Mary Lee Pettus Canada’s obituary. Mary Lee Canada was a respected resident of Beeville for more than sixty years. Born in Goliad on September 26, 1884, Mary Lee Pettus married Elvy Canada in 1909 and moved to Beeville. She was a member of Bethlehem Baptist Church and was the first Worthy Matron of the Golden Leaf Chapter # 593, Order of the Eastern Star which had been organized in Beeville in 1928. She and Elvy had one daughter, Alma Hampton, who worked the summers in the fields to earn money for her first tuition at Guadalupe, a school for blacks in Seguin, and taught school for forty-two years. Mary Lee Pettus Canada died on June 20, 1964.

This is an old photograph of a mott of trees near the courthouse square where people left their wagons pulled by either mules or horses in early Beeville, Texas. Picture courtesy Mrs. R. J. Welder."

Postcard of the cotton gin in Normanna in 1910. Santa Domingo was the community’s first name. It was located nine miles north of Beeville where the Santa Domingo Creek joined the Medio Creek, and was settled about 1848. Jose Maria Uranga’s eleven leagues, the largest single Mexican grant in Bee County (1831), covered much of the community. In 1874 it was known as Walton Station after the sheriff of Bee County, D.A.T. Walton. In 1893 a Norwegian colony moved into the area and settled two miles east of Walton. That settlement is still called the Colony. A Walton post office was established in 1894, but another Texas town already had the name of Walton, so the town became Normanna. (Norwegian for “far north or one from the far north”.) In the early days Normanna had three churches, two doctors, two schools, a hotel, a weekly newspaper, five general stores, a drugstore, a gin, barbershop, a tin shop, a saloon, dance hall, the post office and a general store.

Photograph of an angled view of the Normanna school which is the first school in Normanna. This first school for Normanna was constructed in 1889 at the site of the present school, on the corner of Main and Live Oak Streets. Along with its function as a school, it was also used as a church, community center, and for other purposes. In the 1900's a two-story schoolhouse was erected, and in 1926 a new schoolhouse was built. In the late 1930's, the Normanna school was consolidated with the Pettus and Tuleta schools.

Postcard of the first Humble Oil Tanker taking out the first load of oil from the Maggie Ray McKinney oil well. On December 29, 1929 as the Houston Oil Company drilled for gas, the first oil well in Bee County was brought in on the JJ McKinney land east of Pettus. Humble Oil and Refining Company completed McKinney No. 1 Oil Well, Bee County, January 31, 1930. The discovery brought a rush of people to the community of Pettus. The discovery of oil relieved the pressure of depression. By 1937, the county boasted of 53 gas fields, with 212 wells, and 62 oil fields, with 456 wells, producing 1,863,806 barrels of oil. Oil and gas are still important industries in Bee County.

Photograph of John W. and Gussle Flournoy's early Beeville home. Flournoy John W. Flournoy, a Lockhart native, came to Beeville with little more than a mule and his saddle bags after graduating from Emery and Henry College in Virginia in 1879. He met and married (1881) Miss Gussie Hitchings, a teacher from Normanna, and the couple moved to Beeville. Flournoy was a teacher, attorney, railroad booster, legislator, and banker. He served as the president of Commercial Bank in Beeville from 1898 until his death in July of 1916. “Miss Gussie”, whose buggy was parked outside of elementary schools for many years, was a respected Beeville teacher for thirty-seven years. Flournoy Elementary School, built in 1952, was named for her. John and Gussie later bought A.C. Jones home which was located on the hill where the college now stands. They moved this grand home into town by mule and wagon. It sat across from Flournoy Park until it was razed in 1946.

Photograph of children that appear to be playing in front of the Orangedale School in 1913. In the early 1900’s the Wangeman Ranch was divided into small tracts and sold mostly to people from Northeastern and Eastern States who wanted to settle here and produce citrus fruits, particularly oranges. From which they derived the name Orangedale, and it was lcated about five miles west of Beeville on the road to Mineral. Around 1906 the settlers began to arrive to Orangedale. Included among these settlers was W.C. Stevenson (Bill) of Niagara Falls, New York, who later formed an architectural firm with Fritz Heldenfels and drew the plans for the present county courthouse. Many of the families found that other fruits and vegetables do better than oranges. Others moved on. Friendship Baptist Church still serves many families of farmers and ranchers in the area.

