Hackberry

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Hackberry, up in Lavaca County. Now, every good Texas community story starts with one determined soul, and this one starts with Ludwig Eduard Neuhaus. He came to Texas in 1846, a German immigrant with a plan and apparently a whole lot of nerve.

He settled in northern Lavaca County, and here is where it gets interesting: Ludwig did not just build a life for himself. He set about building a community. He encouraged and sponsored other German immigrants to come join him in Hackberry.

Among those who answered the call were his own brothers, Franz and Hermann. Ludwig's vision was specific. He wanted Germans who could contribute to and augment the area's German population.

He was not just homesteading. He was building something. And the location helped.

Hackberry sat right along the Gonzales-San Felipe Road, a vital route running across northern Lavaca County. You put a settlement on a road like that, people are going to stop. And some of them are going to stay.

By the 1850s, the community was thriving. There was a saw mill, a grist mill, and a general store, which Ludwig and his wife Auguste ran right out of their own home. Imagine that.

The mercantile was the living room. Then came 1861, and Hackberry had itself a big year. A Methodist church was established, and it doubled as a school.

The town received a post office. And it was officially named Hackberry, for the trees located right there on Neuhaus' property. The name had been standing in the yard the whole time, waiting to be official.

The town kept on growing. There were daily stages running to Hallettsville and Schulenburg. There was a dance hall, a slaughterhouse, and a dipping vat.

The area drew some notable settlers too. Large plantation owner W. G.

Foley was among them, and so was James W. Robinson, who had served as Provisional Governor of Texas back in 1836. That is not a small thing.

Hackberry was drawing people with history. But then came the railroad, and the railroad did not come to Hackberry. In the late 1800s, when a railroad bypassed the town, the population dropped quickly.

That is how it went in those days. The iron tracks giveth, and the iron tracks taketh away. The decline set in, slow at first, then all at once.

In 1935, the Neuhaus General Store finally closed. The store that Ludwig and Auguste had run out of their own home, the beating heart of that community, went quiet. Only a few structures remained as vestiges of what had been.

But here is the thing about Hackberry. It is still there, still a link to the area's past as an agricultural community vital to Lavaca County's development. Ludwig Neuhaus came to Texas in 1846 with a vision, planted a community like those hackberry trees, and even now, long after the stages stopped running and the store went dark, Hackberry holds its ground.

What the marker says

THE HACKBERRY COMMUNITY WAS ESTABLISHED BY GERMAN IMMIGRANT LUDWIG EDUARD NEUHAUS, WHO CAME TO TEXAS IN 1846, SETTLING IN NORTHERN LAVACA COUNTY. HE ENCOURAGED AND SPONSORED OTHER GERMAN IMMIGRANTS TO SETTLE IN HACKBERRY; AMONG THOSE THAT JOINED HIM WERE HIS BROTHERS, FRANZ AND HERMANN. LUDWIG’S VISION WAS TO BRING GERMANS TO THE AREA WHO COULD CONTRIBUTE TO AND AUGMENT ITS GERMAN POPULATION. LOCATED ALONG THE GONZALES-SAN FELIPE ROAD, A VITAL ROUTE RUNNING ACROSS NORTHERN LAVACA COUNTY, THE SETTLEMENT EXPERIENCED STEADY GROWTH. BY THE 1850s, THE COMMUNITY WAS THRIVING. IT HAD A SAW MILL, GRIST MILL, AND A GENERAL STORE, WHICH LUDWIG NEUHAUS AND HIS WIFE, AUGUSTE, RAN OUT OF THEIR HOME. A METHODIST CHURCH, WHICH WAS ALSO USED AS A SCHOOL, WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1861. ALSO IN THAT YEAR, THE TOWN RECEIVED A POST OFFICE AND WAS OFFICIALLY NAMED HACKBERRY FOR THE TREES LOCATED ON NEUHAUS’ PROPERTY. HACKBERRY PROVIDED DAILY STAGES TO HALLETTSVILLE AND SCHULENBURG, AND ALSO FEATURED A DANCE HALL, SLAUGHTER HOUSE AND DIPPING VAT. AREA SETTLERS INCLUDED LARGE PLANTATION OWNER W.G. FOLEY AND JAMES W. ROBINSON, WHO WAS PROVISIONAL GOVERNOR OF TEXAS IN 1836. IN THE LATE 1800s, HACKBERRY BEGAN TO DECLINE WHEN A RAILROAD BYPASSED THE TOWN. THE POPULATION DROPPED QUICKLY. IN 1935, THE NEUHAUS GENERAL STORE CLOSED. ONLY A FEW STRUCTURES REMAINED AS VESTIGES OF THE COMMUNITY. TODAY, HACKBERRY REMAINS A LINK TO THE AREA’S PAST AS AN AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY VITAL TO LAVACA COUNTY’S DEVELOPMENT.