HELENA, TEXAS The Toughest Town on Earth

by Barry Harrin

  This was followed in September of 1842 by an attack on San Antonio by Mexican General Adrian Woll who dragged merchants and lawyers from their homes and businesses. These civilian prisoners were then sent on a forced march into Mexico. Upon reaching Mexico they were incarcerated at the infamous Perore Prison where they encountered physical abuse, humiliation and starvation.

  By this time, sympathy for the Texian cause had grown rapidly in the United States and in early 1845 annexation was at last approved. Hostilities with Mexico and the Indians reached a settlement, and Texas was admitted as a state on December 29, 1845 … after almost ten years as an independent nation.

  To complicate matters the Mexican government on June 4, 1845 restated their old claim to Texas, eventually leading to war with the United States in 1846. Even before formal annexation General Zachary Taylor had been dispatched to Texas and by October of 1845 he had 3,500 troops on the Nueces River in order to repel a new Mexican invasion. After an attack on American forces, the United States declared war on Mexico on May 11, 1846.65

  The full reality of the war with Mexico hit the Texas coast at Matagorda Bay like a hurricane on August 1, 1846. Throughout the day, army transport ships poured into the bay and anchored just offshore.66

  This operation was commanded by the third highest ranking officer in the United States Army, John Ellis Wool. The sixty-two year old general exploded with nervous energy, as he came ashore to arrange for this massive landing. General Wool had served in the War of 1812, the current War with Mexico and would ultimately serve as a Union general during the Civil War.67

  Wool sent thousands of troops and tons of military supplies in endless wagon trains up the Ox-Cart road from Lavaca (now Port Lavaca) to San Antonio for the ultimate invasion of Mexico. He chose to disembark at Lavaca because of the squalid, unhealthy conditions he found at the German immigrants’ camp at the Port of Indianola.68

  The old road went through Victoria on the 140 mile march to San Antonio. The heavy military wagons traveling this primitive road first encountered swampland up from the coast. From Victoria to Goliad was at first muddy after heavy rains, then sandy, and finally deep in dust up to San Antonio, through present day Karnes County.69

  Although the road followed some of the original trails used by ancient Indian tribes and Spanish Conquistadores, it was totally inadequate to handle the heavy military traffic. The poor quality of the roads, shortage of building materials for repairs, and the scorching Texas sun made life difficult for both the soldiers and the civilian teamsters. Marching under the August sun between the groups of wagons, the foot soldiers were tormented by thirst.70

  One of the early descriptions of the road between Matagorda Bay and San Antonio was made in August of 1846 by Lieutenant W. B. Franklin, topographical engineer under General Wool. He described the road from La Vaca through Goliad and Alamita (Future Helena) to San Antonio as follows: “Because the flies were so numerous the horse were nearly frantic and the men as well. For their comfort they had to travel at night.”71

  General Wool brought in his old friend Captain Robert E. Lee as an Engineering officer. Lee was charged with improving the South Texas roads to support a sustained invasion of Mexico. As part of this effort, Lee made numerous trips between the gulf coast and San Antonio including through the future Helena. This is the same Robert E. Lee who changed American history as the commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the American Civil War.72

  By the last week of September, Wool had transported over 1100 loads of supplies and at least 2,400 men to San Antonio. Doubling the population of the little city and putting a sharp strain on all its resources.73

  The War between the United States and Mexico began with an attack on American troops by Mexican forces along the southern border of Texas on April 25, 1846. This bitter and brutal war ended when U.S. Gen. Winfield Scott occupied Mexico City on September 14, 1847; a few months later, a peace treaty was signed (February 2, 1848) at Guadalupe Hidalgo.

  Under the terms of this treaty the United States acquired the northern half of Mexico. This area later became the U.S. states of California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

  In return the U.S. agreed to pay $15 million to Mexico as compensation for the seized territory. Although the Mexican military leadership, tactics and weaponry was often lacking, the United States victory came at a very heavy cost, due to the bravery and tenacity of the individual Mexican soldiers.

