IN PRAISE OF JACKSON COUNTY HISTORIANS, PAST AND PRESENT
IN PRAISE OF JACKSON COUNTY HISTORIANS, PAST AND PRESENT Welcome to the first of what we hope to be a recurring quarterly column devoted to Jackson County history. It is brought to you by your local County Historical Commission and is one of the ways that we hope to reach an ever-broader audience to better acquaint area residents with the interesting array of history that shapes the distinctive character of our county. At JCHC, we think that a general knowledge of local history surrounding us is important and thus eager to share more of the stories that bond together in common heritage over the months to come.
In our work at the County Historical Commission, we benefit from the good work of past and present citizen- historians who have given themselves to documenting, saving, recording, and explaining the events, structures, artifacts, and documents which now comprise the historical record of Jackson County. Among these, a handful stand out as the primary local researchers, writers, storytellers and activists of their times, and their imprimaturs are found throughout the written and visual records of county history today. Recounting their names here and recognizing their efforts for history’s sake seems a worthy point of departure for a column devoted to the many legacies of Jackson County.
The pioneers who ultimately forged this county ventured into this country around 1824, most coming here under the auspices of the great Empresario, Stephen F. Austin. As these first emigrants attained “old age”, several compiled autobiographical and historical accounts providing us with our earliest written accounts of life and events in the area. Among the first to inscribe a Jackon County history was John Sutherland Menefee whose History of Jackson County was issued as an 1880 serial on the pages of the Texana Clarion, the county’s first newspaper. Menefee, a part of a large group of Alabama settlers who emigrated to Texas in 1830, was a prolific writer and documentarian. He kept meticulous notes on virtually every aspect of his life in Texas - from crops to early commerce and churches, to his experiences in the Texian army, including one of the few contemporary journals of the Battle of San Jacinto. An early Texana merchant, he became the first Clerk of Jackson County and was later elected as both state representative and county judge. His published history in the Clarion still stands as an important record of the county’s formative years and continues to yield invaluable insights into many of the earliest citizens to those who read it. A close relative of Menefee’s, Samuel Rogers settled East of the Navidad in what would eventually become the town of Ganado. He contributed his own autobiographical accounts of exploits in the settlement of Jackson County. A farmer, soldier, and Methodist minister, Rogers’ stories offer poignant insights into early life and affairs of the county. A third historian from this first wave of settlers was John (Juan) Linn. An early merchant and émigré from New Orleans, Linn is most often associated with Victoria, having served as both the city’s last Alcalde and first Mayor. Like Menefee and Rogers, Linn was prominent in affairs leading up to the Texas revolution and served as an adjutant to Sam Houston during the plight and ultimate victory of the Texian army. He also owned property and did business with many in Jackson County, building and maintaining close relationships with many of the first families here. His book, Reminiscences of Fifty Years in Texas, was published in 1883 and contains many interesting accounts of Jackson County happenings in those early years.
These early writings and others were rediscovered by locals some fifty years later in the years leading up to the Texas Centennial in 1936. This period gave way to a hotbed of historical research and activity across the state, as Texas counties everywhere prepared to celebrate the one-hundredth birthday of the Lone Star State. The occasion brought two of Jackson County’s early twentieth-century historians to the fore! Mr. E.T. Rose, a local lawyer, banker, and head of the county’s first Historical Survey Commission (an early forerunner of our present-day JCHC), helped to assemble the necessary historical background and storylines to bring the first state historical monuments and markers to Jackson County. As a result of Mr. Rose’s work and that of his committee during that period, nine Centennial sites were officially designated for the inaugural collection of historic markers and monuments within the county. At the same time, counties were also encouraged to publish local histories in conjunction with the Texas Centennial, and the authorship of Jackson County’s first booklength history fell to County Superintendent, Ira T. Taylor. Mr. Taylor wrote the ubiquitous Cavalcade of Jackson County as the first full-length survey of county history. Professor Taylor’s publication is now in a third edition published by JCHC and is still referenced as the most complete rendering of Jackson County’s story.
Years after WWII brought two more local history icons to Jackson County. The notable M.C. “Possum” Shelby arrived here around 1942.
