Cotton Bales in Bronson Circa 1902 Men line up on the front porch of the Hamilton-Pratt Mercantile Company Store, which opened for business in July of 1902. It was the first retail store to open in Bronson, Texas. The town of Bronson was laid out in the spring of 1902, and the first lots were sold by the Santa Fe Town Site Company on July 4, 1902. A. D. Hamilton and J. W. Minton acted as representatives for the company. On May 14, 1902, work began on the erection of a boarding house to accommodate the employees of the railroad and the Kirby Lumber Company sawmill, both of which were in the course of construction. At that time the terminus of the coming railroad (Gulf, Beaumont & Great Northern), was still seven miles south of the town. The Kirby mill did not begin operations until December of the same year. The next buildings to be constructed were the residence of J. W. Minton and the building that housed the Hamilton-Pratt Mercantile Company. These buildings were probably completed in July of 1902. The railroad was completed to Bronson in June with the first construction train arriving on June 15th. The first retail goods sold in the town were disposed of from a freight car by J. W. Minton, general manager of the Hamilton-Pratt store. The general officers of this store were A. D. Hamilton, president; John Henry Kirby, vice-president; G. E. Pratt, secretary and treasurer; and J. W. Minton, general manager. Toole & Company (from Hemphill) also purchased a townsite during 1902 and constructed a building which housed their large mercantile company. J. O. Toole, the senior member of the firm, had been a merchant in Hemphill since 1885. J. P. Weatherred, a member of a pioneer Sabine County family, was a junior partner and managed the Bronson store. During the same year, two physicians, Drs. R. D. Cousins and F. M. Fonville, began the practice of medicine in the town. Among the other businesses established in Bronson during the latter part of 1902 were: Hancock Hotel—operated by W. R. Hancock McDaniel Hotel—operated by W. F. McDaniel A. A. Fuller Livery and Feed Stable J. E. Ford, Contractor and Builder Bronson Drug Company - operated by P. J. Burgess Sabine Drug Company—operated by Dr. W. C. Arthur and Dr. Chapman of Geneva Cousins and Laurence Dry Goods and Groceries The Stille Mercantile Company—operated by Norman Williams C. J. Childers Mercantile Company Payne and Cohea General Merchandise McElroy Brothers Iron and Blacksmith Shop D. S. Dean Mercantile Company— managed by E. D. King T. W. Jeans & Sons Cotton Gin A weekly newspaper entitled The Bronson Bulletin, began publication in Bronson on November 14, 1902 under the direction of William A. Fields, publisher. It is not known how long the paper was published , but I have an issue from 1904. In looking at the above information which shows a considerable number of retail establishments opening up during the first six months of the life of the town, one might wonder how the town could support such a large group. The reason appears clear when one considers the manpower needed in the railroad construction, construction and operation of the Kirby Lumber Company sawmill, and the beginning of the cutting of the virgin pine timber of the county. The townsite was named after Samuel Bronson Cooper, who served as United States Congressman from the First Congressional District from 1893 to 1905. The first post office was established in October 1902 with Nathan Pratt serving as the first postmaster. Much evidence appears that helps verify the date of this picture, including: 1) Standing timber 2) Brand new structures 3) Cloth Banner sign 4) construction scraps 5) Lack of grass and weeds 6) Pine stumps and hollow log Beginning with the early pioneers, cotton was grown extensively in Sabine County, and was considered the principal money crop. In 1910, when the Texas A&M Agricultural Extension Service began keeping records in the county, Sabine County farmers produced 2,409 bales of cotton which averaged $14.33 per pound. Cotton production had pretty well disappeared here by the 1960s. Bronson had boomed and faded simultaneously, although its misfortune was tied to lack of available timber and sawmill fires... not cotton.
Posted on: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 17:32:07 +0000
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