DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just here to make sure you hear every word of it. This is Duane, and this is La Recluta and La Escuelita, out here in Milam County. It starts, as so many Texas stories do, with land.
In 1833, a man named Jose Leal received six leagues of it right in this area. Six leagues. That's a considerable piece of ground, and for a while, it was probably just that — ground.
Quiet ground. Then, in 1867, somebody found coal. That changes things.
And when the railroad reached Rockdale in 1874, the pieces were all in place — though the first actual coal mine didn't begin operation until 1890. That one was owned by Herman Vogel. Others opened after that, and where mines open, people follow.
Some of those people were coming from Mexico, leaving behind a revolution. They arrived looking for work, and they found it — in the mines, and in the fields. They settled on land owned by E.A.
Camp, sharecropping it, growing enough to sustain themselves, and then going down into the earth to earn the rest. The families who built this community — the Ruiz family, the Flores, the Casarez, the Zapata, the Aldama, the Montoya, the Lumbreras — they planted themselves just north of the International-Great Northern Railroad tracks. And they gave their settlement a name: La Recluta.
Recruitment. Now, here's something worth pausing on. The men who worked those mines received their pay in tokens.
Not money — tokens. Redeemable only at the mine commissary, or for doctor visits. That was the arrangement.
That was the economy these families lived inside. And then came 1913. Several men were trapped in an International Mine Company cave-in.
Eight men and one mule. They waited in the dark for six days. Six days underground, and when it was over — one man did not come out alive.
Yards away from where that mine entrance collapsed, there is La Escuelita. The little schoolhouse. Built for the children of La Recluta.
Classes were taught in English, even though most of those children spoke Spanish at home. The school was part of the Talbott Ridge School District, until 1944, when consolidation moved the students into Rockdale schools. Two years later, in 1946, Rockdale merchants donated benches to the La Escuelita building.
And in 1953, the school was deeded to the St. Joseph's Cemetery Association — the organization that supports the community's cemetery. That cemetery is still there.
Nearly three hundred gravestones, each one telling a piece of the story of La Recluta's families. Many of those families remain in the area to this day. Six leagues of land, a coal discovery, a revolution that pushed people north, tokens instead of wages, six days underground, one schoolhouse, and nearly three hundred stones in the earth.
That's La Recluta. That's La Escuelita. And that ground holds every bit of it.
What the marker says
La Recluta and La Escuelita Jose Leal received six leagues of land in this area in 1833. In 1867, coal was discovered, and the railroad reached Rockdale in 1874. Not until 1890 did the first coal mine, owned by Herman Vogel, begin operation. Others opened, and more settlers came looking for work. Many workers came from Mexico, leaving behind a revolution. These immigrants settled on land owned by E.A. Camp. They sharecropped, growing enough for themselves, and worked in the mines. They named their settlement, just north of the International-Great Northern Railroad tracks, La Recluta, or "recruitment." Family names represented here include Ruiz, Flores, Casarez, Zapata, Aldama, Montoya and Lumbreras. The men, like many other industry workers at the time, received their pay in tokens, which were redeemable only for mine commissary purchases and doctor visits. Several men were trapped in an International Mine Company cave-in in 1913. Eight men and one mule awaited rescue for six days; one man did not survive. Yards away from the collapsed mine entrance is La Escuelita, the small schoolhouse built for the children of the community. Classes were taught in English, although most students spoke Spanish at home. As part of the Talbott Ridge School District, the students transferred to Rockdale schools in 1944, when the districts consolidated. In 1946, Rockdale merchants donated benches to La Escuelita building. In 1953, the school was deeded to the St. Joseph's Cemetery Association, the support group for the community's cemetery, where nearly 300 gravestones tell the stories of La Recluta's families, many of whom remain in the area. (2002)