| |
Gilberts
Grocery / Conoco Gas Station
Photo
courtesy Richard Steffek |
History
in a Pecan Shell
Friendship and a nearby town called Old Friendship (AKA Allison)
were founded in the 1880s. According to information provided by Harold Grinstead,
the land was first settled by Elihu Creswell Allison in 1847. Allison was partially
destroyed in a 1921 flood.
In
the 1970s it was decided to impound the waters of the San
Gabriel River. Laneport Dam (the original name) was the result. It
was renamed Granger Dam some time later. Graves in the Friendship Cemetery
were reinterred at other cemeteries and the Friendship school consolidated with
Granger schools in 1958. The
former Friendship Community holds a reunion every year on the third Saturday of
October.
Friendship Floods
>
Friendship
- Town Layout & Old Photos
> |
Granger
Lake from the park - more or less where Friendship once was.
TE Photo, 9-04 |
Contributor
Bob Mohel, a former resident of Friendship, has sent in newspaper clippings
with information on the various floods that plagued this part of Williamson county.
The clippings were used to assemble the information below.
The
San Gabriel River flooded in 1913, causing widespread damage and even wrecking
a train on the M.K.& T. railroad bridge at Berry's Creek. The biggest flood came
in 1921 and a third destructive flooding occurred on February 22, 1958. The dam
was constructed in the late 1970s. The
Deadly Flood of 1921The
rain started at 6 p.m. on September 10, 1921 and continued until 6 a.m. on September
11th. Although no official measure was mentioned - it was estimated that 50 inches
of rain fell. One Henry Rozacky (who was 83 when he gave his report to the paper)
had no trouble recalling the soggy events. He reported that a "dry and empty"
50 gallon drum in his backyard was overflowing about 2 a.m. and that the lightning
was giving everything a greenish tinge. He reported that the blacksmith shop was
washed away and that the general store was a total loss. He and a neighbor rescued
26 bales of ginned cotton that were bobbing away from the gin. In Mr. Rozacky's
words: "You'd be surprised how readily 500 and 600 lb bales of cotton can float."
He continued: "we got hold of them and pushed them before us until we reached
a hill at the old Brookshire place. "...and you know, no one gave us a dime for
their bales as they came to take their own." "One man tied a bale onto a tree
and after the waters receded that bale was suspended in mid-air."
The
flooding wasn't just in Friendship, either. Further west, the waters took out
the North San Gabriel River bridge in Georgetown.
A family of three in Friendship lashed themselves to a tree but all
drowned. Twenty-six people were trapped at Laneport - when they were "engulfed"
by the flood. All were later found drowned - and Mr. Rozacky said he helped construct
the twenty-six coffins. Rozacky went on to say that "not a single bridge of any
type was left standing." "The bridge across the San Gabriel at Hoxie was swept
away and the railroad tracks at Circleville stood on end in an arc." One house
(the C.B. Arnold home) was carried downstream and deposited "where it now stands."
Several other homes were involuntarily moved great distances by the surge of water.
After the rains, mud was everywhere -- its quantity nearly matched by
its depth. With the bridges gone, horses became the best method of transportation.
One man on horseback sank up to his saddle and had to be pulled out by a block
and tackle. Scores of domestic pigs turned feral and had to be shot.
The old
iron bridge at Hoxie was moved to Wilson H. Fox Park on Lake Granger
and became part of the nature trail.
Finally it was decided that it just
wasn't worth it - if the water wanted Friendship so bad - let the water have Friendship.
In the summer of 1977 the spillway for the dam was constructed.
©
John Troesser |
 |
Friendship
- The Town LayoutBased
on a drawing provided by Bob Mohel, the town of Friendship straddled Farm to Market
Road 971 - the town's only paved street. The north side of 971 had the school,
seed house, gin and scale. The southside had several residences along with the
blacksmith, the Baptist church, gas station, the Mohel "Beer Joint" and Bob's
Barbecue Shack. |
Friendship, Texas
Forum:I lived in
the Friendship community until the dam was built and it was swallowed by Granger
lake. I knew Mr. Richard Caden who contributed many of the pictures on the web
site. [Here are two more photos.] One is of the Friendship
Baptist Church and the other one is of the Friendship
store, Gilbert's Grocery, the friendly store while it was still in operation.
The Conoco gas pumps are there. Thank you. - Richard Steffek, May 18, 2011
|
"Close up of store front
prior to its being moved
(Note gas pumps are already gone.)"
Photo courtesy Richard Cadan
More Texas
Gas Stations |
| The
Lucky Sisters
(Dorothy and Gladys) in front of the original Friendship gas
station
Photo courtesy the Lucky Family |
The Friendship School blanketed
in snow.
Courtesy Tony and Martha Machalek. |
"The
last standing building of the Friendship School. Was used as a community center
and was our polling place."
Photo
courtesy Richard Steffek
More
Texas Schoolhouses |
Emil's Place with Mr. Emil
Mohel left of door.
Photo courtesy Hattie Mohel Gaida |
Bill
Michalek with dog. Mrs. Michalek taking photo.
Photo courtesy Tony and Martha Machalek |
"Driving
East into Friendship.
The Friendship Baptist Church is on the right."
June 1971
photo courtesy Richard Steffek |
Friendship
Baptist Church
Photo
courtesy Richard Steffek
More Texas
Churches |
"East
side of the Friendship gin and cotton seed house. The white house on the left
was the home of the gin's operator, Mr. Henry Rozacky Sr. "
July 1968 photo courtesy Richard Steffek |
The
Friendship Gin
(Tower used to take following 2 photos)
Photo courtesy Richard Cadan
More
on Cotton / Cotton Gins |
Friendship
Ginners House Lower left.
Photo taken from water tower.
Photo courtesy Richard Cadan |
Entering
the Gin yard at Friendship,
and the road west to Granger.
Photo courtesy Richard Cadan |
"The
Road Going East into Friendship"
Photo courtesy Richard Cadan |
Inlet to Granger Lake - View
from the FM 971 Bridge
TE Photo , 9-04 |
A sign
in the park today.
TE Photo, 9-04
|
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Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
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photos of their town, please contact
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