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History of the Town of La Vernia
Published: 01/01/1937 by Anonymous
Before the Civil War, La Vernia was called Post Oak. There was one store in town owned and operated by Henderson and Morgan. La Vernia is located in the Northwestern part of Wilson County of which Floresville is the county seat. When La Vernia was first settled it was known as Post Oak, Texas. Some years later it was named La Vernia, derived from the Spanish word "La Verde" which means the "the green". Originally this part of Wilson County was known as the Herrera and Delgado Leagues, Grants, or Tracts.
Several families from Mississippi came and settled plantations in this part of the county, bringing with them their negro slaves. One of these early settlers, Mr. James Newton, owned a planation just across the river, the place where Harry Brause now lives, He built log cabins for his slaves. These cabins extended from his home on the hill, all the way down the fence row to the river.
He would load up his wagons with cotton, with six or eight oxen to the wagon, put his old negro foreman to drive them, and send them to Port Lavaca, sell the cotton and buy groceries, after weeks of travel, they returned with loads of groceries for the plantations. Lumber that was used to build the houses was hauled from Port Lavaca with ox teams. Nails were so scarce that the houses were mostly put together with wooden pins. Lumber was so scarce and hard to get that most of the first houses were built of logs. Some of the floors were built of flat rocks. The rafters were made of hewn logs.
The first store and gin that was built in La Vernia was located about one hundred yards below where the depot now stands. The store was moved and built on the lot where the Red and White store now stands. A grocery store, post office, and doctor's office was in this building. The store was owned by a man by the name of Erskin. Dr. Graves and Dr. McMan were the physicians. Dr. McMan, met his death at the hands of an assassin, who in the early morning pretended to want him on a call, and when the doctor came into the room, he leveled his rifle dealt the doctor a death blow. He owned the home in which Gus McClain, now lives. There was an organized band of men called the "Minute Men", their leader was a Mr. Montgomery, a Major in the Civil War. These men went in pursuit of the assassin but he was never caught. The rock house is one of the land marks built somewhere around the year 1859. It was used for years as a school house and was the first school building.
There have been boys and girls gone out from the old rock school house into all walks of life. Teachers, preachers, doctors, lawyers, judges, and Mrs. Jane Y. McCallum, who was our Secretary of State during Gov. Moody's administration. On Sunday mornings families came from far and near in big wagons, brought their lunches, and had church all day in the rock house, which was inter-denominational.
The cemetery was where Ewald Koepp's house now stands. A few bodies were taken up and moved to Concrete Cemetery; the rest of the graves remain there. Concrete Cemetery was given for a free public cemetery by Mr. Jimmy Newton, about 100 years ago. A white settler by the name of Rector, was riding a mule up the road just above the old rock house on the highway with a white boy and a negro boy, when Indians jumped out of the brush, scalped the negro boy, captured the white boy and took him with them and he was never heard of any more. Rector, escaped unharmed.
The railroad came through in the year 1896. It was then known as the "Gulf Shore R. R." Stockdale, was terminal until the year 1901, at which time it was extended to Victoria. The Methodist Church was built in 1886, the first church to be built in the town. In 1886 it was blown down by a storm and rebuilt immediately. The Methodist Church property was given to the West Texas Conference by Dr. McMan. Two of the first pastors were Rev. Felix Knox, and Rev. Thornbury.
