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Mathis street
scene
TE photo, February 2006 |
History in
a Pecan Shell
In 1887 when the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad was laying
tracks across San
Patricio County, Thomas H. Mathis got naming rights when he donated
300 acres for a townsite and school. Mathis could well afford 300
acres since he and his brother J. M. Mathis, held 37,000 acres in
the vicinity. The brothers had dropped out of the Coleman, Mathis,
Fulton Cattle Company in 1879. Thomas Mathis owned an additional 60,000
acres around Mathis and built a fence enclosing the town. As late
as 1906 Mathis was enclosed and arriving and departing trains had
to be let in and let out.
Mathis' success was partially fueled by residents of Lagarto
moving to be near the railroad. The Mathis post office opened in 1890
and the towns first school was held in a private residence in 1893.
Two years later a one-room school built and in 1913 a second railroad
(The San Antonio, Uvalde and Gulf Pacific) arrived.
Cotton and corn
crops were grown and ranching was an important part of the economy.
During the 30s, winter vegetable crops were grown and both railroads
maintained shipping sheds. Mathis incorporated in 1939.
In the early 1950s 7,000 acres of land two miles north of town were
developed for vegetable crops - complete with irrigation and deep
water wells. Cotton, corn
and sorghum replaced vegetables in the 60s.
In the 1930s the Nueces River was dammed and Lake Mathis (since renamed
Lake Corpus Christi) was formed. Construction of the Wesley Seale
Dam in the late 50s raised the level of the lake to where it became
desirable for weekend homes.
In 1988 Mathis had a population of 5,910 which has since decreased
to 4,942. |
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| "The photo
of the old theater in Mathis, TX is that of the "It Theater". Named
as such because the auditorium was actually an old Quonset hut. It
stood out in the normal skyline as being rather strange looking. Hence
the name of the theater. I saw hundreds of movies there in the 50's
and 60's as a child and teen, including The Creature From The Black
Lagoon. It was a long scary walk/run home that night. Thanks for all
of your work." - Dennis Parrish, Daphne, AL, October 10, 2019
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Icehouse
TE photo, February 2006 |
Old neon
TE photo,
February 2006
More Old Neons
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"The photo
entitled "Tracks" shows the old "Big 6" grain elevator. The tracks
are running south towards Lake Mathis (now lake Corpus Christi). My
great Uncle and great aunt Putt and Beulah Crenshaw lived in a home
just to the left of the area shown in the photo. My grandparents Pete
and Annie Krager lived a few blocks southeast of the area.
My father Bill Parrish was a manager of the elevator in the 50's.
During "grain season" when farmers would harvest grain sorghum and
milo maize it was not unusual for dump trucks being lined up 100 deep
to unload the grain at the elevator. It was a dusty and itchy environment
to work in.
It could be a dangerous workplace also as evidenced by the death of
one of the employees, a young handsome Hispanic gentleman named Ambrosio.
He slipped into an auger that transported grain from silo to silo
(shown on the left of the photo) and lost his leg immediately and
bled to death. There was no protective covering over the auger system.
Thank you for this website." - Dennis Parrish, Daphne, AL, December
26, 2019 |
Mathis Chronicles:
Onion
Season and the Triplets
by Dennis Parrish
Mathis, Texas wasn't really big in the mid 50's. And it still isn't,
nor was it ever. In those pre-air conditioning days, a highlight of
early summer was "onion season". The railroad that ran through town
became a hub of busy-ness for a brief two-week period each year for
the annual harvest of the onion crop...
more
Great
Aunt Jane's Pair of Scares
by Maggie Van Ostrand
"It's 1944 and supper is finished, dishes washed, and anticipation
high, for we are all sitting on the floor in front of a carefully
stoked fire waiting for the evening's storytelling to begin. Miss
Ruth Dodson of Mathis is about to relay the two scariest things that
happened to her great Aunt, as they had been relayed to her. It might
go something like this..."
more |
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Mathis
water tower
TE photo,
February 2006
More Water Towers |
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Betty Boop in
Mathis
TE photo, February 2006 |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history and recent/vintage/historic
photos, please contact
us. |
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