The St. Louis-Brownsville railroad was laid through Refugio County about 1905.  It went through the Woods Ranch south of Refugio and soon developers acquired some of the land to start a town site.  They advertised land for sale in German settlements in De Witt and surrounding counties, pointing out to prospective buyers that oranges grew wild in the new land.  Erwin Zabel recalls his father saying that land around Saus Creek and the present Wranosky addition sold for $18 and acre.  Land around Bonnie View went for $12 per acre and that near the present Bayside-Richardson gin for $8.  The price of land depended on how far it was located from the townsite.

 

William Schlabach, always willing to be adventurous, sold the farm in Runge and bought a half-section of land owned by a Mr. Winters, about a  mile south of Saus Creek near the present-day New Bayside Road.  Titius Boerm bought a half-section bordering the Schlabach land to the south.  William brought his family to Refugio County in 1906.  Ernest, Paul, and Erna, the three oldest, stayed behind and got married soon thereafter.  Lillie (Schlabach) Haertig remembers the move:

 

"We came by covered wagon.  The cattle and horses were herded by riders across the dusty country.  One stop was made overnight at Goliad, where an old German couple was very kind and took us in for the night.  Mama and the little children slept in the spare bedroom and the men bedded down outside by the wagon.

 

At daybreak they had coffee and breakfast ready.  We soon were on the road again and reached Refugio at dark.  The cattle and horses were penned for the  night.  Dad drove the wagon and took us on to the new place that night.  Since there was just a narrow trail through the brush to the house, he walked with a  lantern in front of the team to lead the way.

   

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