly stagecoach service
began the same year, and the town became a stop on the mail
route from Little Rock, Arkansas, to San Antonio.
By the mid-1850s numerous merchants had opened stores on or
near the courthouse square, and Belton emerged as a regional
trading center. The original log courthouse was sold at auction
in 1855, and a new two-story limestone building was constructed
in 1859. In 1860 Belton, with a population of 300, was the largest
town in the county.
During the secession crisis there was some pro-Union
sentiment in Belton. A Whig newspaper, the Independent, was
published there, and in the election of 1859 Bell County
residents voted overwhelmingly for Sam Houston. Nonetheless,
in 1861 the county voted for secession by a wide margin. A large
number of men from Belton served in the Confederate forces,
and local residents established several small industries to
support the war effort, including a complex of stock pens and
slaughterhouses to process dried beef.
After the war Belton experienced a protracted period of
violence and lawlessness. Federal troops were stationed in the
town to protect federal judge Hiram Christian but were unable to
stop a series of political murders and lynchings. Several
pro-Union sympathizers being held prisoner for political
murders were lynched by a Belton mob in 1866, and by the late
1860s the Ku Klux Klan and several other similar organizations
had grown up. The Republicans proved powerless to stop the
growing tide, and by the early 1870s conservative Democrats
were once again firmly in control.
After Reconstruction the town continued to grow as a business
center for the surrounding agricultural area. One of the main
feeder routes of the Chisholm Trail ran along the eastern edge
of the town, and numerous cattle drives originated in or passed
through the area during the 1870s and 1880s. In 1867 the town's
first bank was organized by Josephus Zacharias Miller and
others, and Belton soon developed into a regional banking
center. The late 1860s and 1870s also witnessed the beginning
of a religious and social experiment, the Belton Woman's
Commonwealth or Belton Sanctificationist movement. Led by
Martha White McWhirter and several other prominent Belton
women, the Sanctificationists broke away from the town's
established Protestant churches and formed an economic
cooperative. In 1887 they opened the three-story Central Hotel,
for many years the town's largest and most modern, and in later
years operated a steam laundry and several nearby farms. The
group also founded the town's first library in a room in the hotel.
In 1879 a fire destroyed much of the town's central business
district, but the stores were quickly rebuilt. A new Renaissance
Revival courthouse, designed by architect Jasper N. Preston,
was constructed in the late 1870s, and by the mid-1880s Belton
had a population of 4,000, daily mail and stagecoach service,
three newspapers, an opera house, five schools, steam grist
and flour mills, two hotels, thirteen grocery stores, and three
banks. During this period Belton also developed into a
processing and shipping center for the region's growing cotton
crops. The first cottonseed oil mill was built in the town in 1879,
and a number of cotton gins began operating.
In the early 1880s the first railroad, the Gulf, Colorado and Santa
Fe, reached the town, and the Missouri, Kansas and Texas was
built through in 1882. Nevertheless, Temple, established by the
Santa Fe eight miles to the northeast in 1881 and aggressively
promoted by the railroad, quickly surpassed Belton as the
county's largest town. Some Belton businesses moved to
Temple, but Belton's importance as a county seat and cotton
center ensured its survival. An electric interurban line was
constructed linking the two towns in 1905, and commerce
developed between them. The late nineteenth century also saw
other important developments: a public water system was built
in the mid-1880s, a fire department was organized in 1884, and
the town received electricity in 1889. In 1885 Baylor Female
College, later the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, was moved
to Belton. Belton Academy, founded in 1886, operated until 1911.
A large cotton yarn factory opened in 1901, and by 1904 the town
reported a population of 3,700. In December 1913 much of the
downtown was flooded when Nolan Creek overflowed its banks,
but the town continued to prosper until the early 1930s, when
falling cotton prices and the onset of the Great Depression
forced many businesses to close. The population, which
reached a peak of 6,500 in 1928, fell to 3,779 in 1931. The
economy only began to recover in the early 1940s with the
development of nearby Fort Hood.
After World War II the population grew steadily. In 1950 Belton
reported a population of 6,246 and 180 business establishments.
By 1990 the town had a population of 12,476; about 67 percent of
the inhabitants were white, 17 percent were black, and 12
percent were Hispanic. The largest employers were the city of
Belton, Bell County, and the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. By
2000 the population had grown to 14,623.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Bertha Atkinson, The History of Bell County,
Texas (M.A. thesis, University of Texas, 1929). Bell County
Historical Commission, Story of Bell County, Texas (2 vols.,
Austin: Eakin Press, 1988). Oscar Lewis, On the Edge of the
Black Waxy: A Cultural Survey of Bell County (Washington
University Studies, St. Louis, 1948). George Tyler, History of Bell
County (San Antonio: Naylor, 1936).
