The Post Office Department of revoluntionary Texas was established
December 13, 1835 with fifteen routes laid out. The route serving
Robertson County was No. 8, described as "Whitesides to Viesca via
Tenexithlan and Nashville". Cole's Settlement, later called
Independence, Washington Co., was the home of Whitesides.
The headquarters of Austin's Colony, San Felipe, was the starting point
for all mail, carried radially in all directions. By land, mail came
into Texas via Jefferson, Gaines Ferry, Calcasieu. Mail Route No. 15
was from San Felipe to Franklin via Smithwick's Crossing, Travis Cedar
Creek, Somerville, Washington, Wheelock, Franklin. At Wheelock the
Cavitt House (later called Cavitt-Armstrong House) was the stage stop...
a busy and interesting place with a big guest book in which everyone
registered....from the many signatures of Sam Houston down to the mark
of Andrew Knapp, freighter...and thereafter enjoyed a fine meal or the
meals and an occasional overnight stay.
During the War between the States, S. B. Killough was Captain of the
Home guard at Wheelock, to protect the settlers from possible slave
uprisings.
In 1863 the Confederate Government decided to establish a multi-purpose
mill to gin cotton, card and spin wool, grind flour, in Robertson Co.,
Texas. The site was to be Wheelock in a spot designated as Easterwood's
pasture. Financing was to be by planter subscription to a cotton pool.
The Brazos Mfg. Co., a joint stock company, was chartered by the state
with planters as subscribers to the stock. Due to the blockade of
Southern ports by the Union, it had become impossible for planters to
deliver their cotton to European markets, thus piling up a great surplus
of cotten in Texas at the time.
The great distance, the time it took to accomplish the 1300 mile round
trip made exporting cotton prohibitive. However, the Confederate Army
was desperate and the soldiers without proper clothing and this proposed
mill seemed to hold an answer to their problem.
Capt. Chas. P. Salter and Alf Johnson's Scouts, Hindman's Division of
the Confederate Anny was ordered to take over the enterprise of the mill
as director. Each planter who entered into the plan was to subscribe 5O
or 100 bales of cotton until a total of 1450 had been reached. Since
cotton was bringing one dollar a pound the subscribed total was to have
been worth the needed $700,000 in gold. It was represented to the
planters that when the mill got into production each subscriber could
expect to get $500.00 per bale profit. The subscribers were among the
largest planters of the country. Volney Cavitt subscribed 50 bales. It
is not recorded whether or not the Armstrong family subscribed though we
do have l8 of the 19 families who subscribed. Beside the director of the
enterprize, Chas. B. Salter, and Volney Cavitt there were: Tom Anderson,
C. 0. Barton, Robert Clavert, William Burnett, Coleman Garett, J.T.
Garrett, Dr. B.F. Hammond, J.S. Hanna, C.C. Hearne, Chas. Lewis, Mrs.
Mitchell, J.C. Roberts, the Talbot family, W. P. Townsend, and Aaron
Woods.
An ox-team freighter, Andrew Knapp, was assigned the duty of getting the
machinery, ordered from European countries, from Matamoros to Wheelock
and to freight the cotten from Wheelock to the same junction for
export. To make the entire venture military in command the freighter
was given the rank of Lieutenant in Quartermasters Corps, 23rd Texas
Calvary,
Bennevides Brigade.
Millstones cut from Buhr stone, manufactured in France, costing the
company $2000.oo gold, each, were to be the largest single item
freighted in from the port. It would take five months for each
roundtrip and each wagon of the train could haul only 8 or 10 bales of
cotton each trip.
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The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched.
It must be felt with the heart. Helen Keller
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Last Blue Promise...Poetry and Links to All my Web Sites
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Bistro/6720/index.html
OR
http://www.fortunecity.com/bally/meath/45/index.html
...It is in silence where music lies...
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Listowner CARRINGTON & CAVITT Surnames**ICQ#1280761
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