Postcard from East Texas Backroads

Continued from (roadtrip post 4).    Go to the beginning (roadtrip post 1).

After leaving the Prison Museum, we grabbed a bite to eat and then spent an unremarkable night in another unremarkable Best Western hotel. Neither of us were all that sleepy, but there wasn't anything interesting on TV so at 10:30, we turned off the lights, climbed into our respective beds and lay in the dark trying to go to sleep. We finally gave up and so we lay there talking lies and telling sad truths we hoped the other would think were lies. The talking finally wore us out and we drifted off to sleep.

After partaking of the hotel's "free" breakfast, we headed out in the cold and very overcast day to the charming town of Columbus, Texas and the famous Columbus Court Oak Tree. Columbus is the oldest plated town in Texas. It was plated in 1823, but in 1836 during the fight for Texas independence, both Columbus and the nearby town of San Felipe were burned to the ground rather than have them fall into the hands of the approaching Mexican soldiers. After the Texans won, the town's settlers returned to rebuild. Logs were ordered to be floated down the nearby river which were to be used for the building of a courthouse, but a heavy rain flooded the river just before the logs reached Columbus and they floated right on by in the swift current.

Until a courthouse could be built, trials were held under a large Oak tree in the middle of town. The judge was Robert McAlpin Williamson, a.k.a. "Three-legged Willie" who received his nickname due to having a good leg, a crippled leg which was permanently bent at the knee, and a wooden leg which extended from his crippled knee to the ground. 

The earliest recorded case held under the Court Oak Tree was in May, 1837, when William Babbs was charged with Grand Larceny. He pled guilty and threw himself on the mercy of the court. Unfortunately for him, Three-legged Willie wasn't feeling particularly merciful that day and sentenced him to receive 39 lashes and his right hand was branded with a "T" so everyone would know he was a thief.

Of course, a proper courthouse was eventually built, but the massive oak tree continues to give shade. At 70 feet tall, a trunk circumference of 329 inches and a crown spread of 111 feet, it is estimated to be over 500 years old and is the second largest Live Oak in the state.

We left Columbus headed to the little unincorporated town of Kenney. With an estimated 200 residents living in the extended area, the community of Kenney is one of those little towns that's nothing but a wide place in the road between "Litter Barrel" and "Resume Speed." However, it is the location of The Kenney Store, a bar/saloon/cafe/dance hall establishment famous for live music, its ancient dance floor and great downhome cooking. With a motto like "It is what it is," we just had to check it out.

Built in the late 1800's, the building has previously been a general store, post office and a beer joint. Now you can enjoy the delicious made-from-scratch burgers, meatloaf, roast beef, pork chops, and mouth-watering pies while listening to talented local bands in jam sessions and popular well-known bands performing every Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

It sure didn't look like much from the outside, but we walked in to an iconic Texas saloon, dance hall, restaurant kind of place. Friendly staff greeted us as we walked across the well-worn wooden dance floor to a table and our waitress arrived about 10 seconds later. The food is made to order so it took a little while, but that gave us time to enjoy the atmosphere over a glass of sweet tea. Soon enough, I had a huge, perfectly cooked jalapeno pepper jack burger and a whole lot of hand-cut fries sitting in front of me. I have to say, that was one of the best burgers I've ever had! I managed to devour most of the burger and a lot of the fries, but I had to give up and push the plate back, unable to finish it all. I had my mouth all set for a slice of pie, but that was before the burger and fries. Pie will have to wait for next time.

Independence, Texas was our next stop. The Independence Baptist Church organized on August 31, 1839, is the longest continuously active Baptist church in Texas. However, that was just one of the reasons for our visit. Sam Houston, often called the father of Texas, the man who served as the first and third president of Texas, and was the leader of the Texan forces who defeated Santa Anna's Mexican troops to secure independence for Texas, joined this church in 1854 and often attended services here.

