Giddings Owes Its Name to San Jacinto RoadyGoat

1838

Giddings began in 1871 as a railroad town, when the Houston and Texas Central built a station here to serve communities the tracks had bypassed. It is usually said to be named for railroad investor Jabez Deming Giddings, though some accounts credit his brother DeWitt. And the reason a Giddings was even in Texas to be honored traces back to a battlefield. Jabez first came to Texas in 1838 for a somber reason: his older brother Giles had died of wounds suffered at the Battle of San Jacinto, the fight that won Texas its independence, and Jabez came south to claim the military land bounty Giles had earned with his life. He never left. He stayed on as a teacher, a lawyer, a banker, and eventually a railroad man. So this little stoplight town between Austin and Houston carries a name that leads straight back to a brother who died for the Republic. (Source: Texas State Historical Association.)

When a Neighbor Town Tried to Steal the Courthouse RoadyGoat

1878

The handsome red-brick courthouse in the middle of Giddings exists because the town once had to fight to keep it. Lee County's first courthouse was finished here in 1878, an ornate building with a mansard roof and a tower. Then, in 1897, it burned to the ground. The nearby community of Lincoln saw its chance and petitioned to move the whole county seat over to them. It came down to a countywide vote, and Giddings held on, fourteen hundred to a thousand. With the seat secured, the county built the courthouse you see now, in 1899, designed by the noted Texas architect J. Riely Gordon in the heavy, arched Romanesque style he was famous for, all rounded arches, contrasting stone, and a central clock tower. When it was later restored, the decorative courtroom painting was redone to reflect the area's own heritage. So this courthouse is not just the seat of government, it is a trophy from a fight the town nearly lost. (Sources: Texas State Historical Association; Texas Time Travel.)

City Meat Market: Where Tootsie Learned the Pits RoadyGoat

1900

City Meat Market in downtown Giddings is the kind of barbecue place that barely exists anymore: an old-fashioned butcher shop where you walk to the back, watch the meat come straight off the pits, order it by the pound, and carry it out on butcher paper. They make their own sausage, and the brisket, ribs, chicken, and pork steak draw people off the highway. But here is the detail that ties Giddings to the whole modern Texas barbecue world. Long before Tootsie Tomanetz became the famous pitmaster at Snow's BBQ over in Lexington, the woman often called the queen of Texas barbecue, she learned the rhythm of the pits right here. She started tending fire at City Meat Market back in 1966, before eventually running the market in Lexington and, decades later, becoming the legend at Snow's. So the smoke you smell here helped raise one of the most respected names in barbecue anywhere. (Sources: Texas Monthly; Round Top.)

Longley, William Preston

1868

William Preston (Bill) Longley, outlaw, son of Campbell and Sarah Longley, was born in Austin County, Texas, on October 6, 1851. By April 1853 his family had moved to Evergreen, in what was then Washington County, where Longley went to school and worked on the family farm. Tales of Longley's criminal career are a mixture of actual facts and his boasts, but it is known that at the end of the Civil War a rebellious Longley took up with other young men and terrorized newly-freed slaves. On December 20, 1868, Longley, Johnson McKeown, and James Gilmore intercepted three ex-slaves from Bell County; this incident resulted in the death of Green Evans. Longley would later claim that after this he worked as a cowboy in Karnes County, and then killed a soldier as he rode through Yorktown, but there is no corroboration for these stories. He also claimed that he rode with bandit Cullen M. Baker in northeast Texas, but this is unlikely. In 1869–70, he and his brother-in-law, John W. Wilson, were terrorizing residents of south central Texas, and it was alleged that in February 1870, in Bastrop County, they killed a black man named Brice. In March the military authorities offered a $1,000 reward for them. They were also accused of killing a black woman. After Wilson's death in Brazos County, Longley traveled north, later claiming that he killed a traildriver named Rector, fought Indians, killed a horse thief named McClelland, and killed a soldier at Leavenworth, Kansas, for insulting the virtue of Texas women. None of these claims have been corroborated. At Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory, Longley joined a gold-mining expedition into the Wind River Mountains, but was stranded when the United States Army stopped the group. In June 1870 he enlisted in the United States cavalry and promptly deserted. He was captured, court-martialed, and sentenced to two years' confinement at Camp Stambaugh, Wyoming Territory. After about six months he was released back to his unit, where he remained until he again deserted on June 8, 1872. Longley claimed that he lived and rode with Chief Washakie and his Shoshone Indians, which is questionable, and then returned to Texas via Parkerville, Kansas, where he claimed he killed a Charlie Stuart, of whom there is no record. He returned to Texas and Bell County, where his parents had moved, and claimed that he worked as a cowboy in Comanche County and what was then Brown County, allegedly killing a black man and engaging in a gunfight at the Santa Anna Mountains in Coleman County. In July 1873 Longley was arrested by Mason county sheriff J. J. Finney in Kerr County and taken to Austin so that Finney could be paid a reward. When the reward was not paid, Finney was supposedly paid off by a Longley relative and Longley was released. In late 1874 Longley and his brother James Stockton Longley rode from Bell County to the Lee County home of their uncle, Caleb Longley, who implored Longley to kill a Wilson Anderson for allegedly killing his son. On March 31, 1875, Longley shotgunned Anderson to death while Anderson was plowing a field, and the two brothers fled north to the Indian Territory. They returned to Bell County in July, where James turned himself in; James was later acquitted of any part in Anderson's murder. In November 1875 Longley killed George Thomas in McLennan County, then rode south to Uvalde County, where, in January 1876, he killed William (Lou) Shroyer in a running gunfight. By February 1876 Longley was in Delta County, Texas, sharecropping for the Reverend William R. Lay. A dispute with a local man over a girl led to Longley's arrest. He burned himself out of the Delta County jail and, on June 13, 1876, killed the Reverend Lay while Lay was milking a cow. On June 6, 1877, Longley was captured in DeSoto Parish, Louisiana, by Nacogdoches county sheriff Milton Mast; Longley was returned to Lee County to stand trial for the murder of Wilson Anderson. Longley promptly began writing letters to a local newspaper a

