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    Yorktown and Nordheim
    Yorktown and Nordheim
    Yorktown and Nordheim
    Ebook177 pages56 minutes

    Yorktown and Nordheim

    By Yorktown Historical Society and Nordheim Historical Museum Association

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    About this ebook

    Founded 7 miles apart in south central Texas, Yorktown and Nordheim were settled by German immigrants. These immigrants found the rolling hills and grassland full of oak trees suitable for settlement, and the rich soil helped to make farming a way of life. Yorktown was settled near the Coleto Creek as a rest stop along the Indianola Trail for teamsters delivering freight to New Braunfels. Nordheim was settled because it was a high point and beacon for settlers, and it continued to grow when the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad was built. As the towns grew, so did the businesses and churches. The settlers shared a love of music, and bands came together to perform at various functions. On Saturdays the farmers, their families, and hired help would come to buy supplies, visit friends, and enjoy a day away from work. Today the spirit of community is still strong, as citizens put together annual celebrations and activities that promote tourism and help to maintain local pride.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateSep 18, 2012
    ISBN9781439639931
    Yorktown and Nordheim
    Author

    Yorktown Historical Society

    Authors Shirley Mueller and Cathy Voelkel are both dedicated to the preservation of the history and heritage of their communities. Mueller, a retired teacher, is currently serving as vice president of the Yorktown Historical Society. Voelkel, a retired executive secretary, is the president of the Nordheim Museum and a business owner in Nordheim.

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      Book preview

      Yorktown and Nordheim - Yorktown Historical Society

      Association.

      INTRODUCTION

      Yorktown and Nordheim are two small towns located 7 miles apart in south central Texas. The two towns were settled by Germans, Polish, Mexicans, African Americans, and Lithuanians.

      Yorktown was built along the Coleto Creek as a rest stop along the Indianola Trail for freight wagon drivers traveling from Indianola on their way to New Braunfels and San Antonio. Charles Eckhardt contracted with John A. King to survey a shorter route that would go through Yorktown. Capt. John York, for whom the town is named, and Charles Eckhardt founded the town in 1848. It was one of the few towns in Texas that was laid out into streets, city blocks, a public square, and cemetery before the first house was built. In May 1848, Peter Metz and John Frank built the first house for Charles Eckhardt. The house was later occupied by Caesar Eckhardt, who took over the C. Eckhardt and Sons Mercantile Company, known for 50 years as a leader of its kind in western DeWitt County. In 1871, Yorktown became the first incorporated town in DeWitt County.

      In 1886, the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad was built and passed through Yorktown and Weldon Switch. The name Weldon Switch was changed and officially recognized as Nordheim in 1898. The site of Nordheim’s first town block was sold September 18, 1895, to Henry Schlosser, who built the first mercantile business and residence. Nordheim was incorporated in 1918 with L. C. Neutzler as its first mayor.

      Religion was an important part of the citizens’ lives. Nordheim has two churches: St. Paul Lutheran Church, built in 1908 by donations, and St. Ann’s Catholic Church, erected in 1921. Yorktown has 12 churches: St. Paul Lutheran Church, Church of Christ, Holy Cross Catholic Church, First Presbyterian Church, United Methodist Church, Faith Assembly of God Church, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Open Bible Baptist Church, San Luis Catholic Church, Primera Baptist Church/Primera Iglesia Bautista, New Life Baptist Church, and Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church.

      This book will reveal the early beginnings and settlers of each town, and their growth through businesses, schools, homes, churches, cemeteries, music, and celebrations. Incorporated into the book will also be several small rural communities in close proximity of Yorktown and Nordheim. These communities are Gruenau, Garfield, Cabeza, and Cotton Patch. Several of the communities boast shooting clubs/dance halls and were the sites of country schools. Gruenau, Garfield, the Nordheim Shooting Club, and the Yorktown Community Hall host sausage or barbecue feasts twice a year. They make their own sausage, boil it, and serve it along with stuffed cabbage, potato salad, coleslaw, sweet rice, and desserts.

      Several historic sites will be highlighted including the C. Eckhardt and Sons building, which is now the Yorktown Historical Museum. This building is on the National Register of Historic Buildings and displays a Texas Historic Medallion. The Upper Town Cemetery has graves dating back to the Civil War and before. It received a Texas historical marker in 2001. The burial site of Capt. John York is located between Yorktown and Meyersville and has a Texas historical marker. Nordheim lays claim to a high hill called Pilot Knob with an elevation of 447 feet, the highest point between Houston and San Antonio. Knob Hill, the Nordheim Shooting Club and Dance Hall, and the Jubilee Park Pavilion have all been honored with Texas historical markers. St. Ann’s Cemetery in Nordheim, which is over 100 years old, has also received state historic recognition. These have all been recognized as a part of the communities’ continued effort to honor those who came before us and help preserve their history.

      Education was a priority among early settlers. This is evident in the country schools built in the rural communities and the schools built within the towns. The citizens have pride in their towns and their history.

      One

      YORKTOWN BEGINNINGS

      Coleto Creek (originally named Yorktown Creek) was important in the establishment of Yorktown as a way station for freighters to rest and water their horses as they headed toward New Braunfels and San Antonio. This creek originates a mile northeast of Yorktown, runs southeast through the town, and then on for 40 more miles before it empties into the Guadalupe River below Victoria. In 2010, the creek was returned to its original name, Yorktown Creek.

      Yorktown was named for Capt. John York who gave the land on which the town was situated. He and Charles Eckhardt, a mercantile owner, founded the town along the Coleto Creek in 1848 as a shorter route and a way station for freight drivers along the Indianola Trail. Yorktown was one of the few towns in Texas that was planned with streets, city blocks, a park, and cemetery before the first house was built. In 1871, Yorktown was the first town in DeWitt County to be incorporated. Robert C. Eckhardt was appointed mayor.

      A few months after Yorktown was settled, Capt. John York and his son-in-law James Madison Bell were killed in a Native American fight along the Escondido Creek on October 11, 1848. The Lipan Apache Indians had been attacking area settlers. Bell was married to York’s oldest daughter Miriam. York and Bell were buried together in a single handmade coffin approximately 10 miles east of Yorktown on Highway 237.

      Upper Yorktown Cemetery was established in 1872 from land donated by Ann Friar. Then in 1949

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