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History
in a Pecan Shell
Francisco Ruiz, a Mexican officer was the
recipient of the original land grant.
A man named Brown operated a stagecoach
stop in the 1840s and a post office operated out of a tavern/ general store. Christopher
Hearne, a planter that came to town in 1852, saw that the railroad was the thing
of the future. He offered the railroad a right-of-way in 1858 on some of his 10,000
acres with land for a townsite thrown in for good measure. But the Civil War put
things on hold and it was Hearne’s widow that eventually deeded 700 acres to the
Houston and Texas Central Railway in 1867. The railroad arrived in April of 1868
and boom days followed. A post office opened in 1869. In 1870 the International-Great
Northern came through which made Hearne a railroad “Crossroads.”
The town
incorporated in 1871.
Hearne had 1,300 people in 1885 and 2,129 in 1900.
The town was about 3,511 the year that the general Texas population shifted
from rural to urban (1941). |
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Camp
Hearne
1942
- 1947
One of the largest Prisoner of War Camps in Texas during WWII. [more]
|
The
Hearne Depot - Moved in the year 2000 awaiting a complete restoration on the south
side of Hwy 6.
TE Photo, Dec. 2001
More Texas
Depots |
| | The
Smith-Welch Library downtown.
TE Photo, Dec. 2001 |
| | City
Cafe in Hearne
TE Photo, Dec. 2001 |
| | The
former Queen Theatre in Hearne
TE Photo, Dec. 2001
More Texas
Theatres |
People
Dr.
Edward Arrel Pye, A Texas Medical Hero
by W. T. Block Jr.
Whenever the virulent yellow fever plague came to town,
the townsmen who were cautious packed up their families and belongings and fled
elsewhere. Sometimes a town’s physician did not leave; they stayed to treat their
patients and occasionally died...
Hearne Chronicles
Camp
Hearne - WWII POW Camp
Book Hotel Here
- Hearne
Hotels |
Hearne
Texas Forum Subject:
Chatmas Theatre
The picture you show as the Chatmas Theatre is not the
Chatmas. The one you show is actually west of the Chatmas. This was the Mexican
theatre, the Queen.
The Chatmas was where the Guy Chandler Park is now.
They have a Veteran's Memorial there.
I grew up in Calvert, lived there
a while as an adult, and taught in Hearne for many years. I spent a lot of happy
hours in the Eloia in Calvert and the Chatmas
in Hearne, with trips to the drugstore afterward.
The night the Chatmas
burned, we could see the glow in the sky from Calvert. We were all sad that it
was not rebuilt. So, there is nothing left of the Chatmas.
You might
contact the "Hearne Democrat" for a picture of the two theatres in Hearne, when
they were in good shape. Someone in Hearne, maybe the library, might have a picture
to share.
There was also a drive-in theatre in Hearne. It was located
where the motels are just north of Hearne on Highway 6, and that triangle formed
where the Cameron Highway goes past the Fireman's Hall.
An Austin artist,
Larry Willcott, I believe is his name, has a lovely watercolor of the Eloia in
Calvert. All that is missing is movie posters in the display cases, the popcorn
machine, and Miss Eloise in the ticket booth, Carl standing by the popcorn machine,
and their son in his A&M uniform selling popcorn. (They didn't sell drinks and
candy at the Eloia. But, the Chatmas had a glistening candy counter inside.) Hope
this helps. Check with some oldtimers to be sure you have the right buildings.
Some of the newcomers don't know. - Cecelia Conitz Heinrich, January 28, 2006
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Hearne
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Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic,
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