The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 58, July 1954 - April, 1955 Page: 95
650 p. : ill., maps (some col.), ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Town, Community Name Origins Reveal Texas History 95
1854 by Catholic Poles who, in fulfillment of a vow, gave it a
name meaning Virgin Mary.
Typical of names with literary flavor: Benhur (Limestone
County), for Lew Wallace's book; Bronte (Coke County), for
Charlotte Bronte, English novelist; Iago (Wharton County), for
a character in Shakespeare's Othello; Ivanhoe (Fannin County),
for Sir Walter Scott's novel; Tennyson (Coke County), for the
English poet.
While some towns are named for products, the most interesting
is Carbon (Eastland County), settled in 1881, with streets desig-
nated as Lignite, Jet, Coke, Diamond, Anthracite, Cannal, Coal.
Typical of towns named for persons: Art (Mason County),
derived from Dickart, the name of the postmaster in 192o, went
through several changes-from Willow Creek to Plehweville
(for Otto Plehwe, first postmaster) to Art when the postoffice
department desired a three-letter word. Gold (Gillespie County)
was known as "Reingold" or "pure gold" in pioneer days because
the earliest settlers, of the late 1840's, were surnamed Gold. In
1873 seven of the ten pupils in the log schoolhouse were Golds.
Hetty (Hunt County), established as a shipping point in 1892,
took its name from Hetty Green, organizer of the Texas Midland
Railroad (first in Texas to use electric lights on its engines);
and Howland (Lamar County) was named for her son, E. How-
land Green. During World War I, Kaiser, a switch on the Missouri,
Kansas, and Texas Railroad, became Pershing (Travis County),
for General John J. Pershing.
Other examples: Clayton (Panola County), for a faithful slave
and for Clayton, Alabama; Ebony (Mills County), for Ebony
Shaw, a local cowboy; Gail (Borden County), for Gail Borden
of condensed milk fame; Goodnight (Armstrong County), for
Charles Goodnight, famous ranger, scout and rancher; Hobby
(Fort Bend County), for William Pettus Hobby, twenty-sixth
governor of Texas; Ireland (Coryell County), for Governor John
Ireland; Jefferson (Jefferson County), for Thomas Jefferson;
Johnstown (Red River County), for the number of residents
named John; Kermit (Winkler County), for Theodore Roose-
velt's son; Lamar (Aransas County), for Mirabeau B. Lamar,
third president of the Republic of Texas, usually referred to as
"Father of Education"; Roosevelt (Kimble County), for Theo-
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 58, July 1954 - April, 1955, periodical, 1955; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101158/m1/116/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.