Chappell Hill, Texas
Encyclopedia
Chappell Hill is a small rural community in the eastern portion of Washington County, Texas
, United States
. It is located along U.S. Highway 290 roughly halfway between Brenham
and Hempstead
. Chappell Hill is located inside Stephen F. Austin
's original colony and the land is some of the oldest-settled in the state.
watershed. The area is part of the Gulf Coastal Plain
and terrain is rolling hills.
became the area's main crop.
Jacob and Mary Haller also built the Stagecoach Inn of Chappell Hill
in 1850, which they operated until 1859 and continued under new ownership until 1871. Because the Inn was about halfway between Houston and Austin, it was a frequent stopping place for travelers along two major stagecoach lines.
The town became an important part of the Republic of Texas
and later the State of Texas before the Civil War
. The population reached a maximum of about 3,000 people; at the time, San Antonio and Galveston were the largest towns at around 8,000 people. A sawmill, a railroad line, five churches, and a Masonic Lodge
were built in the area. Two colleges, Soule University
for men and Chappell Hill Female College for women, were founded in 1856.
The men of Chappell Hill formed part of the First Texas Lancers cavalry
regiment during the Civil War and fought in Missouri
, Louisiana
, and Arkansas
. Men from Chappell Hill served in numerous renowned Confederate units, including The Texas Brigade and Terry's Texas Rangers, and saw action in most of the major engagements of the Civil War. In addition, the Soule University building was used as a field hospital. The men of Chappell Hill saw action in a number of renowned Confederate units, including The Texas Brigade and Terry's Texas Rangers.
A yellow fever epidemic, the result of the town's proximity to the Brazos River, decimated the town in 1867. Many men who survived combat in the war lost their lives just two years after the war's end. The town never recovered and faded into obscurity. Polish immigrants, mostly from the German partition, began to appear in the 1870s and the area was re-settled, though it did not reach the status of before. In 1889, Father Grabinger from Brenham's St. Mary's established St. Stanislaus Roman Catholic Church. Denizens of Polish
ancestry can still be found in the area surrounding the church and throughout Washington and Austin counties.
In 1933, the Farmers Bank of Chappell Hill refused to close its doors when so ordered by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during a March 6 to March 10 banking freeze. The owner of the bank took out an ad in a Boston newspaper protesting the order.
Chappell Hill today has a tourist economy, attracting visitors with restored homes, Bluebonnet Festival, Scarecrow Festival and a museum. Main Street has been designated as a National Register Historic District by the National Register of Historic Places. Chappell Hill remains one of the best historically preserved towns in Texas.
On May 10, 2008, an election was held to incorporate Chappell Hill into its own town government. 201 ballots were cast out of a possible 297 eligible voters. Incorporation was rejected by almost 3 to 1 voters; 148 votes against and just 53 for. 90 votes were cast in the mayoral poll; Julie Edwards received 55 votes and Mary Tom Middlebrooks won 35. For the two unopposed council positions, Travis Bevers received 62 votes while Larry C. Wiese received 60. The results of these contests were immediately invalidated by the anti-incorporation outcome.
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is located along U.S. Highway 290 roughly halfway between Brenham
Brenham, Texas
Brenham is a city in east-central Texas in Washington County, Texas, United States, with a population of 16,147 according to the 2009 census. It is the county seat of Washington County...
and Hempstead
Hempstead, Texas
Hempstead is a city in Waller County, Texas, United States. The community, located at the junctions of U.S. Highway 290, Texas State Highway 6, and Texas State Highway 159, is around fifty miles northwest of Downtown Houston. The population was 4,691 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of...
. Chappell Hill is located inside Stephen F. Austin
Stephen F. Austin
Stephen Fuller Austin was born in Virginia and raised in southeastern Missouri. He was known as the Father of Texas, led the second, but first legal and ultimately successful colonization of the region by bringing 300 families from the United States. The capital of Texas, Austin in Travis County,...
's original colony and the land is some of the oldest-settled in the state.
Geography
Chappell Hill is located at the junction of US Highway 290 and Farm to Market Road 1155. Chappell Hill is located within the Brazos RiverBrazos River
The Brazos River, called the Rio de los Brazos de Dios by early Spanish explorers , is the longest river in Texas and the 11th longest river in the United States at from its source at the head of Blackwater Draw, Curry County, New Mexico to its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico with a drainage...
watershed. The area is part of the Gulf Coastal Plain
Gulf Coastal Plain
The Gulf Coastal Plain extends around the Gulf of Mexico in the Southern United States and eastern Mexico.The plain reaches from the western Florida Panhandle, the southwestern two thirds of Alabama, over most of Mississippi, some of western Tennessee and Kentucky, southwest Arkansas, the Florida...
and terrain is rolling hills.