A group of men enjoy a drink, the accordion music, and a game of cards. The wagon on the right, “JJ Meinrath Bakery”, belonged to John Meinrath. John Meinrath operated a bakery in Beeville in 1898. His bakery featured all kinds of cakes and bread. The "San Antonio Brewing Ass'n." wagon may have supplied the saloons in Beeville in the late 1890's.

Photograph of Robert's Store on the left and the Pettus Hotel on the right. In 1888 W.T. Roberts moved his family from San Domingo to Pettus where he bought a hotel, and on April 6, 1891 opened a store. This store burned down in 1901. He rebuilt in 1903, and the first telephone in the area was located in the store. Several years later a switchboard was installed in the Roberts Hotel with Miss Lula Roberts as operator. In 1929 or 1930, a disastrous fire burned the hotel and some seven business houses. Mr. Roberts’ store did not burn. In 1932 W.T. Roberts Company built the first brick business house in Pettus. It continue to operate until 1965,

Photograph of a portrait of A. C. Jones. A veteran of the last battle of the Civil War, Captain Allen Carter Jones was born in Nacogdoches County in 1830 to early Texas settlers. He served as sheriff in Goliad County from 1858-1860. Jones joined the Confederacy Army as a private when the Civil War began. Within eighteen months, his leadership abilities resulted in his promotion to Captain. In 1874, the Captain settled in Beeville where he became a merchant, banker, land owner, philanthropist, and cattleman. Captain Jones contributed a large share of the funds necessary to bring the railroad to Bee County in 1886. He also served as Beeville’s first mayor, county treasurer, the general manager of the Beeville Oil Mill, and he was a promoter of public schools in the area. He is acknowledged by all as the “Father of Beeville”. Captain A.C. Jones died in 1904.

Two photographs of Skidmore, Texas. The top photograph of the Skidmore Garage shows John F. Petrus standing on the right and James Galloway on the left (1922). In 1929 John F. Petrus built a large garage adjacent to the bank building and became “Mr. Fix-It”. Any job that couldn’t be done satisfactorily any place else, ended at Mr. John’s. The garage was still open in the 1970’s as the oldest business building still in use. John Ferdinand Petrus (November 30, 1893 to March 18, 1979) married Justina Catherine Hartman (August 4, 1895 to February 11, 1992) on November 12, 1917 in Skidmore. They are both buried in Evergreen Cemetery outside of Skidmore. John and Isabelle Galloway arrived in Skidmore in 1884 as a young married couple from Broxburne, Scotland, John worked for Frank Skidmore. After organizing a community Sunday School for all denominations, in 1890 he helped organize the Methodist Church. Mr. Galloway owned the Little Gem Confectionery in Skidmore. His son, John Galloway Jr. owned and operated Farmers Mercantile. That business evolved into a successful funeral business now located in Beeville. The second picture is a bird's eye view looking north of Skidmore at an unknown date.

Photograph of the Praeger Building located on the corner of Washington and W.Corpus Christi Street. San Antonio businessman, Albert Praeger (1864-1930) moved to Beeville in the 1890’s to open a hardware store and tin shop. In 1906, Praeger built this Romanesque Revival structure on the northwest corner of the courthouse square to house his hardware business. In 1925, Central Power and Light began providing the city with water. With a reliable source of water, Mr. Albert Praeger made plans to turn the second story of the Praeger hardware store into apartments; they would be the first downtown apartments in Beeville. W.C. Stephenson was the architect for the apartments. In 2002, the new state-of-the-art Joe Barnhart Bee County Library was opened in the newly restored Praeger Building.

Photograph of Professor William E. Madderra, a Latin and Greek scholar, and a master mathematician. Professor W.E. Madderra, one of the most brilliant and intellectual teachers, started his teaching career in Beeville in 1898, In 1999, Mr. Madderra moved to Nacogdoches to serve as superintendent, however he returned after a year when his uncle, Superintendent T.G. Arnold, became ill. In 1900 the board named him superintendent, a position he held until his death in 1936.

Photograph of public school in Pettus. In 1892 this one-room schoolhouse, 18’ by 24’, was built in Pettus. It had two windows on the north side and two windows on the south. The boards on the inside of the east end were painted black to be used for a blackboard. The only door was to the west. The benches were home-made and the children brought their own lunches and water to drink. Miss Evelyn Hardeman was the first teacher and she had 13 students in grades first through fourth. As the community continued to grow the school was classified as a third-class high school in 1912. In 1917 or 1918, a stucco school building was erected.

