DUANE
Duane's take
The way the official marker tells it, here's the story of the Confederate Veterans and Old Settlers Reunion Grounds in Hill County. Now, picture this. It's 1901, and a group of men — Confederate veterans and old settlers of Hill County — decide they need a place to gather.
Not just a churchyard or a courthouse lawn. A real place. So their association goes out and acquires seventy-three acres of wooded land, and for the next two-plus decades, that stretch of trees becomes the beating summer heart of this corner of Texas.
Starting in 1902, they held an annual encampment — three to five days, every year — and the word important doesn't quite do it justice. Families loaded up wagons and made the trip out, setting up camp on the grounds like it was the most natural thing in the world. Special trains ran in from Hillsboro, carrying visitors who preferred rails to ruts.
And by 1909, a gravel auto road was completed, because progress has a way of showin' up whether you invite it or not. When the crowds arrived — and they did arrive, several thousand strong — there was plenty to keep everyone occupied. Speeches, musical programs, baseball games.
And on at least one occasion, a full carnival midway show rolled in. The grounds themselves were something to see: a spring-fed lake, a large pavilion, and a baseball park, all sitting together under those Hill County trees. Some families got so attached they leased their camp lots and built honest-to-goodness summer cottages.
The Fourth of July drew its own crowds too. The fraternal picnic association held its July 4th picnic on these grounds every year from 1908 to 1914. Other meetings and social events filled the calendar in between.
But things have a way of changing, even at a place that feels permanent. The Hill County Fair reopened in 1916, drawing attention elsewhere. And as the years wore on, the numbers of veterans and old settlers — the very people the association was built around — began to thin.
By the end of World War I in 1918, reunion attendance had dropped sharply. The association held on, but 1924 was the last encampment. That same year, they deeded the entire property to the state, with the hope it would be developed as Jefferson Davis State Park.
Those plans were never realized. Seventy-three acres of wooded ground that once rang with music and baseball and the voices of thousands — the wagons stopped coming, the trains stopped running, the cottages went quiet. What the association built, year after year from 1902 to 1924, lives now mostly in the marker's words and the particular hush of land that once held something that mattered.
What the marker says
Formed in 1901, the Confederate Veterans and Old Settlers Association of Hill County acquired 73 acres of wooded land as a site for its summer reunion. The 3-5 day encampment, held annually from 1902 to 1924, was an important social and recreational event in this locality. Many families traveled by wagon and camped at the site. Special trains from Hillsboro brought other visitors, and a gravel auto road was completed in 1909. The reunion usually attracted a crowd of several thousand persons. Activities included speeches, musical programs, baseball games, and, on one occasion, a carnival midway show. Located on the grounds were a spring-fed lake, large pavilion, and baseball park. Some families leased their camp lots and built summer cottages. The fraternal picnic association's July 4th picnic, 1908-14, and other meetings and social events were also held here. With the reopening (1916) of the Hill County Fair and a decrease in numbers of veterans and old settlers, reunion attendance dropped sharply at the end of World War I (1918). The association deeded its property to the state in 1924 to be developed as Jefferson Davis State Park, but those plans were never realized.