Christopher Long
| The History of Belton, Texas |
| Great gratitude to Mary Ann for sending this info to us! |
Beginning in the 1840s as the
small settlement of Nolan Springs,
the people of our hometown have
been through a lot together:
floods, fires, wars, lynchings, the
death of Old King Cotton, the
Great Depression, you name it.
The Stickneys and McCorcles
have all left town, but there are
still some Henrys, McWhirters,
Townsends, and Millers whose
forebears may have played a part
in our storied history.
But there have been happy
milestones, too, such as when
daily mail and stagecoach service
small settlement of Nolan Springs,
the people of our hometown have
been through a lot together:
floods, fires, wars, lynchings, the
death of Old King Cotton, the
Great Depression, you name it.
The Stickneys and McCorcles
have all left town, but there are
still some Henrys, McWhirters,
Townsends, and Millers whose
forebears may have played a part
in our storied history.
But there have been happy
milestones, too, such as when
daily mail and stagecoach service
| 1840s: Area first settled. 1850: Bell Co. established in Nolan Springs, later renamed Nolanville. Post Office established; town lots first sold; merchandising began. 1851: Town incorporated; renamed Belton after Bell Co. 1852: Small log courthouse built; weekly stagecoach service began. 1854: Belton Public Free School System established. 1859: Limestone courthouse built. Bell Co. votes for Sam Houston. 1860: Belton, pop. 300, is largest town in county. 1860s and '70s: Ku Klux Klan springs up. Belton Sanctificationist movement arises, forms co-op. 1861: Despite some pro-Union sentiment and a Whig newspaper, Bell County votes for secession; many Beltonians serve with Confederates. 1866: Violence, black days: mob lynches pro-Union sympathizers. 1867: First bank organized. 1870s-80s: Chisholm Trail cattle drives originate or pass through. Late 1870s: New Renaissance Revival courthouse is built. 1879: Fire destroys downtown, but it's quickly rebuilt. First cottonseed oil mill built; cotton gins begin operating. Mid-'80s: Town has 4,000 people; daily mail and stagecoach service; 3 newspapers; an opera house; 5 schools; steam grist and flour mills; 2 hotels; 13 grocery stores; and 3 banks. Belton is now a processing and shipping center for cotton. Public water system is built. 1881: Temple is established by the Santa Fe Railroad and quickly outgrows Belton. 1882: 2 railroads serve Belton. 1884: Fire dept. founded. 1885: Baylor Female College moves to Belton; later renamed U. of Mary Hardin-Baylor. 1886: Belton Academy is founded; operates until 1911. 1887: Sanctificationists open Central Hotel, also housing town's first library. 1889: Belton gets electricity! 1901: Cotton yarn factory opens. 1904: Belton has 3,700 population; Carnegie Library built (see www.bellcountytx/Museum). One of only 12 libraries still standing that were endowed by Andrew Carnegie, ours is now the Bell County Museum and was restored in 1991. Library is pictured below: 1905: Electric interurban line links Belton and Temple, fostering commerce. 1913: Nolan Creek floods downtown. 1928: Belton's pop. peaks at 6,500. Early '30s: Falling cotton prices and the Great Depression force many businesses to close. 1931: Belton's pop. is down to 3,779. 1940s: Economy begins recovery with development of Ft. Hood. 1950: Belton's pop. is 6,246, has 180 businesses. 1990: Belton's pop. is 12,476. Largest employers are the City, the County, and MHB. 2000: Belton's pop. is 14,623. |
began; the coming of the cowboys
on the Chisholm Trail; the opening
of the opera house and the library;
getting water right out of a faucet
instead of pulling it up from the
well; and electrification---not to
mention places to shop! And can't
you imagine chests puffing out
when our beautiful courthouse was
built! Here's the story of Our Town:
Belton, Bell County, Texas, the
United States of America, Continent
of North America, Western Hemi-
sphere, Earth, the Solar System,
the Universe, the Mind of God....
(thanks to Thornton Wilder)
on the Chisholm Trail; the opening
of the opera house and the library;
getting water right out of a faucet
instead of pulling it up from the
well; and electrification---not to
mention places to shop! And can't
you imagine chests puffing out
when our beautiful courthouse was
built! Here's the story of Our Town:
Belton, Bell County, Texas, the
United States of America, Continent
of North America, Western Hemi-
sphere, Earth, the Solar System,
the Universe, the Mind of God....
