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PIERCE,
TEXAS
Wharton County,
Texas
Gulf Coast
Highway 59
8 miles W of Wharton
5 miles NE of El Campo
Population:
49
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An informal
history of
Pierce, Texas:
Containing
barely-related facts on neighboring towns in
Wharton, Jackson and Victoria Counties
by
Brewster Hudspeth
"There stands Ol' Pierce"
- quote from Shanghai Pierce himself.
Photo courtesy TXDoT >
Editor's Note: Don't look for the statue (right)) of Pierce to
be in Pierce, Texas. The staute stands in the beautifully maintained
Hawley cemetery just north of Blessing, Texas.
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Pierce,
Texas is located along the former railroad tracks, which have been
taken up in recent years. The roadbed is still in place although the
line had been abandoned in 1940. The towns along this stretch of Highway
59 were named after the Hungerford/ Telferner families.
"Colonel" Hungerford was a Mexican War veteran with two daughters
- Edna and Louise.
Louise married, widowed, and had a child named Eva. Her next husband
was named Mackay who had made a fortune in mining in Colorado. Louise
Mackay took her daughters to Europe where daughter Edna married an
Italian Count named Telferner. With Mackay's money and 600 of Telferner's
paisanos to do the work, they formed the New York, Texas and Mexican
Railway. The locals named it the "Macaroni Line" from the diet of
the Italian laborers.
The Count was president of the railroad and "Colonel" Hungerford was
vice president.
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Pierce's
Letterhead
Courtesy Texas General Land Office Archives & Documents Department
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Enter "Old
Pierce"
Abel
(Shanghai) Pierce was a Yankee from Rhode Island. He arrived in Texas
with .75 cents to his name. Some say that the following year he still
had 60 cents left. Pierce's self-admitted cheapness was legendary.
(For some amusing highlights, see Ten
things you should know about Shanghai Pierce.) |
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The
sign for the Pierce Ranch
TE photo |
Pierce
agreed to take his first year's pay in cattle. When the year was up
- Pierce got the culls of the herd - and a lesson in cattle raising.
After a year's work in the saddle - Shanghai was the proud owner of
a herd of six cows. 30% of his "herd" died shortly after delivery.
It was a lesson Pierce never forgot. He became wealthy the old fashioned
way - one cow at a time. These were rounded up in a fashion that later
came to be called rustling. All of Pierce's acquisitions were in the
Matagorda / Wharton County region - land that would later be owned
by Pierce.
Pierce became one of Texas' most flamboyant characters. His blustery
demeanor and legendary cheapness alone would've earned him a place
in Texas history - but for good measure he also possessed an ego that
would make Donald Trump look like he had an inferiority complex.
By the time the railroad business was getting started - Pierce already
owned most of Matagorda County and part of Wharton.
Always a fast learner, Pierce picked up on the town-naming trend and
modestly named the three stations planned for his property to be Pierce,
Shanghai, and Borden (after his nephew). Only after wrangling with
the railroad for two years did Pierce get the railroad to live up
to 1/3 of their bargain of building depots. |
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Church
in Pierce, Texas
TE photo |
The
towns of Shanghai,
Texas and Borden died on the drawing board. Pierce also had a
spur for Podo,
Texas - a siding named after a former slave who oversaw that portion
of the Pierce holdings. Podo was a Zulu and Pierce used to send him
supplies via the railroad - including bi-annual deliveries of 40 gallon
barrels of whiskey for Podo's private consumption.
Pierce, in his twilight years, started worrying about his legacy.
He ordered his full size "likeness" carved in marble from none other
than German-born San
Antonio sculptor Frank Teich.
After
getting Teich to lower his price, Pierce had the statue erected with
the inscription: Shanghai Pierce - Born 1834 - Died 1900. He told
Teich that Mrs. Pierce would fill in the blank when the time came.
The price had been $2,500, but Pierce got Teich to reduce the price
to $2,250 (Teich made up the difference by making the hat smaller).
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The
former post office is now the Pierce "Country Club"
TE photo |
Pierce
Texas Today
Today,
the town of Pierce consists of eight or ten houses, a post office,
church, and a former post office that is now labeled "The Pierce Country
Club". The entrance to the Pierce ranch is just across from where
the railroad tracks used to be. Pierce's statue is in the Hawley cemetery
near Blessing, Texas.
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A timeline
of significant events in Pierce, Texas
1881: The New York
Texas and Mexican Railway lays tracks between Rosenberg and Victoria.
1883: Depot designated Pierce's Station
1884: One of Pierce's steers derails train - Pierce demands payment
1886: A post office was granted under same name
1890: population reaches 40 persons
1894: 160 acres surveyed and town platted
1895: Name changed to simply Pierce, Texas
1900: Shanghai Pierce dies and is buried beneath his pre-ordered monument
1921: Brick school was built
1950: Pierce reaches highest population of 150
2000: Population is reduced to only 49
Pierce had planned to make the town of Pierce the county seat by giving
a right-of-way to another railroad - making it a railroad crossroads.
He built a large hotel in anticipation, but the deal never came through.
A marker today stands where The Pierce Hotel once stood.
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December
2001 feature town
© John Troesser
About Brewster
Hudspeth |
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