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Mount
Sterling Centennial Marker
Photo Courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2010 |
History in
a Pecan Shell
Once a river port
on the Angelina River, Mt. Sterling was founded in 1837 by John
Durst, famed for being the “Paul Revere of the Texas Revolution.”
The site was very near what had been the Nuestra
Señora de la Purísima Concepción de Maria Mission. Durst,
as entrepreneur, built both a sawmill and gristmill powered by the
flow of the Angelina River.
He also constructed a toll bridge which connected two segments of
the Camino
Real (Old Spanish Trail). Besieged by Cherokee Indians, Durst’s
substantial house was used as a refuge for settlers on more than one
occasion. The settlement had a post office in operation for a brief
period, closing in 1840 due to Indian raids.
Durst had enough
and moved to safer ground in Leon
County about this time. The leaving of a town’s founder can dishearten
even the most enthusiastic setters and the site was abandoned within
a few years.
In December 2010, Mount Sterling’s site was located by photographer
Barclay
Gibson who went in search of the marker and found lagniappe
in the form of a beautiful 1929
bridge. Today the name of Goodman’s Crossing is kept alive
by a very tidy liquor store (that doesn’t sell ice cream). |
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Mount
Sterling Town Site Centennial Marker
Photo Courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2010 |
The
1929 Goodman Pony Truss Bridge
Photo Courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2010 |
Goodman
Bridge after rain
Photo Courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2010 |
Nacogdoches
County - Mt Sterling & Goodman Bridge
Photographer's
Note:
In planning this trip, I made sure to use a back road that would lead
me to the Goodman Pony Truss Bridge. Built in 1929, it was 150 feet
across with Wooden Planked Decking over the Angelina River, the county
line between Cherokee and Nacogdoches Counties.
Taking a right, the Mt Sterling
marker was supposed to be just up the road. I saw the Goodman
Store and thought I'd stop, buy an ice cream bar, and ask if anyone
knew the location of the marker.
Inside, I didn't see the freezer case and asked if they had ice cream
bars. The clerk said, "This is a liquor store and we don't have ice
cream bars. Are you lost, Hon?" I don't know for sure that she called
me Hon but it would have fit. You can see that the photo shows it
to be the Goodman LIQUOR Store.
I wasn't lost but the question did give me an opening to what I was
looking for. She said that she and her husband used to own the property
with the marker, and thought it was about 1/4 mile up the road. It
was.
John Durst founded
Mt Sterling. The marker
tells the story. - Barclay
Gibson, December 21, 2010 |
Goodman Bridge
Update:
The Goodman bridge
didn't end up getting demolished. It was relocated to Pecan Park in
Nacogdoches TX. - Bonnie Vermeulen, June 3, 2022
A concrete bridge is under construction immediately to one side, the
old bridge is still there and used for traffic. I suspect it will
be demolished after the new bridge is completed. - John Goeser, September
26, 2011 |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact
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