Trinity County News - Breakout

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CENTERVILLE — The final meeting of 2021 shows that things are progressing as expected, and it’s shaping up to be a good year.

Superintendent Mark Brown said Centerville has had a really good first semester.

“I know it’s odd to already be talking about a semester, but it’s flown by,” he said. “Benchmark testing looks to be pretty good. The theory is that with COVID, there will be some gaps, and we have some, but the teachers have been doing a good job getting the kids where they need to be.”

Brown also said that baseball field construction is coming along, and crews will start work on installing dugouts this week. The coaches and crews also have been working on the pitching mound, and hopefully, the Bulldogs team will get to play at home this year.

District basketball began last week as well.

In a separate matter, the school has delayed bus purchases, which was going to be from another school district, because that district does not have its new buses purchased.

Brown said that they may not get replacements buses this year. 

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Railroad St., Trinity, Texas published Mansell’s Pharmacy.

The creation and growth of the city of Trinity starts prior to the coming of the railroad in 1872. 

In the late 1850s, James William Kaiser, along with his large family, settled on the prairie lands north of the Trinity River. In 1872. Capt. George Gibson and Colonel S.T. Robb platted the town the name was Kayser’s Prairie 

After the Houston and Great Northern Railroad, the stop at Kayser’s Prairie was known as Trinity Station because of its location on the Trinity River. Later this was shortened to Trinity.

Many founders of Trinity originally came from Sumpter, the Trinity County Seat at that time. After Sumpter courthouse burned Nov. 2, 1872, they moved to Trinity where the railroad had arrived earlier that year. 

Gibson had been a surveyor for more than 20 years. In 1857, he settled on Caney Creek, 10 miles east of present-day Trinity.

Robb was a lawyer, and later settled on Robb Hill in Trinity; he also was Trinity’s first postmaster. In those early years, the entire business community was composed of two stores and five saloons. 

Conditions continued to improve, and by 1900, there were three general stores, three grocery stores, two meat markets, two drug stores, one cotton gin, a bakery shop, one dairy, one candy kitchen, one livery stable, two blacksmiths, four doctors, one opera house, two saloons, one ice house and, most importantly, two schools.

With the growth of industry came the need for hotels. One of the first hotels was built by W.H. Manry. It was a frame building located on the corner of Main and Railroad streets. He later sold hotel to the Hollands. 

A devastating fire consumed many structures in 1909. The Feb. 22, 1909, fire started on the second floor of Holland’s Hotel and leapt across the street to Frank Parker’ s Feed Store. This fire apparently had a profound affect the construction in Trinity, as the non-burning brick became the construction material of choice. 

After the 1909 fire, Holland built a brick hotel, which definitely had an effect on the consideration for a non-burning material of construction for the “Old Red” Schoolhouse.

The town of Trinity was incorporated in 1910, and the city aldermen held their first meeting on Jan. 3, 1911. Several churches were started, and the first school (1872) was located on the corner of the present location of the Cedar Grove Cemetery. 

It was a one-room, one-teacher log structure. Mr. Champion was known as professor and was the principal, and there were 11 students enrolled. Not far away, the Skains Chapel Singing School was one of the earliest types of education in this area; students were taught by composer William Henry Skains. 

The first public school was organized in 1895. This for a citizen’s vote to incorporate. The old frame building consisted of four rooms located west of Cedar Grove Cemetery. Around the time “Old Red” was being built, the building was moved to “Squash” for use at the black school. 

From 1912 to 1915,  classes were held in the frame building, as well as in the Masonic Hall.

The Trinity County Historical Commission helps identify and preserve historical sites and helps to preserve the heritage of Trinity County.

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By Tony Farkas
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TRINITY — Not much was posted for a vote, but the Trinity City Council had a long meeting on Thursday as they had a full house of city residents requesting information on the ailing water system.

City Manager Steven Jones said that the questions came during public information, and he and the council answered all questions as well as attempted to dispel misinformation.

Jones said that currently, the city is moving in two directions to resolve problems, one of which is relieving the city from the burden of a boil water notice.

Trinity is currently under a boil water notice, which was issued Nov. 10 

In an emergency meeting on Dec. 2, the council approved using grant funds under an emergency basis to connect water from the Trinity River Authority to all portions of town. Work began shortly thereafter, and Jones said it should be completed by this weekend.

“This will supply to the entire town from TRA sources, and will also give us time and room to improve the city’s separate well system,” Jones said. “Once we get on TRA water, we’ll see a huge increase in quality; there won’t be blending from two different sources.”

Jones said the second avenue is that the city has rebuilt the chlorinating system at the city well site in an effort to remove any contaminants. He said they are working with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality daily on the issue.

“These kinds of things happen when there is an aging infrastructure,” Jones said.

He said 1/3 of the city’s water system needs to be replaced, and they are trying to maintain the system as best as they can in the meantime.

In all, the city has been approved for more than $6 million in grants to accomplish its goals regarding the water system, and Jones said the city has done its due diligence and is waiting on the funding agencies to release funds.

The work the grants covers is sewer line improvements, engineering plans, a new water tower, a new ground storage tank, a new water lift station and water line replacements.

Jones said another issue born of the water problems is informing residents, as the city website and social media is limited in its reach. The city staff currently is researching a better system of notifying the public of problems.

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Christmas holidays are here. We are very excited about the upcoming holiday festivities. 

The library will have a booth at the Hometown Country Christmas on Saturday, Dec. 11. We will have paperback books for sale. Plan to come and buy a book or two to put in your Christmas stockings. If you have a preference for a certain author, then please let your librarian know. 

We have many books donated and can probably fix you up for your reading needs. All proceeds will go towards the new Library Building Fund.

Groveton Methodist Women has graciously donated $150 towards the Library Building Fund. We are humbled and thankful for their donation. There are donation cans in some of our businesses in town. The total collections from these jars for the past two weeks were $100.58. Our total donations so far $455.28. 

If you happen to be in these stores, please drop your change and it will eventually add up to our new library building. The businesses that have graciously allowed us to put donation jars are McClain’s Hardware, One Stop Grocery and Pizza, Pruitt’s Auto Parts and Susie Q’s. Please support these businesses and support our new library efforts. 

Your librarian will keep you posted on our advancing total every two weeks. There will be more fundraisers in the future and they will be announced here in our news column.

•There has been a lot of interest in starting a Friends of the Library group. This group would help your librarian with fundraising for the anticipated new library.  If you would be interested in joining this group, please call or come by the library and get the information you need to join.

The library will have a Christmas open house on Friday, Dec. 17, from 5-6 p.m. Please come and visit your library and have some cookies and punch. Everyone is invited.

•We have so many activities to offer at the library. If you can think of something you wish for us to offer, please let your librarian know. This is your library and we would not be here if not for our patrons. 

If you are aware of any person that is homebound and cannot get to the library but would like to have books to read, please call the library. We will work on a time for delivery and pickup of books if someone shows interest. This is your library. Please let me know how I can be of service to you. 

Our hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 1 to 6 p.m.

Story time is at 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. ESL class is at 2 p.m. Friday

The library phone number is (936) 642-2483, and the location is in the rock building just east of the courthouse.

Cathy Czajkowski is director of the Groveton Public Library.