History
The town was established in 1847 by a Mary Hargrove Haller who founded the town on 100 acre (0.404686 km²) of land she bought. She then named the town after her grandfather Robert Wooding Chappell. The area around the town was settled by planters from the Deep South and thanks to the fertile soil of the Brazos river valley, cottonCotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
became the area's main crop.
Jacob and Mary Haller also built the Stagecoach Inn of Chappell Hill
Stagecoach Inn of Chappell Hill
The Stagecoach Inn of Chappell Hill is a historic stage coach inn at Main and Chestnut Streets in Chappell Hill, Texas.It was built in 1850 by Mary Haller, the founder of Chappell Hill...
in 1850, which they operated until 1859 and continued under new ownership until 1871. Because the Inn was about halfway between Houston and Austin, it was a frequent stopping place for travelers along two major stagecoach lines.
The town became an important part of the Republic of Texas
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...
and later the State of Texas before the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. The population reached a maximum of about 3,000 people; at the time, San Antonio and Galveston were the largest towns at around 8,000 people. A sawmill, a railroad line, five churches, and a Masonic Lodge
Masonic Lodge
This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...
were built in the area. Two colleges, Soule University
Soule University
Soule University was a private Methodist university in Chappell Hill, a rural community in Washington County, Texas, United States. Chartered in 1856, Soule replaced the male department of Chappell Hill Male and Female Institute and was intended to succeed the failed Rutersville College...
for men and Chappell Hill Female College for women, were founded in 1856.
The men of Chappell Hill formed part of the First Texas Lancers cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
regiment during the Civil War and fought in Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, and Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
. Men from Chappell Hill served in numerous renowned Confederate units, including The Texas Brigade and Terry's Texas Rangers, and saw action in most of the major engagements of the Civil War. In addition, the Soule University building was used as a field hospital. The men of Chappell Hill saw action in a number of renowned Confederate units, including The Texas Brigade and Terry's Texas Rangers.
A yellow fever epidemic, the result of the town's proximity to the Brazos River, decimated the town in 1867. Many men who survived combat in the war lost their lives just two years after the war's end. The town never recovered and faded into obscurity. Polish immigrants, mostly from the German partition, began to appear in the 1870s and the area was re-settled, though it did not reach the status of before. In 1889, Father Grabinger from Brenham's St. Mary's established St. Stanislaus Roman Catholic Church. Denizens of Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
ancestry can still be found in the area surrounding the church and throughout Washington and Austin counties.
In 1933, the Farmers Bank of Chappell Hill refused to close its doors when so ordered by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during a March 6 to March 10 banking freeze. The owner of the bank took out an ad in a Boston newspaper protesting the order.
Chappell Hill today has a tourist economy, attracting visitors with restored homes, Bluebonnet Festival, Scarecrow Festival and a museum. Main Street has been designated as a National Register Historic District by the National Register of Historic Places. Chappell Hill remains one of the best historically preserved towns in Texas.
On May 10, 2008, an election was held to incorporate Chappell Hill into its own town government. 201 ballots were cast out of a possible 297 eligible voters. Incorporation was rejected by almost 3 to 1 voters; 148 votes against and just 53 for. 90 votes were cast in the mayoral poll; Julie Edwards received 55 votes and Mary Tom Middlebrooks won 35. For the two unopposed council positions, Travis Bevers received 62 votes while Larry C. Wiese received 60. The results of these contests were immediately invalidated by the anti-incorporation outcome.
Chappell Hill buildings on the National Register of Historic Places
- Chappell Hill Circulating LibraryChappell Hill Circulating LibraryChappell Hill Circulating Library is a historic library on Cedar Street in Chappell Hill, Texas.It was built in 1912 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985....
- Chappell Hill Methodist Episcopal ChurchChappell Hill Methodist Episcopal ChurchChappell Hill Methodist Episcopal Church is a historic church on Church Street in Chappell Hill, Texas.-History:The current Carpenter Gothic church building was constructed in 1901 Heinrich C...
- Chappell Hill Public School and Chappell Hill Female College BellChappell Hill Public School and Chappell Hill Female College BellChappell Hill Public School and Chappell Hill Female College Bell is a historic school on Poplar Street in Chappell Hill, Texas.It was built in 1927 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985....
- Isaac Applewhite HouseIsaac Applewhite HouseIsaac Applewhite House is a historic house on Church Street in Chappell Hill, Texas.It was built in 1852 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.-References:...
- Stagecoach Inn of Chappell HillStagecoach Inn of Chappell HillThe Stagecoach Inn of Chappell Hill is a historic stage coach inn at Main and Chestnut Streets in Chappell Hill, Texas.It was built in 1850 by Mary Haller, the founder of Chappell Hill...