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Date Posted: 15:09:49 02/10/04 Tue
Author: Cody Farrell
Subject: Short History of Mclennan County

One of the first land grants given in the area that would later bcome known as McLennan county was to Thomas Jefferson Chambers on April 26, 1832. Although several serveying expeditons ventured into the area through the 1830's all permanent settlements were delayed until around the 1840's. Some time before 1840 a temparary ranger station was established in the area but was abandoned the following June. The Republic of Texas attempted to establish a local government in 1842, by forming a judicial district known as Waco County. But the next year the Texas Suprem Court ruled such conties unconstitutional. In 1848 plans were set up for permanent townsite at the former Waco Indian Villiage. Jacob Rahel de Cordova and several others began to sale land in the area at a dollar per acre. The next year in 1849, the town of Waco was laid out.
A County was established by the Texas legislature on January 22, 1850, which would be named after Neil McLennan an early settler. the county government would be established in August of the same year, with Wacon as its county seat. At the time the county included the present area as well as the to the northwest as far as the Northern boundary of the Robertson colony. McLennan County was reduced in size in 1854, when Bosque County was formed (this is its present size.) Though the county was formed to late to be inclueded in the 1850 census it is believed that the population numbered in the several hundreds. This was only possible with the push of the frontier well north of the area. Aside from Waco some other early communities were Bosqueville and Bold Spring. Most settlers before the War were Americans of English, Scottish, and Irish desent. Many of whom were well-to-do people with educations, money to invest, and established schools, churches, and small companies. Also in 1854, the county was divided into school districts.
Baptist and Methodist churches were amoung the earliest oragnized in the county. The first Methodist Church was built in 1850, with the first Baptist following a year later in 1851. Later a Presbyterian church was organized in 1855. Few Catholics lived in the area until after the War when German and Czech immigrants come to the area. The 1860 census showed the county's free population to be 3,811;270 of which were slave owners who owned a total of 2, 395 slaves.
McLennan county is moslty flat rolling terrain. The western section of the county varies shallow, stony soils that support mountain cedar and oaks. The eastern section is generally low and rolling to flat, with black waxy woils comprised of clay and sand loams that support mesquite, scrub brush, and several grasses. The Brazos River crosses the county from northwest to southeast. Wildlife in the area included deer, coyotes, rabbits, bobcats, beaver, opossums, fox, raccon, mink, skunks squirrels, antelope, buffalo, bear and wild hogs. The land near the Brazos River lent itself well to the establishment of large cotton plantations. Mostly the surrounding prairie was used primarily for livestock. The 1860 produciton of the county's farmers included 2,300 bales of cotton, 187,800 bushels of corn, 39,200 bushels of wheat, 46,600 cattle, and 22,000 sheep.
In January of 1861, Richard Coke represented the county at the Secession Convention. Though, the county voted to succed in 1861 by a vote of 586 to 191 the mayor of Waco (1862-66) was a well known Unionist. Its believed that 1,500 men from McLennan County served in the Confederate Army including six generals.


More to come at future dates!

Your Pard,
Cody
Upstart Mess
Co. A 15th Texas Inf.

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