Saint Patrick's Catholic Church

A very nice church in San Patricio.  I have to admit, most of what I remember is the sticker weeds that were a pain removing from my shoes and pants.  Marker 4476 was erected in 1992 and the church and marker can be found at the corner of Main St. and Magnolia.

Marker Text: Empresarios John McMullen and James McGloin brought irish catholic immigrant families to Texas about 1829 to form a new colony, San Patricio de Hibernia.  Under the direction of the Rev. Henry Doyle, the colonists established Saint Patrick's Catholic Church about 1830.  A fire in 1858 destroyed the original frame church building and all church records.  The Rt. Rev. Jean Marie Odin, first Bishop of Texas, dedicated a replacement church building about 1859.  Local citizens built a two and one half story building for a convent and school on the grounds of Saint Patrick's Church.  After an 1875 hurricane destroyed facilities at Indianola, nuns from the order of Sisters of Mercy relocated in San Patricio and operated Saint Joseph's convent and school from 1876 until 1884.  After a 1919 hurricane completely demolished the church facilities, the congregation rebuilt in 1922.  A need for a larger facility led the congregation to build a fourth structure in 1961.  Through the years Saint Patrick's Catholic Church has served the community with sunday mass and the sacraments and missions given by visiting priests

**Location**
N 27 57'17.409"
W 097 46'18.607
Main St. and Magnoia, San Patricio, San Patricio County
 
Marker Number 4476
 Erected 1992

Education in San Patricio

Not all markers are sponsored by government entities or historical associations.  Sponsored by a chapter of The Order of Alhambra, a Catholic charitable organization, this marker tells about early education and church activities in the area.   Erected in 1976 and located on Magnolia in San Patricio, to the left of the marker is Saint Joseph’s Catholic Church and to the right, a cemetery.

Text of the marker:  Education in San Patricio began in 1830 on this site in the picket cabin of Catherine Hoy.  In 1876 Saint Joseph's Convent was erected here.  The Sisters of Mercy, having left Indianola after the Hurricane of 1875, came to run the Mother House and school in San Patricio.  It closed in 1884.  The three story building was razed in 1897 and the lumber was used to build the first Catholic Church in Sinton.  The nuns were Mother Camillus Lucas, Sister Joseph Dunn, Sister Stanislaus Brodrick and six postulants.  Erected July 1976 by Order of The Alhambra Baza Caravan No. 78, Corpus Christi, Texas

Location
N 27 57' 15.645"
W 097 46'13.169"

San Patricio, San Patricio County, Texas

Erected 1976

Old Dougherty House

Old Doughtery House, this marker feels like it is in the middle of nowhere.  However there are 9 other markers near by so this area is rich in Marker Hunting possibilities.  It is a few miles west of Mathis, outside of San Patrcio.  The marker is on a corner near a store with no remnants of the old building to be seen.  Marker number 6342 was erected in 1970. 

Text on Marker:

     Location of noted St. Paul's Academy for Boys.  Home of school owner Robert Dougherty (1827-1881), a refugee from 1840s Irish famine.  Educated at St. Mary's College, Kentucky, Dougherty worked as a journalist and merchant before settling in Texas, here marrying Rachel Sullivan.  In 1867-1874, he was principal, Hidalgo Seminary, Corpus Christi.  Built his school here on Round Lake, near wife's family, 1876.  He taught geography, history, mathematics, Latin, Greek, classical literature and Gaelic--subjects rare in that era.  His seven children all began their careers as teachers.  (1970)

**Location**
N 27 57'20.410"
W 097 46'20.035

**Marker Number**
6342

**Location**   
W. Main and Nopal St., San Patricio, San Patricio County

John Howland Wood and Nancy Clark Wood House

Found this on my phone and nearly forgot that I took it. Very random, completely off the beaten track but well worth the effort to find. John Howland Wood and Nancy Clark Wood House is located on the shores of Copano Bay. If you were to turn 180 degrees from where I took this photo you would have an unimpeded view looking over the beautiful waters of the bay. An incredible sight. And this Bayside house was For Sale this summer! That is if you have a couple extra million laying around. Marker Number 12168

Marker Text : John Howland Wood (1816-1904) was born in Dutchess County, New York. Trained in the mercantile trade and apprenticed to a painter, Wood enlisted in the New York Battalion to aid the Texas revolution. He arrived in Texas in 1836 in time to participate in the Battle of San Jacinto and several other major events at the close of the war. Wood settled at Victoria as quartermaster of the Texas Army, marrying Nancy Anna Clark in 1842. They became civic and political leaders and the parents of twelve children. The woods moved to St. Mary's, later called Bayside, where they opened a mercantile business and began to acquire vast land holdings throughout the state while John established himself as a cattleman. In 1849 they purchased this property, establishing a ranch which Nancy Wood dubbed "Bonnie View." Lightning damage to the original house led to the construction of this magnificent edifice on its foundations in 1875. Erected by contractors Viggo Kohler and Hugo Heldenfels, the structure combines a typical Greek revival plan with exuberant high Victorian Italianate detailing. The two-tiered, full-height projecting portico supported by Italianate columns establishes the house's imposing character. The house also features pedimented window surrounds, bracketed eaves and a "widow's walk" or "captain's walk," reflecting the architecture of John Wood's native New York. The house's presence on the rural Texas Coast, where few mansions were built, surely impressed visitors and area residents alike during the post-Civil War era. An outstanding example of the Italianate style, it remains one of the area's most substantial and least-altered country mansions of the period. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1998

