Limestone County Historical Museum

10/09/2026

09/25/2026

The gray horse Sam Houston rode through most of the Battle of San Jacinto was not his. It belonged to a nineteen-year-old private who was out ahead of him somewhere on that prairie with a bullet through his lung.

His name was Alfonso Steele. He was born in Hardin County, Kentucky, on the ninth of April, 1817, and at seventeen he left home and floated down the Mississippi on a flatboat, falling in with a company of volunteers bound for Texas in the fall of 1835. He reached Washington on the Brazos on New Year's Day of 1836 and was still there that spring, helping keep the delegates fed while they gathered to sign the Declaration of Independence. By April he was a private in Captain James Gillespie's company, in Colonel Sidney Sherman's regiment, and his gray horse was under the general. Houston rode it through much of the engagement, until it went down beneath him.

Steele was hit in the opening volleys, shot through the lung. The muster roll of the Republic of Texas lists him as severely wounded. He did not leave the field. Men around him offered to stop and carry him out, and he remembered telling them no, to go on and take them. He lived, which for a lung wound in 1836 was not the way to bet. Two years later he married Mary Ann Powell, and they raised ten children and farmed and ran cattle in what became Limestone County. The land grants he drew for his service came to more than eleven thousand acres.

Then he did the rarest thing a soldier can do. He outlived the whole thing. On the tenth of February, 1909, the Thirty-first Legislature honored him in Austin as one of the last two men living who had been there, and he was invited into the Senate chamber to speak. A life-size portrait of him hangs near that chamber in the Capitol today.

There is a distinction in his story that deserves to be kept straight, because it is the better version. William P. Zuber outlived him by two years, but Zuber had been detailed to guard the baggage across from Harrisburg and was not in the fight. Steele was the last man alive who had actually fought at San Jacinto. He died on the eighth of July, 1911, at a grandson's house near Kosse, aged 94, and he lies in the city cemetery at Mexia. Seventy-five years after that afternoon, he was the only one left who had stood in it.

09/23/2026

09/22/2026

A History of Groesbeck Independent School District - Part 27

The first Homecoming for Groesbeck High School took place in 1952. The idea to have a homecoming was first discussed at a Goat Booster Club meeting, which was held each Monday night at the school lunchroom. Frank Kemble, principal of Groesbeck High School, was chosen as chairman of homecoming; and with the help of Mrs. Kemble, other faculty members, and ex-students, plans soon began to develop in early October. It was decided to dedicate this first homecoming to the first Groesbeck football team that played for three years in 1900, 1901, and 1902. The program for the event was as follows:

Homecoming Program

Thursday, October 23

7:30 P.M. – Band Concert & Pep Rally at Courthouse

Friday, October 24

10:30 A. M. – Assembly at High School
Welcome Address------------------- L. L.. Geren
Early School Days---------------------Jim Stroud
Talk by J. J. Cox, Supt. Of Schools 1901-1902
Football in the Early 1900s-----W. R. Wimbish

2:30 P. M. – Parade
Route- Line up east of Railroad on Navasota Street; Progress to Ellis and turn right to Trinity; turn left on Trinity to Waco; left on Waco to State; left on State to Ellis; left on Ellis to Navasota; right on Navasota to Railroad.

6:00 P. M. – Reception, Homemaking Dept., High School

7:30 P. M. – Football Game - Groesbeck Goats vs. Franklin Lions

Pre-Game Program:
Introduction of Groesbeck’s First Football Team
Presentation of Homecoming Queen
National Anthem
Invocation
Kick-Off – 7:45 P. M.

Half-Time Program:
Franklin Band
Groesbeck Band
Presentation of Football Queen

The homecoming events on Friday began with a morning assembly. “The present students blended with the exes of three generations, going as far back as 1896.” One of the highlights of this program was a “talk” made by Jim Stroud, a graduate of 1896. Members of the first football team were presented at the assembly, and a group of ladies who graduated prior to 1900 were honored with a presentation of corsages.

The first homecoming parade began at 2:30 in the afternoon and was led by the Groesbeck High School Band. The Franklin Band came to Groesbeck early to participate in the parade, too. The Groesbeck band members served as host to the Franklin students for the rest of the day and for dinner in the evening.