In 1840, Sam married his 3rd wife, Margaret Lea. Margaret and her mother, Nancy Moffette Lea were both deeply religious and they worked hard to restrain Sam's carousing, drinking and cigar smoking. He is known to have complained about their constant harping at him. However, their unceasing efforts to lead him to a more settled and devout life proved to be at least partially successful as he would be in attendance for church services most of the time when he was in town. He had a favorite pew where he always sat and after he died of pneumonia on July 26, 1863, it was preserved and marked. The pew is still marked for people to see and is still used today during services.

Sam and Margaret had a home in Huntsville and when he died, he was buried there in Oakwood Cemetery. Margaret moved back to Independence where she died of Yellow Fever in 1867. Due to the danger of contagion, her body could not be transported to Huntsville to be buried next to her husband so she was buried next to her mother in the family cemetery on church grounds. With 60 miles between Sam, his wife and her mother, perhaps he is finally resting in peace.

On to Schulenburg for the night in another Best Western Hotel. Tomorrow is slated for us to tour four of the famous "painted churches." 

The Lea-Houston family cemetery on the
church grounds

Postcard From Huntsville, Texas

Continued from (roadtrip post 3)

In case you are entertaining a trip to Huntsville, Texas and wondering about where to stay, be aware that the Best Western my road trip buddy and I stayed at is pretty much a hit-or-miss. The location is good, the price was less than $90 and the room was clean and decent sized, but the wifi was slow when it worked and would periodically drop. The "free" breakfast was just ok, the ice machine was broken and the pool was full of green water. I doubt we would stay there again as there are a number of other like-priced chains that might be a better option. Just my opinion from this one stay.

We were headed to the Texas Prison Museum, but first we stopped at an interesting home - the famous "Boot House."  There’s probably no other house quite like this one. Only in Texas does a boot-shaped home seem fitting.

Boot House on the right

The "Boot House" is a design of the world-famous artist Dan Phillips who works with The Phoenix Commotion, a group that builds with recycled materials. This 700-square-foot home stands at an impressive 35 feet tall and while it seems more like a huge work of art than an actual house, the interior is very cozy and livable. Inside, there's a working kitchen, a loft for the bedroom, a full bath, and an extension which adds plenty of room to the boot house. Even more impressive is the attention to detail inside the boot: granite floors, a fireplace, and a bright red spiral staircase. There’s even a roof deck located at the very top of the boot, offering an impressive view of the town. If you are interested, the boot house can be rented for $1,200 a month.

Disappointed that we couldn't tour the Boot House or even walk around it (private property and heavy rush-hour auto traffic on the road in front of it), we drove to the Texas Prison Museum. Huntsville is home to five state prisons and is the headquarters for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). Located just off Interstate-45, the red-brick museum is where most of the existing memorabilia for the whole Texas Corrections System is housed. The five prisons along with two county jails make incarceration Huntsville's largest industry.

Upon entering the museum, after paying the $7 per person entrance fee ($5 for seniors), you watch a short video about the Texas prison system and improvements — like offering education and job training — it has made over the years. Then you are free to wonder around and see the many interesting artifacts on display, all of them the real, actual items. There's a gun that belonged to Bonnie & Clyde which was retrieved from their death car. There are many contraband items, like a knife which had been hidden in a flip-flop sandal, a coke can with a false bottom and dozens of "shanks." When a person is desperate, has limited resources and unlimited drive and time, they can do some pretty innovative things. The museum shows how anything can be turned into a shank if you have enough time. They have shanks made from toothbrushes, plates, trays, paper, glass, almost anything you can think of. There is also an art display which shows what else inmates create with time and limited materials: a jewelry box and cross made from matches, a rosary made from pencils, a hand-drawn game of “Prisonopoly,” patterned after a Monopoly board with real estate named for Texas prison units.

One of the most moving item is a wall of pictures of inmates and members of their victim's families along with quotes from the condemned just before they are put to death and from the victim's family members who watched them die. A few of the condemned are just plain mean, bad individuals to the very end who made the world a better place with their demise, but most seem genuinely  sorry for their bad deeds, don't make excuses and accept their punishment as deserved. Of course, when you are facing imminent death, I guess it's natural to get religion, tell your loved ones how sorry you are to cause them such pain, and want forgiveness from those you've wronged.