  The war cost the United States over $100 million, and ended the lives of 13,780 U.S. military personnel. In addition to the tremendous loss of territory, Mexican casualties have been estimated at 25,000 soldiers. Relations between the United States and Mexico remained tense for many decades to come, with several military encounters along the border.

  U.S. General Zachary “Old Rough and Ready” Taylor’s status as a war hero helped him capture the Presidency in 1848. In a strange twist of fate, President Polk, a Democrat, had pushed for the war that led to Zachary Taylor, a Whig, winning the White House.

  During the war, hundreds of teamsters and trail drivers came to Texas, and were hired by the United States Army. They were the key to hauling the thousands of pounds of military equipment and food across Texas necessary to support the war effort.74

  Once the war ended, many of the teamsters found work on the newly enhanced road system between the Gulf of Mexico and San Antonio, hauling both commercial and military supplies for the frontier forts.

  A number of the more adventurous ones settled in the wild and still dangerous territories in what would become Karnes County and Helena. Some of the original settlers in this virgin territory were men like the pioneer H.H. Brockman, Trail Drivers Frank Wishert and Levi Watts.

  These earliest of pioneers in South Texas and the future Karnes County faced many deprivations and dangers that could strike at any moment. In these earliest of days it wasn’t just the desperados that could reduce your life expectancy, it was also hostile Indians.

  As evidence, here is a newspaper article from Karnes County. Texas -NEWS - The Kenedy Times Historical Edition-October 31, 1963 about an Indian attack in the future Karnes County:

  One of the first memorable dates in the history of Karnes County, Texas was Oct 8, 1848, at which time a fight with Indians occurred just above the junction of the dry Escondido Creek, three miles from Kenedy and about two and a half miles south of old Daileyville, in the Plez Butler pasture. A band of Indians, about forty in number, raided the Yorktown settlement and drove off some thirty head of horses, and a company of thirty white men headed by Capt. (John) York organized as quickly as possible and followed their trail to Escondido Creek.Here they discovered a blanket, supposed to have been left by the Indians, and as they stopped to examine it, a volley of shots was fired from a thicket nearby, and a fierce battle ensued. After about thirty minutes the York party had lost three men, including Capt. York, his son in law, James Beil, and a man named Sykes—-and it was forced to withdraw because the Indians were hidden behind a large fallen oak in the dense thicket of trees, and greatly outnumbered the white men.

  The news of the fight spread quickly to Goliad County where Jackson and Benson Burris organized a company of men who came to the scene of the battle and buried the three men who had fallen in battle. It is estimated by the Goliad party that seven Indians were killed and their bodies carried away.

  Although this was one of the last major battles with Native Americans in the area, the dangers were far from over.

  Chapter 10: Helena and Karnes County Begin

  In 1852, San Antonio was little more than a village, and the surrounding country a wilderness, infested with wild beasts and wild men. On the very edge of civilization two men had a dream. Thomas Ruckman and Lewis S. Owings founded Helena at the site of a sleepy Mexican trading post called Alamita, in what was then considered Western Texas.

  Alamita or “Little Cottonwood” was a tiny Mexican settlement founded in the 1840s. It was described as a little spring in
a clump of cottonwood trees a few miles south of the intersection of Cibolo Creek with the San Antonio River.75

  This settlement, in what later became Karnes County, was Located on a bend of the San Antonio River at the intersection of the Chihuahua Trail and the wagon road from Gonzales to San Patricio.76

  The Chihuahua Trail or Ox-Cart Trail was first known as the la Bahia Road. The La Bahia Road was a major trade route connecting coastal Texas with Mexico and points west used to transport soldiers, settlers, supplies and treasure. This road ran from San Antonio to La Bahía (now Goliad) and the Texas coast.

