EARLY SETTLERS

   

In all possibility, Mr. John York was the earliest settler in the Skull Creek area. He settled on some land west of the confluence of Skull Creek and Mill Creek. This location was not far from the Fordtran Plantation and was about late 1830-1840.

 

In later years he bought the Winedale Stagecoach Inn, and soon thereafter he moved to DeWitt County where he founded the town of Yorktown.  He was killed by Indians at Yorktown.

 

The oldest German Settlement in Texas was founded by Friedrich Ernst in 1831, which is Industry, Texas today.  The German settlers that came to the West end of Austin County were greatly influenced to come here by a letter which Friedrich Ernst sent back to Germany in 1832.  The letter portrayed West End Austin County, which was part of the Stephen F. Austin Colony, as a land of “milk and honey.”  It spoke in glowing terms of freedom and free land which was likea kingdom to the then oppressed Germans.  He described the beauty of the rolling hills and trees much as it is today - a very beautiful land.

 

This brought German settlers in great numbers, and around 1846 some of the early German settlers began to settle the land in the Skull Creek area.  Most of these settlers were members of the “Adels Verin,” an organization that promoted the immigration of Germans to this area and also promoted the German Culture and Humanities.  In 1843, representatives of the “Adels Verin” stopped at Ernst’s Hotel in Industry, and there Mr. Ernst told them of the fine opportunities of this area.

 

They had come to Texas to survey this area for a planned mass German immi-  gration.  The “Adels Verin” established their headquarters for their operation  at the Nassau Plantation west of Industry.  One of the most prominent members  of that group was Mr. Johann Fiesler who established the Fiesler Plantation on the Skull Creek and extending into the Schoenau Community.  Mr. Fiesler was always interested in public affairs and community progress.  He was an early Realtor, and he served as the first County Commissioner when County Govern-  ment was established.  He was a Precinct Constable and a School Trustee when  the school was built.  It was Mr. Fiesler who donated the land for the Skull Creek School site.  He organized the first Agricultural Society in Shelby (the oldest Agricultural Society in Texas is at Cat Spring.)  He also operated the first syrup press for the public.

   

Some of the earliest German Immigrants who came to Skull Creek area in the years 1840 - 1846 were:

 

Fritz Eckhoff	Johann Fiesler	Ferdinand Hetzel
Adevart Laas	Christian Meischen	Sigmund Phandevarts
Dr. H. Reizig	Otto von Roeder	Christian Rudloff
Karl Sassenburg	Ferdinand Sulzmann	Anton Ullrich
Ferdinand Ullrich	Franz Ullrich	Karl Wessel
	Heinrich Wunderlich

   

Then in the later years, from 1847 to 1886 (the years that the Skull Creek School house was built), more came into the community and among them  were:

 
 

Frank Dietrich, Sr.	Fritz Ehlers	Wilhelm Ehrigson
Heinrich Eixmann	Oscar Fiesler	Joseph Gerhig, Sr.
Karl Hensel	Otto Hentzschel	Karl Hoppens
Fritz Hupe	Emil Kelm	Vinc Kuterpater
Bernard Meischen	Dytrich Meischen	Louis Mueller
Wilhelm Piehl	Fritz Reichelt	Herman Roski
Heinrich Rudloff	Herman Rummel	John W. Schmidt
Karl Siebel	John Stamann	Edward Strickler
Herman Sthudde	Willie Wagner, Sr.	Heinrich Warnasch
	Fritz Weimann

   

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