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The Masonic Lodge standing near the courthouse has
also served as the Kinney County Courthouse.
TE photo, March 2002 |
History in a Pecan
Shell
In 1852, the town was named after Oscar Brackett who
was a sutler to Fort Clark. The town started around his store around 1852 and
was first called Brackett (as it is today by residents).
In 1875 when
the town was granted a post office - the postal authorities assigned the ville
to avoid confusion with another Brackett, Texas.
When
Kinney County came into being in 1876, Brackettville became the county seat. The
Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway was heading toward Del
Rio and bypassed Brackettville. This would've killed any other town, but Brackettville
had Ft. Clark for economic security. Spofford
was the town who benefited from the railroad.
As Fort Clark's population
increased, so did the standard of living in Brackettville. |
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The Post Theatre
in Fort Clark
TE photo |
| | A
Brackettville limestone house
TE photo |
A local quarry supplied
limestone blocks for the building of permanent structures.
The years
of 1878-1882 were particularly prosperous, although there was a flood in 1880
(and other in 1899). Although the railroad bypassed Brackettville, there was daily
stagecoach service to Spofford
- 10 miles South. |
| | The
Kinney County Museum
TE photo |
In 1896 the town had a population of 1,000 which doubled by 1926. A good part
of the Brackettville population has historically been made up of the Seminole
Indian Scouts. This is a group descended from an original 150 Black and Seminole
Indians who were employed by the U.S. Army to scout around the border.
The town of Brackettville has a surprising amount of shade - especially along
Hackberry Creek.
Kinney County Courthouse > next page |
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The pool at Fort Clark (Las
Moras Springs)
TE photo |
Brackettville
Attractions Ft.
Clark Springs:
The former military installation was established in 1852, deactivated in 1947.
Old Guardhouse Museum: Open Saturday and Sunday 1-4. The
Kinney County MuseumThe
Seminole Indian Scout Cemetery: Just west of town on FM 693 and then South.
Follow the signs.
Alamo
Village: The
replica that people prefer over the original. North of Brackettville
Scenic
Drive: FM 674 North to Rocksprings
Kickapoo
Cavern State Park
Approximately 22 miles north
of Brackettville
Book Your Hotel Here
& Save
Del
Rio Hotels
Uvalde
Hotels
More Hotels
|
| | A
doorway in Brackettville
TE photo |
Brackettville
Texas HistoryBrackettville
Chronicles
The
Whirlwind Lt. John Lapham Bullis and the Seminole Negro Scouts by C. F.
Eckhardt
"One of the least-known heroes of the Texas frontier was
a man known to his followers as The Whirlwind and to his enemies as The Thunderbolt.....
John Bullis didn't do it all alone. He had a lot of help. The help, mostly, was
the Seminole Negro scouts. What became of them?..."Johanna
Domodora of South Texas by Linda-Kirkpatrick
Out of the PWA
the Works Progress Administration (WPA) was born. Thanks to the WPA and the monies
paid to writers, we now have a collection of interviews of people whose stories
would have been lost in history. Florence Angermiller's interview with Johanna
July of Brackettville, Texas is a story that I have read over and over...Army
Booze by Mike Cox (From "Texas Tales" Column)
"Living
amid the skyscraper canyons of New York City in the waning days of Prohibition,
Lt. Col. Jasper Ewing Brady Sr. reflected on his days as a young enlisted man
on the Texas border..." | |
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