Probably the most interesting item on display is Old Sparky, the actual electric chair which was used to kill 361 people. It sits in a replica of the red-brick death chamber at the Huntsville Unit prison less than 3 miles away. The inmate-built oak chair glems beneath a spotlight with its leather straps curled around the chair's arms and footrests. Metal housings for the electrical works wrap around the side of the chair. It's pretty darn sobering to stand just a few feet from that chair and think about all the people that died in it.

There is also an exact replica of a jail cell you can enter and shut the cell door behind you. I did that and almost immediately opened that door and came back out. It only took a few seconds to confirm what I was always sure of - jail is not for me!

On the way out, there is a small gift shop mostly filled with products the inmates themselves have made. The $25 nickel key chains reading "Death Row" are very popular. Also for sale are t-shirts, some with the image of Old Sparky and reading "Home of Old Sparky." For $4 you can buy an Old Sparky shot glass or for $2 you can get a box of "Solitary ConfineMints." A portion of the money made from the sale of an inmate-made item is credited to their commissary account. A visit to this museum seems to be a bit dark, but it is interesting, for sure.

After leaving the museum, we naturally had to visit the inmate cemetery nearby. The official name is the Captain Joe Bird Cemetery, but most people know it as "Peckerwood Hill." Peckerwood is derived from an old African-American insult for poor white trash people. Since most of the graves hold poor people, the nickname stuck. This is the place where the bodies of prisoners who were not claimed by family are buried. Within its 22 acres are about 3,000 graves of convicts who were buried by other prisoners who serve as pallbearers, chisel names in headstones and dig the graves using shovels. A lot of the graves are only marked by concrete crosses with prison ID numbers and date of death. Some have names and birthdates inscribed. Headstones of executed prisoners have ID numbers that start with "999," the state designation for a death row prisoner, or a simple "EX" or just an "X." 

There is an empty grave located here that stands out. It is the grave of a Native American, Santanta (White Bear), the famous Kiowa war chief. He was born around 1820 during the height of the Plains tribes power and was one of the best and last Kiowa chiefs. He established an enduring alliance with the Comanche and fought with them at the First Battle of Adobe Walls and in many engagements and raids against the encroaching white men. Finally realizing it was futile to continue fighting, he negotiated a treaty and promised his people would move onto a reservation. Unfortunately, his people had to hunt for food and prepare for the move first, so when they didn't move to the reservation fast enough, General George Custer arrested him and held him hostage until the move was accomplished. 

In early 1871, with white men hunting on their reservation lands, Santanta led a raid on a wagon train and killed several men. When he returned to the reservation, General William Sherman assembled a large force of soldiers and arrested him along with two sub-chiefs. Santanta was taken to Jacksboro, Texas to stand trial for murder, the first Indian to be taken to trial. He was found guilty and the judge ordered the sheriff to "hang him by the neck until he is dead, dead, dead." Before that could happen though, Edmund Davis, the governor of Texas, commuted his sentence to life in prison. He was a model prisoner and was paroled in September, 1873. 

A few months after his release, members of his tribe attacked and killed several buffalo hunters who were hunting on their reservation. Santanta was blamed and even though all the members of the tribe said he was innocent and not even at the fight, he was found guilty of violating his parole and once again sentenced to life in prison. He was taken to the state penitentiary in Huntsville to live out the rest of his life. Forced to work on roads and building railroad tracks as a member of a chain gang, he gave up hope of ever being free. His spirit was broken and he spent hours looking through the bars of his cell's window back toward the north, the hunting grounds of his people. 

On October 11, 1878, he was taken to the prison hospital which was the top floor of a 3-story building. Deciding not to spend the rest of his life in a white man's prison, he commited suicide by throwing himself out of a window head-first. He was buried in the prison cemetery, but in 1963, his grandson, an artist named James Auchiah, received permission to move his remains to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Out of respect, his former grave has been marked and maintained. 

An interesting side note of Santanta, the character of Blue Duck in Larry McMurtry's book "Lonesome Dove" was partially based on his life and death.