Taking employment after the war with Houston Oil and Minerals, Possum Shelby became something of a local celebrity as a star semi-pro baseball player for the Edna Pipeliners of the Guadalupe Valley League (earning Hall-of-Fame status in that league).
He later gained notoriety as a community activist for youth baseball and ever-present mainstay as umpire for area youth leagues. But Possum was a serious avocational historian as well and immediately immersed himself in county’s rich history. Active in the newly formed Texana Museum, Shelby spent the remainder of his lifetime doggedly gathering, researching and compiling an extensive record on Jackson County history. He wrote regular columns in the Edna Herald during the 1970s, and in the 1980s he recorded dozens of oral histories of the county’s remaining pioneers of that time. He also developed a multivolume compendium of county affairs, all of which comprise an invaluable historical archive that is maintained today by the Texana Museum in the research library that bears Mr.
Shelby’s name.
Brownson Malsch, a native Victorian, moved to Edna and Jackson County around 1945. Malsch had been a former public relations professional with the Southern Pacific Rail Corporation prior to his relocation here and was already well known statewide as a journalist and advocate of Texas history. In Edna he opened a local Western wear shop and continued his very serious exploration of regional history. During his time here, he served as the organizing chairman for both the Jackson County Historical Commission and the Texana Museum and Library Association, the two principal historical organizations still serving our county today. While engaged in local historical affairs, Malsch (like Shelby) was active in the Sons of the Republic of Texas, ultimately serving as the state association’s President-General. He also published an award-winning book on the story of Indianola, as well as a biography on Ranger Captain, “Lone Wolf” Gonzaullas (which in 1980 garnered Malsch an appointment as honorary member of the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame). In 1982, in conjunction with the “twin centennial” celebration for Edna and Ganado, Malsch published his own account of Jackson County history in a special edition of the Herald entitled Some Highlights of 400 Years of Jackson County.
Of course, contemporary champions of Jackson County history still live among us. Among these are three gentlemen whose decades-long devotion to the preservation of local history merits their listing today as the leading resident historians of Jackson County. The gentlemen to whom I refer are Mr. Roy Ortolon, Mr. Frank Condron and Judge (retired) Harrison Stafford -a talented threesome that fortunately continues to serve as active members of JCHC.
Roy Ortolon, a native of Jackson County, has devoted the thirty years since his return home to compiling a comprehensive photographic archive of Edna and Jackson County. He has been relentless in his search for historical imagery pertaining to Jackson County, digitizing and organizing over 6500 county images. His is a milestone accomplishment, and the fact that he has recently gifted his lifetime photographic accumulations to the archives of Jackson County Historical Commission makes his gift, like that Mr. Shelby’s before him, one of the most remarkable historical donations in the history of the county as well.
Frank Condron, a retired automotive engineer for General Motors, moved to Jackson County in October of 1998. He attended his first meeting of the Jackson County Historical Commission in November of 1998 and hasn’t missed one since. As JCHC’s immediate past chairman, Condron presided over the organization for the preceding twenty-five years. Along the way, he has been instrumental in preserving several of our county’s most important historical structures, including the Texana Presbyterian Church, the Edna Depot, the Edna Theatre, the restored signage of the Ganado Theatre, and, of course, his own iconic residence, the historic Branch home in Edna. Under Mr.
Condron’s capable watch, the county added seven additional historical sites and markers, as well as securing its only two National Historical Register listings during his tenure.
Finally, there is former county judge Harrison Stafford, who besides having given many years of public service to the county, has held perennial office and major influence in both the Texana Museum and JCHC. A knowledgeable county historian, folklorist, and a genial storyteller, Judge Stafford’s contributions to the historical interests of Jackson County are myriad, and he has quietly facilitated the acquisition of many important historical objects and artifacts at the Texana Museum over the years.
It is to individuals such as these who have given so many years to preservation of our county history, and to the long list of able compatriots who served along with them, as well as to those who strive to serve our county for the cause of history today that we owe our continuing debt of gratitude. Through the efforts of these and other local historians both past and present we are enabled to discover and do even more, and for readers of this and future columns who likewise possess a special interest and passion for the histories of Jackson County, we invite you to join us in our quest. Long live Jackson County!
Bill Reaves, Chairman, Jackson County Historical Commission
