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History in
a Pecan Shell
Electo
Creek had several towns founded along its banks. Here, a Mr.
Carl Edward Riedel dammed the creek in 1869 and set up a small
gristmill shortly after others had settled there.
They decided to name the town in his honor when the time came for
a post office in 1871. The postal authorities granted the application,
but misspelled the name as Riddleville.
The town underwent a change of name in 1905 when newspaper publisher
E.G. Gillett of Runge was honored
for his contributions toward Riddleville's development.
The town's location made it a hub of activity for NE Karnes
County.
The town was practically self-sufficient with post office, hotel,
café, two stores, two saloons, two drugstores and a school.
By the prosperous 20s Gillett had a population of nearly 200.
See
Old Riedel Dam and Early Industries
Historical Marker
1920s Karnes County map
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A few relics
from more prosperous times
Photo courtesy William
Beauchamp, February 2011 |
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Historical
Marker (on FM 887 West of Hwy 80)
Old Riedel
Dam and Early Industries
250 yards west
lie the remains of a pioneer dam built in 1869 by Carl Edward Riedel
to supply the power for his sawmill, gristmill and cotton gin.
That year another German immigrant, Max Krueger, helped install Riedel's
gin — first steam cotton gin in Karnes
County. Shortly before, Krueger had built the barracks to house
50 U.S. Cavalrymen near Helena.
Within 2 years a town grew up near Riedel's industries and was named
Riddleville in his honor. On June 9, 1871, the U.S. postal
records were moved from Ecleto
post office (3 miles up the creek, where Kelly's Stage Stand stood)
to the post office here.
Between 1870 and 1886 Riddleville was one of the 5 principal towns
in Karnes County.
It was located at the crossing of the Helena-Gonzales
Road and the Yorktown-Sutherland
Springs Road. In 1876 its population was about 75. In 1905 the
name of the town was changed to Gillett.
With lumber from his mill, Riedel had built a hotel, which was destroyed
by fire about 1905; but he immediately built a second hotel. Many
homes and business houses in this area were constructed of Riedel's
lumber, which can still be found today in existing Karnes
County buildings.
(1969) |
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Gillett Baptist Church
TE photo, May 2001 |
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The
storm or root cellar is all that remains of one business
TE photo, May 2001 |
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Stores
TE photo, May 2001 |
| 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
us. |
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