DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official Half Moon marker has to say, and friend, this one's got some layers to it. Now the story of Half Moon goes back further than most Texas towns would dare claim. The very first mention of this community shows up in a 1689 account — that's sixteen eighty-nine — from Governor Alonso de Leon's expedition.
His group came through and encountered a Native American tribe that called Half Moon their home. So right there, before Texas was Texas in any legal sense, Half Moon already had a name and a people. And the name itself?
The marker tells us the area was known as Half Moon due to the peculiar shape of the timber there. You picture it — a crescent of trees curving along Rocky Creek, which was itself a natural gathering place for Native Americans and travelers alike. There's something about a spot on a creek that just pulls people to it, generation after generation.
By the 1830s, settlers were flocking in, drawn to trade and farming. One of the early ones was a German immigrant by the name of George Herder, who had participated in the Texas War for Independence and built himself a home in the area. A man who fought for the place, then planted roots in it.
Half Moon hit what you might call its stride between 1885 and 1887. At its height, the town had mercantile businesses, a saloon, a post office, a number of other buildings, and even a structure for the Woodmen of the World organization. It was a real, breathing, functioning community.
But here's where the story takes its turn. In 1887 — the very last year of Half Moon's peak — a man named Henry B. Shiner donated land for a railroad and the building of a new town.
That town would later become known as Shiner. For a short while, the area went by New Half Moon, as if it was tryin' to hold onto itself. But once the Aransas Pass Railroad switch was constructed on Shiner's land, transportation bypassed Half Moon entirely.
And when transportation leaves a town behind, the town tends to follow — slowly, quietly, the activity dwindled, the population thinned. Still, Half Moon didn't just vanish without a fight for relevance. The community kept on as a focal point for economic, political, and social life in the area.
People gathered there for events — a rabbit hunt, a Fourth of July celebration — the kinds of things that remind a community it still is one. The marker puts it plainly and I think it's worth repeating: Half Moon served as the foundation for the population of Shiner. The people, the patterns, the purpose — they didn't disappear, they relocated and grew into something larger.
So next time you roll through Shiner, just know — there was a crescent of timber on Rocky Creek that was old when this republic was young, and it set the table for everything that came after it.
What the marker says
THE COMMUNITY OF HALF MOON WAS FIRST MENTIONED IN A 1689 ACCOUNT FROM GOV. ALONSO DE LEON'S EXPEDITION WHEN THE GROUP ENCOUNTERED A NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBE THAT CALLED HALF MOON THEIR HOME. THE AREA WAS KNOWN AS HALF MOON DUE TO THE PECULIAR SHAPE OF THE TIMBER IN THE AREA. THIS LOCATION ON ROCKY CREEK WAS A NATURAL GATHERING PLACE FOR NATIVE AMERICANS AND TRAVELERS. SINCE THE 1830s, SETTLERS HAVE FLOCKED TO THE AREA TO ENGAGE IN TRADE AND FARMING. ONE OF THE EARLY SETTLERS WAS GERMAN IMMIGRANT GEORGE HERDER WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE TEXAS WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE AND BUILT A HOME IN THE AREA. DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE TOWN, FROM 1885 TO 1887, THE COMMUNITY CONSISTED OF MERCANTILE BUSINESSES, A SALOON, A POST OFFICE, AND A NUMBER OF OTHER BUILDINGS, INCLUDING A STRUCTURE FOR THE WOODMEN OF THE WORLD ORGANIZATION. IN 1887, HENRY B. SHINER DONATED LAND FOR A RAILROAD AND THE BUILDING OF A TOWN, WHICH LATER BECAME KNOWN AS SHINER. FOR A SHORT WHILE, THE AREA WAS KNOWN AS NEW HALF MOON. ONCE THE ARANSAS PASS RAILROAD SWITCH WAS CONSTRUCTED ON SHINER'S LAND, TRANSPORTATION BYPASSED HALF MOON AND THE TOWN'S ACTIVITY AND POPULATION SLOWLY DECREASED. HALF MOON CONTINUED TO PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN THE ECONOMIC, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE PEOPLE IN THE AREA WITH A NUMBER OF EVENTS SUCH AS A RABBIT HUNT AND A 4TH OF JULY CELEBRATION. THE HALF MOON COMMUNITY SERVED AS A FOCAL POINT FOR BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER THROUGH TRADE AND SERVED AS THE FOUNDATION FOR THE POPULATION OF SHINER. HALF MOON IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE INFLUENCE OF SMALL COMMUNITIES THAT LED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF LARGER COMMERCIAL CITIES.