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Smith, Hilton Lee

1931

Negro League baseball player Hilton Lee Smith has been heralded by baseball historians as the best all-around pitcher in Black baseball history. Noted for his fine curveballs, Smith played most of his career with the Kansas City Monarchs where he became known most as Satchel Paige's relief pitcher. In games, especially barnstorming exhibition games, Paige pitched the first three innings as a draw to attract fans, and Smith pitched the final six innings. Because of his quiet demeanor, Smith never attracted the public attention at the same level as Paige, but those connected to Black baseball considered Smith an equal in ability to his more famous contemporaries. Born on February 27, 1907, in Giddings, Texas, to John and Mattie Smith, Hilton Smith first started playing baseball as a youth on the local town team. His father, a teacher, also played on the team but encouraged his son to get an education. As a result, Smith enrolled at Prairie View State Normal and Industrial College (now Prairie View A&M University), the historically-Black college west of Houston in 1927. For two years he attended Prairie View and pitched for the school team in his last year. Smith made his professional debut in 1931 with the Austin Black Senators of the Texas-Oklahoma-Louisiana League. The league closed down following the 1931 season, so Smith moved on and joined the Monroe Monarchs (of Louisiana) of the Negro Southern League. He pitched with Monroe for four seasons and also pitched for the New Orleans Black Creoles and New Orleans Crescent Stars in 1933. In 1936 Smith made the last team change of his career and joined the Kansas City Monarchs; he remained with them until he retired from baseball in 1948. The Monarchs spent 1936 as a touring team, but in 1937 they joined the newly-formed Negro American League (NAL). During his twelve-year tenure with the Monarchs, Smith won more than twenty games each year. During this time, he helped his team win five of the first six Negro American League pennants and the 1942 and 1946 "Negro World Series" championships over the rival Negro National League. Adding to Smith's personal accomplishments, he pitched a no-hitter against the Chicago American Giants in 1937 and made six consecutive East-West All-Star games from 1937 to 1942. In 1938 he won every NAL game he pitched. During his peak period (1939-42), Smith compiled a record of ninety-three wins and eleven losses against all levels of competition. Furthermore, in exhibition games against White major league players, Smith won six games and only lost one. As Smith neared the end of his career, the Brooklyn Dodgers of the White major leagues approached him about joining their team. Having just signed Jackie Robinson in 1945, the Dodgers sought other African American players to add to their team. Smith declined the offer and felt his age too great for a rookie. Two years later, following the 1948 season, Hilton Smith retired from professional baseball. He had a career record of 161-32 in league play. Following retirement, Smith became a teacher and coach in the Kansas City, Missouri, public school system. He later worked until 1978 as a foreman for Armco Steel in Kansas City. Then Smith took on the role of associate scout for the Chicago Cubs until his death in 1983. Smith married Louise Humphrey in 1934; their marriage lasted forty-nine years. The couple had two sons, Hilton and DeMorris. Hilton Lee Smith died in Kansas City, Missouri, on November 18, 1983. He was buried in Mount Moriah Cemetery in that city. In 2001 Smith received election into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. In 2009 the city of Giddings dedicated a baseball field in Smith's name, and the Hilton Lee Smith Baseball Memorabilia Collection was established at the Giddings Public Library and Cultural Center.

