Happy Monday!
First off, I am fine. I'm not worried about the Covid-19 virus. There, that's the only comment I'm going to make on the whole thing. You get enough of that from other sources. I'm only commenting now so that I can look back on it later.
Now, on to the fun stuff. I spent a week at Huntsville State Park. It's a very nice state park, with full hookups right on the water, although those of you who are RVer's will understand this: Bring lots of leveler pads!
If you are familiar with Texas highways, the park is near where the big statue of Sam Houston is on I45 a bit north of Houston.
For those not well versed in Texas history, Samuel Houston is to Texas what George Washington is to the U.S. He was a hero of the Texas battle for independence, the first (and third) president of the Republic of Texas, governor of both Texas and Tennessee and a one of the first U.S Senators from the state of Texas.
Early side note: Houston was the only person in the history of the country to be governor of two states.
Houston's life story is really interesting, but I'll keep it to a few highlights. He was born in Virginia in 1793, moved to Tennessee, ran away from home as a teenager and lived with the Cherokee Indians, fought with Andrew Jackson in the war of 1812 and of course led the Texian Army to victory against Santa Anna in the Texas battle for independence.
While living with the Cherokee, Houston learned their language and developed a strong relationship with one of the Chiefs. He was given the name Raven by the Cherokee, and later taught them in a one room schoolhouse and helped them relocated to Arkansas, as well as acting as liaison between them and the federal government.
Houston was a party to a few political scandals in his time. Does anyone remember the story of a U.S. Representative beaten with a cane of the floor of the House? Yep, that was ol' Sam. The Rep in question had accused Houston of fraud, then refused to back up his allegations and things got physical. And he was once reprimanded for wearing traditional Cherokee garb to a meeting between the Secretary of War and members of the Cherokee nation.
Houston was also against the Confederacy at the onset of the Civil War. And he was governor of Texas at the time. His position was that Texas should return to being a sovereign republic, so he refused to take the oath of allegiance to the CSA as was removed from office. He was convinced that the Confederacy would lose and didn't want Texas to be a part of it. We all know what happened to show how prophetic Houston was, although he didn't live to see it.
Houston retired to Galveston, and later moved to Huntsville and lived in what was later named "The Steamboat House" where died in 1863 at the age of 70.
Side note time again: Houston was a Mason. And his funeral had a Masonic feel. At the conserved Steamboat House, the upper parlor is staged the way it was during the funeral complete with a Masonic bible and other accouterments. And, interestingly enough, Santa Anna, Houston's enemy in the war for Texas independence, was also a Mason.
In Huntsville today, there are a lot of areas honoring Houston. There's Sam Houston State University, the Sam Houston Memorial Museum (where the Steamboat House is) and even a local golf course called Raven Nest. And of course one can't miss the 67 foot tall statue of Sam himself right on the highway. And lest I forget, just down the road is the largest City in Texas (and the south). It's name? Houston, of course.
This will be part one of two from my visit to Huntsville. Next time I'll delve into the Texas History Museum.
For now, I'm going to continue unabated with my tour of the southeast. I've spent the week in Rock Hill, SC, just outside of Charlotte, where I visited with some folks from the old neighborhood. I'm headed to the Smokies next.
That's it for now, folks. Keep calm and wash your hands.
Later, folks.