  Thomas Ruckman was originally from Pennsylvania and a graduate of what later became Princeton University. This adventurous young man of twenty-two, found his way to San Antonio, Texas on Christmas Day of 1850. Ruckman worked as bookkeeper for several firms in San Antonio until he made a fateful trip in 1852. He came through old Alamita by accident while traveling to Goliad in 1852. Here is his personal account of that trip which changed his life and that of his descendents;77

  “In the summer of 1852 on my way back from San Antonio to Goliad, I found a little store and blacksmith shop on the road about ten miles after I crossed the Cibolo. This little storehouse was mostly built of rough boards that had been split in the woods out of post oak trees.

  The proprietor… had a little while before that time purchased of Antonio Navarra agent Ramon Musquez a two hundred acre tract out of his four league grant (1 League = 4428.4 acres),78 for which he paid one dollar per acre. On this tract where the cart road from San Antonio to the Gulf crossed it, he built his store, home dwelling and shop. Soon afterwards we laid out the town … and named it Helena.

  It is a beautiful location. A mile from the river on dry elevated ground -soil partly sand so that it is never muddy about the streets, always dry underfoot… And no place in the state surpasses it for health. Eighty-five miles in a straight line from the bay, the Gulf breeze strikes it fresh.”

  Ruckman had stumbled across a very unique location at Alamita. Much of early Texas history had traveled this ancient highway.

  The old Ox-Cart road had witnessed: Native American hunter-gatherers, Spanish conquistadores, priests, heroes of the Alamo, Santa Ana’s messenger ordering the death of Fannin’s 300+ men in Goliad, Polish and German settlers, Robert E. Lee, followed by Confederate and Union cavalry, and of course the ever present outlaws and desperados … followed by quick shooting lawmen.

  The transport of freight on the old Ox-Cart road utilized a variety of methods. This included overloaded pack animals, ox-carts with two huge wheels, prairie schooners, and Wells-Fargo type wagons drawn by sixteen mules. By the late 1840s, stagecoach service started on the Ox-Cart Road, with the only stop between Goliad and San Antonio being the halfway station of Alamita.79

  Alamita was quickly renamed in honor of Dr. Owings’s wife, Helen, as both men enthusiastically entered into a business partnership. They envisioned a substantial city at this important road stop. Ruckman built a gristmill and formed a partnership with Owings to open a general store.80

  Ruckman and Owings hired Charles A. Russell, the Goliad County Surveyor to survey and plat the new site and the town was officially established as a town November 7, 1853. That same day, a post office was established and Ruckman served as first postmaster.

  The population around Helena increased so rapidly that the partners initiated a campaign to create a new county from parts of Bexar, Gonzales, DeWitt, Goliad and San Patricio counties.

  Through their efforts the state legislature created Karnes County on February 4, 1854, named in honor of the late Texas revolutionary hero, Henry Wax Karnes, with Helena as the County seat. Here is the reason Lewis Owings chose the name Karnes for the new County.

  Henry Wax Karnes, a native of Tennessee, was sixteen when his family moved to Arkansas. One of his friends and neighbors there was Lewis Owings. In 1835 Karnes came to Texas and was serving as an overseer on Jared Groce’s Bernardo plantation on the Bravos River when the Texas Revolution began. His heroic exploits in Texas inspired his old friend Dr Owings to suggest in 1854 that this new county be named after Karnes.81

  The first election of county officials was held February 27 on the porch of the Ruckman-Owings store, which provided papers, pens, ink and the tables used by the voters.82

  It appears that at this point in time Helena already had over 200 residents and there were over 200 voters in this election. Naturally, women and children were not counted in this county vote so the population was considerably higher than this vote count for the county.83

  A two-story courthouse was built at Helena in 1856 from frame clapboard construction. The first floor served as a courtroom and for church services as well as Saturday night dances. The upper level was used as a Masonic lodge room for the Alamita Lodge No. 200.84

  The original wooden courthouse was destroyed by a tornado during the civil war in 1863. It wasn’t until 1873 that a two-story stone courthouse replaced the original building. (That two-story stone courthouse is still standing today).

