Beginnings for the Confederate Monument

On February 4, the school report showed 364 students with a 93% attendance rate and six cases of corporal punishment from December 28 through January 22. By February 4, there were 389 students. On February 11, the Inquirer urged homeowners to care for their trees by removing mistletoe and damaged, low-hanging limbs to keep the town looking its best. On February 25, a carload of bones was shipped out of Gonzales by a local firm. Also on February 25, Stahl Brothers had sent out eight carloads of eggs since January 3, bringing in about $12,000 per month. On March 11, the Texas Senate passed a bill for the erection of a monument in Gonzales honoring Texas heroes. Fred Meisenhelder began work on the Patton House, and contractors were busy constructing sidewalks around the Methodist, Baptist, Christian, and Episcopal Churches, as well as the schools. On March 18, Mary Kelley retired from Mohrmann & Kelley Drug Store, and 15,000 square feet of concrete were installed after several weeks of sidewalk laying. B.B. Hoskins & Sons helped raise money for the Confederate monument by donating five percent of cash sales on March 24, 25 & 26 to the UDC fund. The April 1, 8, and May 6 editions featured several businesses, including the Gonzales Cement Stone Company and the Majestic Theatre, but not all were advertised. On April 22, the new Fussell Grocery Store was being built at the corner of Badger and St. Peter Streets. On April 29, the Gonzales Opera House was opened by the Ollre brothers, who leased the building, after being closed for two years. By May 6, the Cotton Mill was running at full force and turning out about 175,000 yards of cloth per month. J.S. White, the barber, installed a new electric massage machine in order to serve his patrons in a twentieth-century manner. On May 20, the two-story Stahl-Joseph brick building was nearing completion. The District Courtroom was being remodeled by Wallace White on June 24, and the Presbyterian manse burned to the ground on July 13 with no insurance. On July 21, a huge celebration was held in conjunction with the laying of the cornerstone of the Confederate monument, with four to five thousand people in attendance. Money was raised by the Gonzales Chapter United Daughters of the Confederacy, Number 545. County Commissioners asked for bids for the erection of an iron fence around the courthouse on August 26. In September, first reports claimed an earthquake struck near Gonzales. Later, it was discovered that the loud noise and rumble occurred when a huge portion of a bluff fell into the Guadalupe River. Finally, it was reported that the true cause of the disturbance was a meteor that had crashed to earth between Praha and Flat.