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Wednesday, December 31, 2003
I've Been Thinking, Historical Account of the Montgomery Area
by Narcissa Martin Boulware
A Skin Deep Matter
1st Chapter
The first settlers of Plantersville who actively promoted the growth of the community were headed by three of Austin's colonists, namely Greenwood, Montgomery and Landrum. These three men picked this spot of land to settle on or about 1830, long before it was wrestled from Mexico. All three were farmers in their former homes in Alabama and Arkansas and carefully looked at the soil and liked the heavy sandy soil for their planned large-scale plantations. The Plantersville community area was called the Grimes Prairie and was closely allied to Yarboro, Stoneham to the west and to Dobbin, also known as Bobville or Bobbin to the east. The community area also included Todd, four miles south of Plantersville and Richards, northeast out FM 149. All of these communities were closely allied and were populated by many different ethnic groups. This beginning of a story of remembrance of a happening in this pre-Republic area which was just across the creek of many of our ancestors, friends, neighbors and business partners. The majority of the population were dedicated members of the church of their choice and practiced the rule "Help Thy Neighbor". A few years back the real estate purchase of a tract of land about a mile from St. Mary's Catholic Church was quietly recorded. St. Mary's served the Polish, Russian and German immigrants as well as all other ethnic Catholics in the wide area around Plantersville, including all the communities east of Big Lake Creek. This huge, treacherous, unpredictable creek kept Montgomery and other small settlements from going to their sister community affairs when "the creek was on a rise". The creek being on the rise stopped traffic of any kind for a time and as the nearest Catholic Church for the citizens of the Montgomery-Dobbin area was about the same distance, Conroe being about 15 miles east and Plantersville and the church about the same. The instance I read about brought together as one all of the various communities listed above who totally ignored church leavings, creek overflows, race and creed united in one fight.
I chanced upon an article written by Tom Moran, a staff writer of the Houston Chronicle dated May 15, 1977. The headlines read, "Nudist Camp at doorstep has many in town up in arms". He gives the population of Plantersville as 700 and says the new neighbors are known as "Nudist World" with a membership of 900. According to the president of this nudist camp this group were not moving in the area to be a neighbor, saying, "We will do what we want to do on our private property and only want to be left alone." Writer Moran quotes Carolyn Kurten one of the leaders of the opposition says it is legalized prostitution. Mary Hoffart and husband owned a large tract of land adjoining the camp. Their plans to build what would be their retirement home on their property had to be put on hold. Hoffart said his children's friends would be forbidden to visit because of the various areas of their land where the camp members were visible.
Many residents of the community voiced their fears that lack of resistance and seeming acceptance would encourage the young people of the area to defy their family and church teachings of high moral values. Jim Chase president of the Nudist World says the local residents do not understand what nudism is all about. |
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