For the people who don't get the Houston Chronicle newspaper in Houston,
Texas I thought you might like to see what they had to say about Calvert,
Texas (named after Robert Calvert)
Laura Calvert Bates
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Tucked away in the heart of ``Booger" County lies a unique remnant of the
Victorian era: Calvert , Texas . Like the rest of Robertson County, nicknamed
``Booger" for its lawlessness, Calvert was a haven for gamblers, thieves and
highwaymen in the late 1800s. Shootouts and holdups were commonplace.
Merchants served cash customers a free cup of whiskey, and stacks of gold
glittered at the tables of the gambling houses. Freight wagons pulled by
oxen, horses and mules raced into town to deliver their goods to the Houston
and Texas Central Railroad.
``Calvert at one time had 17 saloons on Main Street, and a man was killed in
every one of 'em," says Cooper Wiese, former Calvert mayor and lifelong
resident, recalling stories told to him as a child.
Today Calvert , a sleepy town 30 minutes north of College Station, displays
its history in more civilized ways. Thirty-seven of its blocks are included
in the National Register of Historic Places, and many buildings display the
Texas official historical medallion.
Calvert 's former residents include the notorious female outlaw Belle Starr
and three World War II rear admirals. Former Los Angeles Mayor Thomas Bradley
also once called it home.
In the heart of town lies Calvert Cemetery. Long, rambling branches of oak
trees shade and protect the gravestones that hint at the story of Calvert 's
good ol' days.
Some are simple; some are great stone mausoleums; some are guarded by angels.
The gravestones of the very young, carved with little lambs, are sprinkled
heavily among those of the old-timers who defined Calvert 's history.
Many show the death year of 1873, when a yellow fever epidemic struck the
city. Citizens blamed a sick traveling salesman for the outbreak; doctors
didn't understand yellow fever was transmitted by mosquitoes. Trains came
through Calvert with their windows closed and stopped outside the town only
to drop off mail and supplies.
The primitive medical treatment of bleeding and the administration of drugs
such as laudanum, an opium derivative, and calomel, a mercury-based laxative,
only increased the death rate. More than 1,900 residents became ill, and at
least 300 died, including George F. Randolph, a nephew of Thomas Jefferson.
Across the street, Virginia Field Park beckons strollers to picnic,
contemplate the past or relax around the 19th-century steepled pavilion.
Designed by a New York architect, the pavilion was used for lively concerts
and dancing. American and Texas flags stand ceremoniously, saluting the
haunting echoes of the Calvert Cornet Band.
Imagine a treehouse on a pole called a ``sky parlor" standing in the park.
This long-gone structure served as a prison for Southern sympathizers during
Reconstruction (1868-1873), when federal soldiers were stationed in Calvert .
In the cemetery is the grave of Dr. Benjamin Franklin Hammond, a wealthy
landowner who was jailed in the ``sky parlor" for once owning slaves.
Sprinkled around the park and cemetery, Victorian mansions of rich merchants
and cotton-plantation owners remind strollers of a bygone era. Two of the
most striking occupy an entire city block each. Built in 1905 and 1906 for
brothers P.C. and Jack Gibson, both houses are enhanced with soaring Ionic
columns and two-story wraparound porches. The interiors boast extensive wood
wainscoting, immense pocket doors and numerous fireplaces.
The Gibson brothers owned the Gibson Gin and Oil Co., once the largest cotton
gin in the world. It was destroyed by fire in 1965. The P.C. Gibson house
recently opened as the Calvert Inn.
A block away, an imposing Greek Revival in soft yellow honors the style with
dentil course, massive fluted Ionic columns and louvered shutters. A
second-story, semicircular balustrade punctuates the period detail. Inside,
the library contains the original built-in sliding ladder.
In the shadow of the cemetery sits an enchanting surprise: a Queen Anne
catalog home built in 1880. Shades of green highlight the imbricated
shingles, while cream and rusty red emphasize the trim of this eclectic
architectural style. The Italian Gothic corner chimney encases a lovely
curved window. A mansard-roofed cupola hovers gracefully over the dwelling's
baroque features. Cater-cornered from this home is a simple one-story Greek
Revival house built by Randolph, who married the granddaughter of Robert
Calvert , for whom the town was named. Robert Calvert is credited for
bringing the railroad and resulting prosperity to the town.
