In the new century, 1900, Patrick Kenney’s coal (actually Lignite or “Brown Coal”) was still being hauled by mules and wagon from the Kenney mine at Bexar/La Colorada to Lytle. Here the International and Great Northern Rail Road (I&GN, pronounced by many — even when I was a kid — as the “Eye-n Gin”…say it real fast) picked up the wagon loads of coal for delivery to and sale in San Antonio where homes and businesses were heated or powered. (Kenney coal powered the Alamo Iron Works into the 1930s when a new, cleaner power source became available.)
But I’m getting way to far ahead…, back in 1908, folks of the old, greater Von Ormy area (that included modern Somerset) or the original Old Somerset area in northern Atascosa County still had to travel up Somerset Road, crossing the Medina River, to San Antonio’s Farmer’s Markets or going to Lytle for the I&GN connection. That was about to change.
In 1908, a very enterprising fellow from Missouri, Mr. Charles Simmons, dreamed of being an “empresario” like previous, great Texas colonizers. (NOTE: There are two sources of information on Mr. Simmons and his railroad’s story: (1) Norman Porter, The Atascosa County Historical Commission’s long-time Chairman who passed away in 2015, was well known for his research into the railroads’ contribution to the growth of Atascosa County; and (2) Hugh Hemphill’s The Railroads of San Antonio and South Central Texas, available from the Texas Transportation Museum located in San Antonio.)
A NEW “SUBDIVISION” IS PLANNED SOUTH OF JOURDANTON
Mr. Simmons wanted to bring “colonists,” hundreds of folk, to see and buy lots in his new property, a soon-to-be subdivided ranch located south of Jourdanton. This ranch of some “95,000 acres with tens of thousands of wild cattle,” recently purchased from George West was marketed as had other South Texas “promised lands.” Ads always promised the purchaser a land that “flowed with milk and honey.”
Charles provided a grand name for his enterprise. He decided to call the place New Artesia. There was one significant problem. Charles Simmons had no way of getting the hundreds, even thousands, of potential purchasers or colonists to New Artesia gracefully. There were no roads to his great ranch. Animal trails certainly abounded, but no roads existed for citified horse-drawn carriages, new-fangled motor cars, even the newest Ford Model K.
A NEW RAILROAD IS BUILT
Charles, being the wealthy and forward thinking man that he was, decided a railroad, his own railroad, was needed to bring in “colonists” to this recently purchased ranch he called New Artesia. The accompanying map of this area’s railroads indicate a fairly straight line (of the reddish color) from Macdona to Kirk and the promised land of New Artesia near Christine. Kirk, one of the many local stops on the I&GN Railroad line to Laredo from San Antonio, was located just southwest of the Medina River at the new Kirkwood subdivision. (Today that line’s railbed can still be seen, sort of, as you travel IH 35 about 2 miles W of Loop 1604.)
THE FIRST TOWN SITE COMPANY, INC.
Meanwhile, back at Bexar/La Colorado, rather about 1½ miles EAST of Bexar/LaColorada, several enterprising farmers heard of this guy surveying and buying up parcels on a narrow strip of land from the Macdonna-Kirk area generally southward. They decided to contact this Charles Simmons’ company to see if Mr. Simmons was open to an opportunity for making a little more money. If Mr. Simmons could stop in their neighborhood, would he be interested taking on their produce and products to markets? Fruit and vegetables reaching market sooner would result in produce far fresher at market than having to haul the same produce to San Antonio by horse or mule drawn wagon. (Note: My great grandfather John McCoy told me that it took two days to get to San Antonio with a wagon full of produce, and kids. It took most of the day to reach town, then overnight to sell at the Farmer’s Market where El Mercado is today, then when all is sold, start back home and likely camp out on the way. This was in the early 1900s before 1910. My grandmother, born in 1900, like to ride on the back with brothers and sisters, swinging their legs, hopping off an running to jump back on.) The train reached San Antonio in minutes, well, in about an hour or so.
Realizing this really fresh produce selling for better prices was a no-brainer and that he could to make even more money Mr. Charles Simmons agreed to this good idea. Smiles and handshakes all around created a new town.
On August 8, 1908 101 acres owned by Eugene S. Norris, located in the was sold for $5,000.00 to Carl Kurz. An 1880s land purchase by Mr. Norris described a purchase as being on the old road to Somerset (That is, the road to “Old Somerset” in Atascosa County.) in the John Christopher Survey # 55.
On April 16, 1909, The First Townsite Company, with capital stock of $10,000, was chartered by the State of Texas as a Bexar County incorporated company ‘for the purpose of subdividing real property…accumulation and loaning money for that purpose,… “at the new town of Somerset….for 50 years.”
THE FIRST TOWNSITE COMPANY’S FOUNDING DOCUMENTS
From the ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION, filed with the Texas Secretary of State on APRIL 16, 1909. This is the Cover Page of Charter 2009800. Note: A stamp of “CHARTER FORFEITED, H. B. 776, 51st Legis.” refers to the culmination of the Company founded as described below. The House Bill 776 of the 51st Legislature of the State of Texas, approved the forfeiture, or cancellation of this Charter of the First Townsite Company, Incorporated.
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ORIGINAL INVESTORS
The following document filed April 15, 1909 in Bexar County, then submitted in Austin the next day as part of the Articles of Incorporation for The First Townsite Company.
The company’s investors included: Carl Kurz (of Von Ormy), A. M. Pyron (of Von Ormy), H. B. Touchstone ( of Atascosa), J. N. Dixon (of Atascosa), George W Caruthers (of Atascosa), J. N Brown (of San Antonio), and E. P. Simmons (of San Antonio), and C. (Charles) F. Simmons of Excelsior Springs, Clay County Missouri (The Artesian Belt Railroad owner).
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Carl Kurz, H. B. Touchstone, J. N. Brown, E. P. Simmons, and C. (Charles) F. Simons
Signatures of all investors in the First Townsite Company, which became the Town of Somerset in 1950 and modern City of Somerset in 1972.
“SUBSCRIBERS TO THE CAPITAL STOCK” or SHAREHOLDERS of the FIRST TOWNSITE COMPANY, 1909
THE FORMAL END OF “THE BEGINNING”
Fifty years later, ‘The Company Town” was no more. You will also note the ”CHARTER FORFITTED, H. B. 776 (Texas Legislature’s House Bill 776) 52st Legislature on 4-26-50″ (or April 26, 1950). The $10,000 investment by 8 men and their families, offered lots for sale that would become homes, business, church sites, Even an area was reserved for a school. That would come to reality in 1920 with the Texas Legislature passing a law creating the Somerset Independent School District and its Taxing District. Times were indeed a’changin’.