  In 1854 not long after the founding of Helena there was a large immigration from upper Prussian Silesia. The immigrants had been abused by the Prussians (Germans) for centuries, starved and treated like Serfs. These Poles with Father Leopold Moczygemba, founded Panna Maria near Cibolo Creek, not far from Helena, It is the oldest Polish colony in North America and as you will see shortly, they had a tremendous influence on Karnes County and Texas.85

  Chapter 11: The Early Years in Helena

  Although the town of Helena and the Karnes County were growing by leaps and bounds not everyone was benefiting from this growth. The pioneer founders clearly were having serious “cash flow” problems with their general store as indicated by the following notice in a San Antonio newspaper.

  That same day, Owings and Ruckman advertised in the Western Texan newspaper their new line of fall and winter goods had just arrived from New York and Boston. Naturally, everything must be paid for in cash.

  Much of the history of South and Central Texas took place along the roads that radiated from San Antonio in every direction. During the stagecoach era of 1847 through 1881 over fifty different stage lines operated in and out of San Antonio.86

  At this time, San Antonio and the future Helena were at the very western edge of the Texas frontier and highly vulnerable to the dangers of a land with little law and order. A toxic combination of outlaws, marauding bands of Indians, Mexican soldiers and banditos made both travel and commerce life threatening pursuits. This was especially true before the Mexican War of 1848, as pointed out in a Houston newspaper article in 1845, which stated in part:

  “The trade of Bexar, like that of Corpus Christi, has been completely broken up by the Comanche who have driven back or cut off every party of traders that were accustomed to visit those places.”87

  The first bridge across the San Antonio River at Helena seems to have been initiated by Owings as you can see in the following State of Texas document:

  An Act to authorize L.S Owings and his Associates or Assigns to make and maintain a Toll Bridge across the San Antonio River. L.S Owings and his associates or assigns and their successors, be authorized to make and maintain a bridge across the San Antonio River, opposite the town of Helena in Karnes County, suitable for the passage of wagons, carriages, etc and after completion of the same the proprietors shall be entitled to demand and receive the following rates of toll, for each road wagon, one dollar, for each cart, fifty cents, for each carriage or other light vehicle, fifty cents, for each animal and rider, ten cents, for each footman, five cents, for each single horse, mule, or other animal, five cents, for each animal (other than horses) in a drove, two cents. That no person shall be allowed to construct any other bridge across the said river within ten miles of the bridge hereby authorized, for five years after it’s construction. That said L.S Owings and his associates shall have the work completed in five years from the date of this charter, or they forfeit all rights to the same. Pass
ed, September 1st 1856. (The Laws of Texas 1822–1909 Volume 4 1898 by H.P.N Gammel)

  Apparently it was not until 1854 that a straight-line stagecoach route was available from Indianola to San Antonio. This straight-line route seems to have followed the old Ox-Cart road from the old La Bahia on the Texas coast to San Antonio. Previously the stagecoach routes tended to take a much longer through population centers such as New Braunfels, Seguin, Gonzales, and Victoria.

  The advertisement below from late 1854 offers a new line of Four Horse Coaches from San Antonio to Victoria via Helena and Goliad. It was started by L.S. Owings the partner of Thomas Ruckman of Helena. Helena had just become the county seat of the newly formed Karnes County. As Helena was located almost midway between Goliad and San Antonio along the old Ox-Cart Road, it was destined to become a boom town for decades to come.

  Initially Owings stagecoach line ran weekly from San Antonio to Victoria via Helena and Goliad. However according to the advertisement, stages were scheduled to run twice a week after September 1, 1854. Owings resided in Helena for only a few years, when he left suddenly to become the first territorial governor of Arizona.