Amid the grand homes, Calvert also boasts two residences purchased from a
Sears & Roebuck catalog. Purchase prices: $1,200. The parts, marked with
numbers and assembled accordingly, were delivered by rail and taken by ox
cart to the building site.
Many of Calvert 's historical homes offer accommodations with century-old
iron beds, antique claw-foot bathtubs, decorative fireplaces and lofty
ceilings.
Calvert can be a base for touring the George Bush Presidential Library or
attending Texas A&M football games and other university events in nearby
College Station.
Visitors to Calvert may view a Home of the Week ($3 per person) every
Saturday. Numerous homes are open twice a year during the Spring Pilgrimage,
the first weekend of May, and the Christmas Home Tour, the first weekend of
December.
Finish the stroll with a walk down Main Street. A famous mule driver once
turned a 20-mule team 180 degrees on this 64-foot-wide street, built just for
such uses.
Visit the Old Cotton Scale Emporium, an antiques shop that was once the
weighing station for the Gibson gin.
The Art of Texas Gallery exhibits a collection of handcrafted art works.
Proprietor Sonny Moss creates pottery designs that evoke images of the
outdoors, using his own ``Earth and Sky" glazes. His signature can be found
in the boot-strap handles of pitchers and teapots.
The center of downtown is anchored by the Calvert Antique Mall, where
visitors may purchase an entire hand-painted miniature Fightin' Texas Aggie
Marching Band made with lead-soldier molds.
Across the street, the Jacques Adoue Building is home to Boll Weevil
Antiques, stuffed with upscale 18th- and 19th-century furniture and
porcelains. A selection of antique prints and period jewelry rounds out their
collection.
Jacques Adoue, once one of the most influential men in Central Texas , owned
the Calvert Ice, Water and Electric Co., which warehoused beer forAdolph
Busch of St. Louis. Adoue's amazing horse, Dan, made beer deliveries to
merchants around town without a driver.
And Dan, who also pulled the fire engine, was even more famous for his
beer-drinking habits. At the Calvert Volunteer Fire Department meetings, he
could guzzle half a barrel all by himself. Dan's drunkenness never once
interfered with his deliveries.
Farther down Main Street, art conservator Bob Norman keeps company in his
studio with Rembrandts and Reubens. Well-known throughout Texas by
institutions and private collectors, he's a specialist in the restoration of
antique oil paintings. His restorations may take months as he tediously
reweaves torn canvases by matching individual fibers before he even begins
the process of repainting.
Norman is also a sailor, at least in spirit. He keeps a 24-foot sailboat
anchored in a small pond in his back yard.
For lunch, try one of the small restaurants downtown. For a romantic evening,
dine in Victorian surroundings with a five-course meal at the Calvert Inn.
Roast Corn Black Bean Salad arranged on a bed of arugula follows Smoked
Salmon With Caviar Bonaparte.
Frank and Sandy Hudson, hosts at the Calvert Inn and the Pink House, another
landmark hostelry, ladle a rich cream of asparagus soup with juicy hunks of
crab for the third course. Main-course favorites include Char-Grilled Heavy
Beef Filet Mignon, Shrimp to Die For and Key West Mango Chicken, a
mango-stuffed chicken breast fried in a light coconut crust. Regulars save
room for the Coeur a la Creme in Raspberry Coulis.
HOW TO GET THERE: Take U.S. 290 north from Houston and exit Texas 6 toward
Bryan. Calvert is 30 miles north of Bryan-College Station on Texas 6.
Bed and breakfasts include:
Calvert Inn, 1105 China, and Pink House Gourmet Bed and Breakfast, 808 Pin
Oak, 800-290-1213 or 409-364-2868.
Pin Oak Bed and Breakfast, 503 Pin Oak, 409-364-2935.
Proctor House Bed and Breakfast, 508 Gregg, 409-364-3702.
Room rates range from $85 to $125.
Call the Calvert Chamber of Commerce at 409-364-2559 for more information.