Mt. Sinai Baptist Church TX3521

Organized at Indianola (14 miles SE) in 1870, this church is one of the oldest black fellowships in Calhoun County. The first pastor was the Rev. Joseph Whitlock, an elder in the white Baptist congregation of the city. Several members of this church moved to Port Lavaca in 1875 after a hurricane destroyed the Indianola sanctuary. The remainder of the congregation joined them in 1886 following a second major storm. Known here originally as the Second Baptist Church, the members adopted the present name in 1905, during the 25-year pastorate of the Rev. A.K. Black.

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Old Town Cemetery TX3825

Located on the elevated ridge at Indianola Beach, this cemetery is one of three that served the port of Indianola during the 19th century. The oldest existing grave marker, that of James Chilton Allan, bears a date of 1851. Also buried here are some of Calhoun County's earliest settlers, who came in the first wave of German immigration to Texas in the 1840s. Many of the original tombstones, including that of Angelina Eberly (d.1860), heroine of the Texas Archives War, have disappeared over time because of storms and vandalism.

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Port Lavaca TX1554

Founded in the aftermath of a Comanche raid on the nearby settlement of Linville, the town of Lavaca ("the cow") was established in 1840. The busiest port in the Matagorda Bay area and a major center for over-land export of cattle and other goods, Lavaca was an able successor to Linville.

Lavaca was the first Calhoun County seat from 1846 to 1852, when Indianola assumed the role. The county seat was returned to Lavaca briefly during the Civil War, when the town withstood fire from Federal gunboats, then returned to Indianola. In 1886 Indianola was ravaged by a hurricane and Lavaca was again county seat. With railroad expansion in Texas, Lavaca moved away from cattle and turned to seafood. Called Port Lavaca from the late 1880s, the village boomed. Tourism and the population increased; several factories were opened; the town became a general law city in 1909. The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway was connected to Port Lavaca in 1913 and a seawall was completed in 1920. Shrimp and frozen seafood became major items for export. Natural gas and oil were discovered in 1934 and 1935. From the late 1940s major manufacturing began to contribute to Port Lavaca's growth. Port Lavaca became a home rule chartered city in 1956, and a deep water port was located here in 1965.

Port Lavaca celebrated 150 years of rich history in 1990.

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Port O'Connor TX1596

In 1909, the Calhoun County Cattle Company laid out a townsite on land that had been a part of a large ranch and settlement known as Alligator Head. Named Port O'Connor for Thomas O'Connor of Victoria, from whom the company had purchased the ranch land, the town began its development into a coastal resort and recreational area. Surrounded on three sides by bay waters, Port O'Connor attracted many visitors, particularly after the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway built an excursion line to Port O'Connor in 1910. Hotels, service industries and other businesses formed to accommodate residents and visitors. Port O'Connor suffered heavy damage during the Gulf storm of 1919 but determined to rebuild. In 1927 a high demand for shrimp brought many shrimpers to the area, which helped spur Port O'Connor's development after the storm. In 1939, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway linked Port O'Connor to Corpus Christi and New Orleans via the inland water channel, further developing its accessibility and opportunities for economic growth. Port O'Connor suffered a severe setback in 1961, when Hurricane Carla destroyed 90 per cent of the town, leveling the five-block central business district. Determined to carry on, residents rebuilt their town. Port O'Connor's proximity to the Matagorda Island air field helped reestablish it as a viable community. During the latter half of the 20th century, Port O'Connor became well known for its fishing, hunting and water sport opportunities. By the year 2000, it boasted 2000 permanent residents.

