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KATEMCY,
TEXASMason
County, Texas
Hill Country
FM 1222 a mile East of Highway 87
12 miles N of
Mason
Population:
90 (2000) |
"Photo
of my dad Kenneth Hill in 1925. He is with his horse “Prince”, his dog “Shep”
and his .22 rifle." - Brian Hill
More Vintage
Photos |
History
in a Pecan Shell
According to legend, early settler Andy Coots had a community named Cootsville
in his honor. Anything had to be better - even if it was named after a Comanche
chief.
John O. Meusebach, famed German negotiator with the Comanches
is said to have signed a treaty with Ketemoczy, a Comanche chief sometime around
1847. Anglo-Americans built close to the Germans by the mid 1870s and by 1880
the town was thriving.
John, Elias, and Alfred Cowan built a sawmill,
gristmill, and cotton gin. The post office was opened in 1884 in the store of
Alfred Cowan. Cowan had jokingly applied for the name Hammerville because of the
constant sound of construction - but this was rejected and the name Katemcy submitted
and accepted.
In 1883 Picket School was opened when Baptist minister
Lawson Jones donated the land. The name was later changed to Friendship School.
When the building was no longer needed - it became the Friendship Baptist Church.
Inexpensive land and abundant water drew people from other communities
and the population was estimated around 150 between 1900 and 1904.
Katemcy's
decline began in the mid 1920s. The population fell to 100 and rural schools consolidated
with those of Mason in 1945.
From
the late 60s through the mid 80s the population estimate was 162 which has further
declined to less than 100.
Where
to Stay - Katemcy, Texas Area
Hotels
Fredericksburg
Hotels |
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Katemcy
ChroniclesLehmann
Show by Mike Cox ("Texas Tales" Column)
When
Fred Gipson's family went to an old-settlers reunion and fair at Katemcy to see
the aging Herman Lehmann put on a one-man exhibition, the Mason County youngster
got a taste of the old west far more realistic than anything he ever saw in a
Tom Mix movie...more |
Katemcy Texas
ForumSubject:
Katemcy, Texas Photo
The
picture was taken while he lived in Katemcy. Not sure how long the family lived
there. I know they moved to Mountaire, New Mexico by the 1930. If you have any
other information about the Hill Family that would be great. - Brian Hill,
January 02, 2011
Subject:
Katemcy Texas
The information you have listed for this Texas town is erroneous
on two points. The "early settler" was Andrew (Andy) Jackson Coots, not "Coot"--hence
the name "Cootsville". He did not deplore the name of the settlement as you opine.
Mr. Meusebach and other German settlers made unilateral decision to change the
name of the town.
Andrew (Andy) Coots was my mother's (Charlotte Laverne
Coots) great-grandfather and he and his brothers are listed among the first landowners
in the Republic of Texas -- having first owned land in counties in Northeast Texas
and then moved south and west to Katemcy. Andy's wife, a woman not 5 foot tall,
often sat by the door of their small wood cabin with a hatchet to protect the
family from Chief Katemoczy's warriors. Andy's son Charles Coots married a member
from Chief Katemoczy's tribe -- her name was Lara Bell Watts. Charles and Lara
were my mother's grandparents. Several of our relatives are buried in the cemetary
at Katemcy and at the cemetary in Brady, Texas. The treaty with Comanche Chief
Ketemoczy was signed around "1847"-- not "1947" as you list. Thank you. - Kim
LaRocca, February 03, 2006
Where
to Stay - Katemcy, Texas Area
Hotels
Fredericksburg
Hotels |
 |
Mason
County Texas 1907 Postal map showing Katemcy
(Above "S" in "MASON")
Courtesy
Texas General Land Office |
Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories, and vintage/historic
photos of their town, please contact
us.
Where
to Stay - Katemcy, Texas Area
Hotels
Fredericksburg
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