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Lee County

1821

Located on Old San Antonio Road, on land surveyed in 1821 as part of the original colony of Moses and Stephen F. Austin. In 1854 became site of major settlement by Wend from northern Europe, led by Pastor Johann Kilian. Had only school in U. S. that taught in Wendish-- language surviving only here and in Australia, in the modern world. County was created from Bastrop, Burleson, Fayette and Washington. Organized in 1874, it was named for Robert E. Lee (1807-1870), general of the Army of Northern Virginia, in the southern Confederacy, 1862-1865. Giddings is the county seat.

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County Named for Beloved Confederate General Robert E. Lee

1857

Led army of Northern Virginia which included famed Hood's Texas Brigade. He said about them "I never ordered that brigade to hold a position that they did not hold it." "The enemy never sees the backs of my Texans." In the Battle of the Wilderness the Texans, seeing Lee set to lead the charge and fearing for his safety, halted, shouting, "General Lee to the rear," until he complied. Lee once declined furloughs for the Texans for he needed their services. He considered them his best shock troops. About Lee's surrender a Texan said, "I'd rather have died than surrendered; but if Marse Bob thinks that is best...Marse Bob is bound to be right as usual." COLONEL ROBERT E LEE IN TEXAS 1857-1861 Robert E. Lee spent 25 months on the Texas frontier, proving and seasoning grounds for great army leaders in the impending Civil War. With the 2nd U. S. Cavalry at Camp Cooper, he led a 1,600-mile scouting expedition into Indian country. He commanded the 2nd, first at San Antonio - leading the attempt to capture Mexican bandit Juan Cortina - next at Fort Mason. Lee learned how to adapt himself and his men to outdoor life and adverse conditions he later faced on battlefields. Knowledge of the ways of his fellow officers who later held high ranks in both armies...

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Edward R. Sinks House

1890

Built around 1890, this American four-square house with offset entry was the home of Edward “Ed” R. Sinks (1854-1936), son of George Washington Sinks (1812-1892) and Julia Lee Sinks (1817-1904). George and Julia, both friends of Sam Houston, were prominent pioneers. George was first chief clerk of the Republic of Texas Postal System and Julia was an avid amateur historian. She was a charter member, vice president and more of the Texas State Historical Association. They lived here during their elder years with Ed, an attorney and founding director of the first bank in Lee County. Ed was Lee County’s first state district judge from 1893 to 1916 and later became state representative for Lee, Milam and Burleson Counties from 1925 to 1929. 				 Recorded Texas Historic Landmark – 2017

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Redfield, Henry Prentice

1835

Henry Prentice Redfield, an early colonist and soldier in the Army of the Republic of Texas , was born in Derry, New Hampshire, on May 27, 1819, the son of William and Susan (Prentice) Redfield. After the death of his father, his mother married John C. Cunningham, a friend of Moses and Stephen F. Austin , and soon thereafter the family (including Henry's brothers, John Albert and William) immigrated to the Austin colony in Texas; they left New York in late 1830 and arrived by ship at Matagorda in 1831. They lived at San Felipe for several years, then settled on the Colorado River in lower Bastrop County on a large grant of land that became known as Cunningham's Prairie. Besides farming, the Cunninghams later ran a stagecoach inn on the old road from Austin to San Felipe. During the Texas Revolution Redfield was in Capt. John Henry Moore 's company at the battle of Gonzales , October 2, 1835, and with Benjamin R. Milam at the siege of Bexar in early December 1835. Though not an actual participant in the battle of San Jacinto , he helped round up the fleeing Mexicans after the battle. Redfield continued to serve in the Texas army in various Indian fights and was wounded in the battle of Plum Creek on August 11, 1840. That year his brother William was killed in a battle involving the Republic of the Rio Grande . In 1842 Redfield was with Mathew Caldwell on the expedition against Adrián Woll at San Antonio and fought in the battle of Salado Creek . During the Mexican War (in 1846) Redfield joined the First Texas Cavalry, United States Army, and served under Gen. Zachary Taylor at the battle of Resaca de la Palma and the siege of Monterrey. In 1850 he was the first census taker in Bastrop County. Redfield was married to Sarah Card of Fayette County on September 11, 1842, and they had nine children. After her death he was married to Julia Kersting of Washington County in 1872, and they had seven children. Redfield died on February 27, 1900, at Giddings and was buried in the Giddings Cemetery. An official Texas historical marker honoring Redfield was dedicated at his grave in 1971.

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Giddings, Texas

Rivers & Roads in Song near Giddings

History of Giddings

Giddings Owes Its Name to San Jacinto RoadyGoat

When a Neighbor Town Tried to Steal the Courthouse RoadyGoat

City Meat Market: Where Tootsie Learned the Pits RoadyGoat

Longley, William Preston

Smith, Hilton Lee

Lee County

County Named for Beloved Confederate General Robert E. Lee

Edward R. Sinks House

Redfield, Henry Prentice

Things to Do in Giddings

Everything Near Giddings