(thanks to Thornton Wilder)
| The Bell County Museum is the place to go for more info on Belton's History. Here's "The Bell County March," written by Baylor Female College music professor Julien Paul Blitz (Belgian) in 1907. Blitz was a music professor from 1906-08. The piano solo was dedicated to Bell County Sheriff D. C. Burkes. The Bell County March is in a collection of the Bell County Museum. It was a gift of Dewitt J. Lorenz, Noema Dahlke, and Catherine Jean Duncan, grandchildren of D. C. Burkes in 1997. (Info copied from museum website.) |
Photo sent by both Walt and BHS Class of '53 member Duryl "Gibby" Bailey. Thanks, Guys! Memories of Cochran, Blair, and Potts |
Walt says, "The thing I remember about them was
the old vacuum tube delivery system that they had in
the store." Thanks for the memory, Walt. I (Jan) had
forgotten that.
Sept. 9, 2009, from Judy E:
Walt's comment about the vacuum tube sparked a
memory for me, too. Every birthday during my teens,
my parents' gift was a $25 check to be used at
Cochran's for a swim suit. I guess I was always happy
to have the same gift and that Cochran's always had
something to please me. We used to buy ribbons
there by the yard for my pigtails, and they would wrap
them in tissue as if they were treasures.
the old vacuum tube delivery system that they had in
the store." Thanks for the memory, Walt. I (Jan) had
forgotten that.
Sept. 9, 2009, from Judy E:
Walt's comment about the vacuum tube sparked a
memory for me, too. Every birthday during my teens,
my parents' gift was a $25 check to be used at
Cochran's for a swim suit. I guess I was always happy
to have the same gift and that Cochran's always had
something to please me. We used to buy ribbons
there by the yard for my pigtails, and they would wrap
them in tissue as if they were treasures.
Sterling Clack Robertson was
given official credit, by the
Supreme Court of the Republic of
Texas, for having brought 600
families to Texas.
The Robertson Colony occupied an
area in the Brazos River basin,
about 100 miles wide and 200 miles
long, beginning at the point where
the road from Nacogdoches to San
Antonio crossed the Navasota
River; thence southwest along that
road, crossing the Brazos and
continuing to the watershed
between the Brazos and the
Colorado; thence northwest along
that ridge to the extreme
headwaters of Little River; thence
northeast to the Cross Timbers;
thence southeast along the
watershed between the Brazos
and the Trinity, to the headwaters
of the Navasota, and thence down
the Navasota, along the west bank,
to the point of beginning. After the
Texas Revolution, that area was
broken up to form all or part of 30
present-day Texas counties, as
follows: Bastrop, Bell, Bosque,
Brazos, Brown, Burleson, Burnet,
Callahan, Comanche, Coryell,
Eastland, Erath, Falls, Hamilton,
Hill, Hood, Jack, Johnson,
Lampasas, Lee, Limestone,
McLennan, Milam, Mills, Palo Pinto,
Parker, Robertson, Somervell,
Stephens, and Williamson.
Source:
http://lonestar.texas.net/~mdmclean
/SCR_BIO.html; sent to us by Gibby
Bailey
given official credit, by the
Supreme Court of the Republic of
Texas, for having brought 600
families to Texas.
The Robertson Colony occupied an
area in the Brazos River basin,
about 100 miles wide and 200 miles
long, beginning at the point where
the road from Nacogdoches to San
Antonio crossed the Navasota
River; thence southwest along that
road, crossing the Brazos and
continuing to the watershed
between the Brazos and the
Colorado; thence northwest along
that ridge to the extreme
headwaters of Little River; thence
northeast to the Cross Timbers;
thence southeast along the
watershed between the Brazos
and the Trinity, to the headwaters
of the Navasota, and thence down
the Navasota, along the west bank,
to the point of beginning. After the
Texas Revolution, that area was
broken up to form all or part of 30
present-day Texas counties, as
follows: Bastrop, Bell, Bosque,
Brazos, Brown, Burleson, Burnet,
Callahan, Comanche, Coryell,
Eastland, Erath, Falls, Hamilton,
Hill, Hood, Jack, Johnson,
Lampasas, Lee, Limestone,
McLennan, Milam, Mills, Palo Pinto,
Parker, Robertson, Somervell,
Stephens, and Williamson.
Source:
http://lonestar.texas.net/~mdmclean
/SCR_BIO.html; sent to us by Gibby
Bailey
| Gibby B. sent this photo and an article from the Temple Telegram relating the history of Yettie Polk Park, which you'll recognize as the one right downtown which used to have the American Legion Hall (Teenage Canteen) nearby. Read the entire article in your printed paper, or check out a greatly shortened version at http://www.tdtnews.com/story/2010/03/22/64999. The park was named for a woman who drowned with her four children when Nolan Creek flooded and washed away their home in 1913--- real tragedy in the annals of Belton history. The photo is courtesy of Jerri Gauntt/City of Belton. Thanks, Gibby! |
Linda WB sent a link to Mary Hardin Baylor's library's excellent website, which also has the history of Belton, among other interesting info. Check it out! http://libguides.umhb.edu/content.p hp?pid=89934&sid=994155 |