Site of Old Saint Mary's

At 202 N. St. Mary's Street in San Antonio you can find this piece of history. This has been the  site of St. Mary’s since the early years as a state when they started holding services in 1857. The current church was built in 1924 to replace the older church which had been destroyed in a flood in 1921.  The THC marker number is 15600. 



Marker Text:
After the Texas War for Independence, numerous immigrants, notably from Ireland, Germany, and the Eastern United States, arrived in San Antonio. The need to minister to these non-Hispanic Catholics prompted the Rt. Rev. John M. Odin, first Bishop of Galveston, to establish a separate church for them.   In 1852 land at this site was purchased from the heirs of Ambrocio Rodriguez, a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto. In 1855 Bishop Odin authorized a building project, undertaken by the Rev. J.M. DuBuis, who became first pastor of St. Mary's Parish and later second Bishop of Galveston. A stately Gothic church building was constructed and opened for worship in mid-1857, serving both English and German-speaking congregations. (In 1869 St. Joseph's Church assumed the ministry for the German Catholics.) On July 1, 1884, the oblates of Mary Immaculate accepted responsibility for St. Mary's, with the Rev. Richard J. Maloney as first oblate pastor.   The old church building was also the site of a seminary, an early free parochial school, the publication of a major Catholic newspaper, and the founding of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.   In 1921 flood irreparably damaged the church building. This Neo-Romanesque structure was dedicated in 1924. (1985) 

Location:
202 N. St. Mary's Street, San Antonio, Tx. 78205

Austin Landmark medallions and plaques

The Historic Landmark Commission is charged with reviewing and granting landmark designations in the City of Austin. But it is the Historic Preservation Office that protects and enhances them.  Many of the properties designated as a Austin Landmark either have a medallion or a plaque identifying the property as such.  The plaques may have a description telling something about the property.

Plaque outside the Paramount Theatre
on Congress Ave.

This medallion was on a building on Congress Ave.

Now on Instagram!

I now have an account on Instagram where I will posting photos of markers and markings of various types that I come across in my travels.  Look for me as tx_markers

Here is a post I did earlier today:

Peace Officer Memorial on SH-71

This memorial for Trooper Carlos Warren can be seen going east bound on SH-71 between Austin and Bastrop. The Peace Officer Memorial sign is your warning to slow down if you are interested in taking a closer look. There a small outcropping of pavement right in front of the memorial giving some space to park.

Excerpt from the Officer Down page:

 Trooper Carlos Warren was shot and killed when he interrupted an abduction in progress at a rural highway rest area on Highway 71 near Del Valle, Texas. He was shot in the neck.

Read more: http://www.odmp.org/officer/184-trooper-carlos-ray-warren#ixzz3A1vTPPxe

 

The Memorial

The plaque reads:

We the people of the State of Texas acknowledge and thank Trooper Carlos Warren for the great sacrifice he made to keep the public safe.  His efforts will stand the test of time.  May God bless his soul.

The Plaque

This sign can be seen east bound on SH-71.

This memorial and tribute was donated by Richard Metcalf. You can find more information about where the markers for Peace Officer Memorials come from on this TxDPS page

Bastrop

Another photo safari yesterday, this time to Bastrop.  It wasn't the main reason that I went, but I took advantage of the opportunity to take photos of different kinds of markers while I was there.  Weather didn't help since it was about 108 outside.  Wow.

But I came away with several markers along with a few photo jaunts at Bastrop State Park and at a small abandoned gas station along the way.

Only four of the markers that I found Friday around Bastrop

Camp Mabry

Yesterday I decided to visit Camp Mabry.  Home of Texas' military forces.  What I was looking for was to visit their excellent military history museum and to find five historical markers.  Three of the markers were listed on HMdb.org's Want List. 

I highly recommend the museum if you are in Austin.  It has some great resources about the history of Texas military forces along with a lot of heavy hardware both inside and outside of the museum. We are talking weapons, tanks, airplanes and more. And best of all, it is free!

I was completely successful finding the markers I came to find plus one oddball marker that was behind a fence in an semi abandoned vehicle storage area.

Collage of the five markers I came to find

The strange hidden marker

This has all the trappings of a historical marker.  Made out of sturdy material, such as the granite used here.  State of Texas seal.  But all it has is a list of names of military personnel and dates and it was in a fenced in "junk" area.