This month in Gonzales history - Feb.

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1836:

  • 23, siege of the Alamo began

1852:

  • 29, Presbyterian Church of Gonzales organized, meeting in various buildings.

1854:

  • 11, cornerstone laid for new Baptist church
  • 18, 50-75 cases of mumps and measles reported

1857:

  • Contract let for third courthouse built, Courthouse Square; (Block 25)

1874:

  • 12, City council granted Methodist Episcopal Church South permission to build parsonage on northeast corner of Church Square

1878:

  • 9, a fossil, found on McCoy’s place 20 miles below Gonzales, was brought in to show the folks at The Inquirer. It was a front molar measuring eight inches long and 19 inches in circumference.

1879:

  • January & February, the river banks at the upper and lower “wash” places graded down to permit easier access to the river. One was at the end of St. Louis and the other at the end of St. Lawrence.

1883:

  • 3, Carey Pilgrim writes a letter of farewell as he resigns from the Inquirer. He says he associated himself with the paper in January of 1878 and then sold half interest to G.W. Jenks. Now, in 1883, he is putting the other half in Jenks’ control and will work at Boothe’s Corner selling dry goods.
  • 10, Saturday, reportedly the weather had been unusually warm and sultry for several days. On Saturday morning at 7 a.m. the temperature was 72 degrees. At 10 a.m. a norther struck and by noon there was ice! At sundown the temperature was 20 degrees.
  • 17, the Inquirer staff was invited down to a sumptuous oyster supper at the restaurant of Barnes & Son who “know so well how to do the handsome thing. A new feature was the introduction of lemonade.”

1891:

  • 12, “The hop given by Misses Kokernot and Jeffries at Kleine Hall was decidedly one of the most elegant and enjoyable affairs ever given in Gonzales.” The party began at 8:30 p.m. with music by a string band from San Antonio and the dancing continued until 12 p.m. when refreshments were served. Dancing continued until 3 a.m.
  • 19, The Gonzales Inquirer states that it is read by at least 5,000 people every week and is still a bargain at $1.50 CASH per year.

1896:

  • Fourth courthouse completed 414 St. Joseph Street (Block 25) – architect, J. Riely Gordon (An artesian well capable of producing 8000 gallons of water in three hours provided water for the courthouse).

1904:

  • 25, ash and sycamore trees (one dozen each) have been planted on the high school campus between St. Louis and St. Lawrence Streets.

1909:

  • 4, school report for Dec. 28 through Jan. 22 shows 364 students. (Now, on Feb. 4, there are 389 students.) 93% attendance rate. Six cases of corporal punishment.
  • 11, the Inquirer urges homeowners to care for their large shade trees in order to keep the town looking its best. “Remove mistletoe and cut off damaged, low hanging limbs.”
  • 25, a carload of bones was shipped out of Gonzales by a local firm.
  • 25, since Jan. 3, Stahl Brothers of Gonzales have sent out eight carloads of eggs. Each carload means something more than $3,000 so one can see that eggs are bringing about $12,000 per month to Stahl Brothers.

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