Postcard of school children standing in front Pettus school. In 1892 this one-room schoolhouse, 18’ by 24’, was built in Pettus. It had two windows on the north side and two windows on the south. The boards on the inside of the east end were painted black to be used for a blackboard. The only door was to the west. The benches were home-made and the children brought their own lunches and water to drink. Miss Evelyn Hardeman was the first teacher and she had 13 students in grades first through fourth. As the community continued to grow the school was classified as a third-class high school in 1912. In 1917 or 1918, a stucco school building was erected

Photograph of a store built by R. J. Bradford in Normanna. The words "R. J. Bradford Dealer in General Merchandise" can be seen above the awning.

Photograph of a group of men standing outside of the train depot. Located in Pettus. Well equipped with S.A.A.P. brass spittoons, each depot became a social center.

Photograph of the "Front of Rialto Theater, Beeville" as stated at the bottom of the photograph. The Rialto Theater was built in 1922, as the flagship for the 22-theater chain owned by H.W. Hall and family. After a fire in 1935 destroyed the interior, the theater was remodeled in an Art Moderne style by the original architect, W.C. Stephenson and the theatre architect John Eberson, famous for the Majestic Theater in San Antonio. The first radio station in Beeville was located in the threatre's second story. KFRB took to the airways in December, 1924. Local and neighboring town's talent entertained listeners as far away as Oklahoma City. Months later, interest died, and the station ended its broadcasting.

Drawing of the Rialto Theater. The Rialto Theater was built in 1922, as the flagship for the 22-theater chain owned by H.W. Hall and family. After a fire in 1935 destroyed the interior, the theater was remodeled in an Art Moderne style by the original architect, W.C. Stephenson and the theatre architect John Eberson, famous for the Majestic Theater in San Antonio.

The building of the San Antonio & Aransas Pass Railroad through Bee County in 1886 was one of the greatest history-making events that occurred in this little pioneer section. Driving cattle to various markets was a tiring trip; cattle could now travel by rail. Frank O. Skidmore, a rancher on the Aransas Creek, gave SA&AP the right of way across his land and also donated land to develop the town site of Skidmore. To provide a rail connection with the Texas Mexican Railway, Uriah Lott, the man who built the SA&AP Railroad, built a line south from Skidmore to Alice in 1887. As an indication of the importance of Skidmore as a rail center, it had a round house and by 1926, an icing dock to re-ice the vegetables from the alley. It was the only icing dock between Edinburg and Hearne. The eleven-mile section between Skidmore and Beeville accommodated an average of eighteen trains a day, with as many as forty-two trains during the peak of the harvest season

Photograph of the students that attend Saint Mary's Academy in 1916. Saint Mary’s Academy was opened in the fall of 1896 by the Sisters of Divine Providence as Beeville's first parochial school. Within a year a large two-story day and boarding school were added. Fire destroyed the academy building in December of 1930. St. Joseph’s School was built on the same location (400 N Tyler St). In 1996, Our Lady of Victory Catholic School and St. Joseph’s combined to form the new St. Mary’s Academy on the same location as the early founding school.

This postcard, sent in 1907, shows a horse drawn buggy crossing the St. Mary’s Street Bridge over Poesta Creek. In the 1870’s the county provided roads with plowed furrow on each side of a clearing in the direction of Refugio, Goliad, San Patricio, Oakville, Saint Mary’s, and Helena. In 1888, a bond issue called for four bridges. Eight wrought iron bridges were reported at the turn of the century.

Photograph of Saint Rose Cemetery, an historical African-American cemetery in Beeville. St. Rose Cemetery located at 1302 East Hefferman St, lies on a 2.5-acre tract. In 1901, Nancy Williams, a former slave, was the first person buried in the new cemetery. Mose Lott and Allen Canada, builders of the first school for African Americans in Beeville, are also buried here. Since this picture was taken, the Lott-Canada Alumni Association erected brick pillars with brass plaques at both entrances to replace the wrought iron sign which had been donated by the Juneteenth Committee. The dirt road has also been replaced with a paved road by the county. In 2008 a dedication ceremony was held after Saint Rose was desigated a Texas Historical Cemetery.

Photograph of the small, wooden San Domingo school. This schoolhouse was built by Mrs. John (Sallie) Pettus in 1859 on the west side of the Dry Medio, and moved in 1867 to between the Medio and Dry Medio Creeks. The schoolhouse was moved again in 1870 to the banks of Toro Creek. Miss Gussie Hitchens, who later married John W. Flournoy, was the first teacher. In the late 1870’s the schoolhouse was moved to the San Domingo community about two miles west of the present Normanna town site.