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Abe Springs Bluff Courthouse FL4

Abe Springs Bluff was Calhoun County's second county seat -- from 1849 to 1880. About 4/10 mile west of here, at a remote location overlooking the Chipola River, stood the one-story wood frame courthouse that housed county courts and offices for over three decades, including the turbulent period surrounding the Civil War. Earlier, St. Joseph had served as the original county seat from the time Calhoun County was created in 1838 until the coastal boom town was destroyed by a yellow fever epidemic and a hurricane in the early 1840s. For a time thereafter the county actually had no seat of government. From 1845 to 1847 the Florida Legislature tried unsuccessfully to re-establish a county seat. Finally, in 1848 Calhoun Countians voted on proposed locations and, the following January, Abe Springs Bluff -- a more centrally located inland site -- was officially declared the county seat. Unlike its ill-fated predecessor, Abe Springs Bluff never was a true community -- just a courthouse site. In 1880 the Abe Springs Bluff courthouse was destroyed by fire and the county seat was moved to the new community of Blountstown on the Apalachicola River.

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10th Alabama Volunteers–Army of Northern Virginia, C.S.A. AL18
This regiment took part for four years in major battles of the Virginia theater. It served with distinction for dash and courage, suffering heavy casualties. Officers regiment's organization June 4, 1861, at Montgomery, Alabama: Colonel John H. Forney, Jacksonville; Lieutenant Colonel James B. Martin, Jacksonville; Major Taul Bradford, Talladega. Company A: Captain John H. Caldwell, Saint Clair County. Company B: Captain Alburto Martin, Jefferson County. Company C: Captain Rufus W. Cobb, Shelby County. Company D: Captain Franklin Woodruff, Calhoun County. Company E: Captain John T. Woodward, Talladega County. Company F: Captain James D. Truse, Saint Clair County. Company G: Captain William Henry Forney, Calhoun County. Company. H: Captain Woodford R. Hanna, Calhoun County. Company I: Captain Abner A. Huges, DeKalb County. Company K: Captain J. C. McKenzie, Talladega County. Among officers of regiment killed in action: Colonel John J. Woodward, Lieutenant Colonels James B. Martin and James E. Shelley, Captains Pickens and W. Black, George P. Brown, Henry N. Coleman, Walter Cook, Robert W. Cowan, William Lee, Richard C. Ragan, George C. Whatley. Disbanded at Appomattox, Va., April, 1865, by order of General Robert E. Lee.

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Governor Thomas E. Kilby 1865 - 1943 - 78
Outstanding local industrialist as President, Kilby Steel Company; Chairman, Board of Directors, Alabama Pipe Company; President, City National and Anniston National Banks. Served as Mayor of Anniston (1905-09); state Senator (1911-15); Lieutenant Governor (1915-19); Governor of Alabama (1919-23). His administration as Governor of Alabama notable for sound business principles, for prison reform, for advancement and expansion of charitable institutions, and for constitutional amendments which provided state bond issues for highway and bridge development and for building the State Docks in Mobile. Governor Kilby was a member of Grace Episcopal Church and a member of the vestry. His interment is on the hill, near fence, at Highland Cemetery Location: Calhoun County

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Grace Episcopal Church - 79
Called "A poem of cedar and stone," its history is intimately related to that of Anniston. Town Founders, Daniel Tyler and Samuel Noble, inspired its conception, funded its construction and caused the Woodstock Iron Company to donate the land on which it was built. George Upjohn, Architect, and Master Stonemason, William Jewell, used native pink sandstone and Tennessee knotty cedar to emulate Solomon's Temple. The Gothic Revival edifice, the oldest church in town, was organized on April 8, 1881, built in 1882-5, and consecrated by Bishop Richard H. Wilmer on May 19, 1886. Its first service was conducted on Christmas Eve, 1885. Location: Calhoun County

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Jacksonville–First County Seat - 80
1833-99. Town first called Drayton. Renamed in 1834 to honor President Andrew Jackson. Seat moved to Anniston in 1899. Calhoun County originally was Benton County, named for Colonel T. H. Benton, Creek War officer, later U.S. Senator from Missouri. Renamed in 1858 for John C. Calhoun, Champion of South in U.S. Senate. Benton's views by then unpopular in South. Location: Calhoun County

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John Horace Forney - 81
1829-1902. Major General, C.S.A. A graduate of West Point, he resigned from U.S. Army to volunteer services to the State of Alabama. Ably lead Confederate forces at Manassas, Pensacola, Vicksburg, Mobile, and Texas. Location: Calhoun County

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