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Pioneer
cabin, left, Milam County Jail and Courthouse
Photo by John Troesser |
History in a Pecan
Shell
Nashville, Texas on the banks
of the Brazos, had served as the seat of Milam County since the time Texas was
declared a Republic. In April of 1846 the Texas Legislature authorized a commission
to find a more permanent site for the county seat. These men bought sixty acres
on the Little River that year and named the new town in honor of Ewen Cameron,
surveyor.
Cameron's first courthouse was finished that same year and
county records were transferred from Nashville. Alone on the prairie and fifty
miles from the nearest railroad depot, early residents had an opportunity to become
well acquainted with one another.
Attempts were made to navigate the
Little River in the late 1840s and early 1850s. In 1850 one of these attempts
proved successful when Capt. Basil M. Hatfield managed to bring his steamboat
up the Little River to about 2½ east of town. Cameronians rejoiced and a two-day
celebration was held. Sadly, it was learned that only after heavy rains could
a boat get through. Regular service was out of the question.
Cameron
had other problems in the 1870s. When the International-Great Northern Railroad
came to Rockdale, people started suggesting Rockdale
as perhaps the best location for a county seat. Elections were held in 1874 and
1880, and Cameron scraped by on both occasions.
Finally in 1881 the Gulf,
Colorado and Santa Fe Railway arrived and Cameron felt secure. Ten years later
the San Antonio and Aransas Pass came through. In 19th Century Texas there were
two blessings. One would be having a hometown boy become Governor - and the other
was to get a second railroad.
Before the railroads,
Cameron only had 500 citizens. After the railroads
arrived it was suddenly up to 800 and by 1892 the population had reached 2,000.
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| | Statue
of Ben Milam on the square.
"'Who will go with Old Ben Milam into San Antonio?'
Ben
Milam, for whom the county was named, is one of Texas' legendary heroes, losing
his life in San Antonio early in Texas' battle for independence." - Lou Ann
Herda |
20th Century
Cameron Although
cotton was the town's 19th Century economic engine, the 20th Century brought more
diversified industries. Williamson County had discovered oil in 1915 so Milam
County began their own exploration. It paid off in 1921 with "the Minerva-Rockdale
field."
The
building of the Alcoa aluminum plant in the 1950s revitalized the local economy,
but recent environmental concerns have dampened enthusiasm.
Cameron lost
its rail connection to Giddings in
1959 when the Texas and New Orleans railroad pulled out of Milam County and the
Southern Pacific (in 1977) abandoned the rails connecting Cameron with Rosebud.
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Ghost sign just east of the square.
TE Photo
More Ghost
Signs |
| | Grain
bins east of town
Photo by John Troesser |
| | Another
view of the jail - viewed from the courthouse.
Photo by John Troesser |
Cameron Today
Milam
County Courthouse
The 1890 courthouse has been restored in recent years and the entire top (which
had been removed as a hazard) has been replaced with an accurate (but lightweight)
replacement.
Milam
County Jail
The former jail is now in use as the Milam County Historical Museum.
Cameron
Pioneer Cemetery
Just east of town across the Little River is the Pioneer Cemetery - where earlier
residents are interred. The city cemetery is now close to downtown, a stone's
throw from the courthouse and jail.
Besides
a collection of murals on downtown walls, there are also a few advertising artifacts.
These Coca-Cola signs were painted over a
five-county area by "Eddie and Monk" - when Cameron had its own Coca-Cola bottling
works. Cameron
Hotels |
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Masonic globes
downtown
Photo by John Troesser | |
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