Hearne, Texas, Robertson County. (original) (raw)
History in a Pecan Shell
Francisco Ruiz, a Mexican officer was the recipient of the original land grant.
A man named Brown operated a stagecoach stop in the 1840s and a post office operated out of a tavern/ general store. Christopher Hearne, a planter that came to town in 1852, saw that the railroad was the thing of the future. He offered the railroad a right-of-way in 1858 on some of his 10,000 acres with land for a townsite thrown in for good measure. But the Civil War put things on hold and it was Hearne�s widow that eventually deeded 700 acres to the Houston and Texas Central Railway in 1867. The railroad arrived in April of 1868 and boom days followed. A post office opened in 1869. In 1870 the International-Great Northern came through which made Hearne a railroad �Crossroads.�
The town incorporated in 1871.
Hearne had 1,300 people in 1885 and 2,129 in 1900.
The town was about 3,511 the year that the general Texas population shifted from rural to urban (1941).
The Hearne Depot - Moved in the year 2000 awaiting a complete restoration on the south side of Hwy 6.
TE Photo, Dec. 2001
More Texas Depots
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The Smith-Welch Library downtown. TE Photo, Dec. 2001 |
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City Cafe in Hearne TE Photo, Dec. 2001 |
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The former Queen Theatre in Hearne TE Photo, Dec. 2001 More Texas Theatres |
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Fourth Street, Hearn, circa 1930s
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/
Farmers' & Planters' Oil Mill, Postmarked 1916
Click on image to enlarge
Old Photo courtesy Dan Whatley Collection
Hearne Chronicles
- Camp Hearne - WWII POW Camp
- Not so great escapes by Clay Coppedge
On Aug. 9, 1944, three German soldiers put a homemade raft into the Brazos River as part of their plan for a return trip to Germany. They were Prisoners of War at a camp near Hearne in Robertson County. They made their Huck Finn-style raft from waterproof GI ponchos and wood and used umbrellas for sails. ... more
Camp Hearne ›
1942 - 1947
One of the largest Prisoner of War Camps in Texas during WWII.
People
- Dr. Edward Arrel Pye, A Texas Medical Hero by W. T. Block Jr.
Whenever the virulent yellow fever plague came to town, the townsmen who were cautious packed up their families and belongings and fled elsewhere. Sometimes a town�s physician did not leave; they stayed to treat their patients and occasionally died...
Hearne Texas Forum
- Subject: Chatmas Theatre
The picture you show as the Chatmas Theatre is not the Chatmas. The one you show is actually west of the Chatmas. This was the Mexican theatre, the Queen.
The Chatmas was where the Guy Chandler Park is now. They have a Veteran's Memorial there.
I grew up in Calvert, lived there a while as an adult, and taught in Hearne for many years. I spent a lot of happy hours in the Eloia in Calvert and the Chatmas in Hearne, with trips to the drugstore afterward.
The night the Chatmas burned, we could see the glow in the sky from Calvert. We were all sad that it was not rebuilt. So, there is nothing left of the Chatmas.
You might contact the "Hearne Democrat" for a picture of the two theatres in Hearne, when they were in good shape. Someone in Hearne, maybe the library, might have a picture to share.
There was also a drive-in theatre in Hearne. It was located where the motels are just north of Hearne on Highway 6, and that triangle formed where the Cameron Highway goes past the Fireman's Hall.
An Austin artist, Larry Willcott, I believe is his name, has a lovely watercolor of the Eloia in Calvert. All that is missing is movie posters in the display cases, the popcorn machine, and Miss Eloise in the ticket booth, Carl standing by the popcorn machine, and their son in his A&M uniform selling popcorn. (They didn't sell drinks and candy at the Eloia. But, the Chatmas had a glistening candy counter inside.) Hope this helps. Check with some oldtimers to be sure you have the right buildings. Some of the newcomers don't know. - Cecelia Conitz Heinrich, January 28, 2006
Grain silos in Valley Junction TX, outside Hearne toward the Brazos River.
They were torn down in the 2010s.
TE photo, June 2003
More Grain Elevators
Robertson County 1907 postal map showing Hearne and the railroads
From Texas state map #2090
Courtesy Texas General Land Office
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