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PIERCE,
TEXAS Wharton
County, Texas
Gulf Coast
Highway 59
8 miles W of Wharton
5 miles NE of El Campo
Population: 49
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An informal
history of
Pierce, Texas:Containing
barely-related facts on neighboring towns in
Wharton, Jackson and Victoria
Counties
by
Brewster Hudspeth
"There
stands Ol' Pierce"
- quote from Shanghai Pierce himself.
Photo courtesy TXDoT >
Editor's Note: Don't look for the statue (right))
of Pierce to be in Pierce, Texas. The staute stands in the beautifully maintained
Hawley cemetery just north of Blessing,
Texas.
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Pierce, Texas is located
along the former railroad tracks, which have been taken up in recent years. The
roadbed is still in place although the line had been abandoned in 1940. The towns
along this stretch of Highway 59 were named after the Hungerford/ Telferner
families.
"Colonel" Hungerford was a Mexican War veteran with two daughters
- Edna and Louise.
Louise married, widowed, and had a child named Eva.
Her next husband was named Mackay who had made a fortune in mining in Colorado.
Louise Mackay took her daughters to Europe where daughter Edna married an Italian
Count named Telferner. With Mackay's money and 600 of Telferner's paisanos to
do the work, they formed the New York, Texas and Mexican Railway. The locals named
it the "Macaroni Line" from the diet of the Italian laborers.
The Count
was president of the railroad and "Colonel" Hungerford was vice president.
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| | Pierce's
Letterhead
Courtesy Texas General Land Office Archives & Documents Department
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| | The
sign for the Pierce Ranch
TE photo |
Pierce
agreed to take his first year's pay in cattle. When the year was up - Pierce got
the culls of the herd - and a lesson in cattle raising. After a year's work in
the saddle - Shanghai
was the proud owner of a herd of six cows. 30% of his "herd" died shortly
after delivery. It was a lesson Pierce
never forgot. He became wealthy the old fashioned way - one cow at a time. These
were rounded up in a fashion that later came to be called rustling. All of Pierce's
acquisitions were in the Matagorda / Wharton County region - land that would later
be owned by Pierce.
Pierce
became one of Texas' most flamboyant characters.
His blustery demeanor and legendary cheapness alone would've earned him a place
in Texas history - but for good measure he also possessed an ego that would make
Donald Trump look like he had an inferiority complex.
By the time the
railroad business was getting
started - Pierce
already owned most of Matagorda County and part of Wharton.
Always a fast learner, Pierce picked up on the town-naming trend and modestly
named the three stations planned for his property to be Pierce, Shanghai, and
Borden (after his nephew). Only after wrangling with the railroad for two years
did Pierce get the railroad to live up to 1/3 of their bargain of building depots.
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| | Church
in Pierce, Texas
TE photo |
The
towns of Shanghai,
Texas and Borden died on the drawing board. Pierce also had a spur for Podo,
Texas - a siding named after a former slave who oversaw that portion of the
Pierce holdings. Podo
was a Zulu and Pierce used to send him supplies via the railroad - including bi-annual
deliveries of 40 gallon barrels of whiskey for Podo's
private consumption.
Pierce,
in his twilight years, started worrying about his legacy. He ordered his full
size "likeness" carved in marble from none other than German-born San
Antonio sculptor Frank Teich.
After
getting Teich to lower his price, Pierce
had the statue erected with the inscription: Shanghai Pierce - Born 1834 - Died
1900. He told Teich that Mrs. Pierce would fill in the blank when the time came.
The price had been $2,500, but Pierce got Teich to reduce the price to $2,250
(Teich made up the difference by making the hat smaller).
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| | The
former post office is now the Pierce "Country Club"
TE photo
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Pierce Texas
TodayToday,
the town of Pierce consists of eight or ten houses, a post office, church, and
a former post office that is now labeled "The Pierce Country Club". The entrance
to the Pierce ranch is just across from where the railroad tracks used to be.
Pierce's statue is in the Hawley
cemetery near Blessing, Texas.
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"Children
pictured from the Pierce School in 1910. The school was built by A.
H. “Shanghai” Pierce. Pierce Ranch imported the first Brahman herd in the
United States around 1900." Photo courtesy Wharton County Historical Museum
See
Wharton County Old
Photos |
A
timeline of significant events in Pierce, Texas1881:
The New York Texas and Mexican Railway lays tracks between Rosenberg and Victoria.
1883: Depot designated Pierce's Station
1884: One of Pierce's steers derails
train - Pierce demands payment
1886: A post office was granted under same
name
1890: population reaches 40 persons
1894: 160 acres surveyed and
town platted
1895: Name changed to simply Pierce, Texas
1900: Shanghai
Pierce dies and is buried beneath his pre-ordered monument
1921: Brick school
was built
1950: Pierce reaches highest population of 150
2000: Population
is reduced to only 49
Pierce had planned to make the town of Pierce the
county seat by giving a right-of-way to another railroad - making it a railroad
crossroads. He built a large hotel in anticipation, but the deal never came through.
A marker today stands where The Pierce Hotel once stood.
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