With over 200 former students in attendance, the reception held on Friday evening prior to the football game was considered a big success. Mrs. A. M. Blackmon was selected as Homecoming Queen and was presented during the pre-game ceremony. Members of the first Groesbeck football team presented her with a bouquet of flowers. Others who were honored during the pre-game activities were members of the first football team: W. A. Browder, John Hayes, Bun Cayton, and W. R. Wimbish. Jeannette Baker was chosen as the first football sweetheart and during the half-time activities, was presented with flowers by co-captains of the football team, Charles Rosson and Glendall Rand.

The first homecoming football game was a victory for the Goats. They defeat Franklin 7 to 6. The first homecoming for Groesbeck High School was deemed a success. The editor of the Groesbeck Journal wrote, “Groesbeck High School’s first homecoming was a big success in every way, so much so, that all joined in the unanimous decision that it be an annual affair.” It must also be mentioned that during this first homecoming in 1952, the Groesbeck Ex-Students Association was organized with the following people selected as officers: W. A. Browder, president; L. L. Geren, vice president; Dr. Herbert Martin, secretary; and Gentry Bugg, Treasurer.

09/22/2026

A History of Groesbeck Independent School District - Part 26

The first yearbook for Groesbeck ISD was published during the 1915 - 1916 school year and was called “The Gasser.” The name comes from the fact that oil and gas wells were being drilled in the area at that time. Today, the Groesbeck yearbook is called the “TAOG,” which is the word “goat” spelled backwards. The first “TAOG” was published in 1937 when the new high school building on Jacinto Street was first occupied. The newly organized yearbook staff made the following statement in March 1937:

“We have decided to have an annual this year. It will contain individual pictures of the senior class and group pictures of the other three classes, our faculty, school board, and outstanding organizations in school. A humor section will contain cartoons and witty sayings. This book will cost 75 cents…”

The “TAOG” has been published every year since 1937, except for 1943 when shortages of World War II prevented its publication.

09/22/2026

A History of Groesbeck Independent School District - Part 25

The first Groesbeck football team was organized in 1900. It has been reported by old-timers that this first football team lost only one game from 1900 through 1902. According to the first yearbook, which was published in 1916, there were no football teams after 1902 until 1915. It was at that time the University Interscholastic League came to Limestone County, and when the schools of the county began to compete in academics and athletics at the county level.

In August 1931, the Groesbeck football field was moved to the city park. The old field, located next to the high school building, was 20 yards too short. The city park had ample room to construct a regulation field, 120 yards long and 160 feet wide. The first game that the Groesbeck Goats played on this new field was on September 25, 1931. They faced Dawson High School and overwhelmingly defeated them 31 to 0. In 1932 lights were added to the field, and the Goats played their first night game starting at 8:00 on September 30, 1932. In this first game under the lights, the Goats defeated the McGregor Bulldogs 20 to 0.

On September 4, 1939, the Groesbeck School Board approved the establishment of a Student Activity Committee. The purpose of this committee was “to supervise High School athletic and other student activities requiring funds other than those allowed in the regular school budget.” This committee consisted of one board member, the superintendent, and two non-board members. At this same meeting, the school board gave the newly created activity committee permission to move the football field to the high school campus. In September, work on the new field began. The ground for the new field was leveled through the cooperation of County Commissioner Wes Popejoy and “his force with their big grading machines.” Logan Wilson was given the contract to move the iron poles that were used to light the field, and the Sharrock Brothers were contracted to do the wiring for the lights. A fence and stands were constructed by labor from the National Youth Administration. The Groesbeck Journal reported, “The fans are still praising the athletic committee for the good work and planning they did in getting the new field built so quickly. Mr. Huff and his lineup of carpenters and helpers are to be praised for the fast work, and many local volunteer workers helped out in the pinch, as well as the entire football team and their coaches in sodding the field…” Finances for the new field were furnished by the Farmers State Bank. The new field was completed just in time for the first game of the season on September 22. This was also the first game in which the Goats suited out in red and white uniforms. Unfortunately, the Goats’ first game on the new field ended in a 3 to 0 defeat by the Rosebud Tigers.

The Goat Booster Club was organized on April 1, 1949, and its first project was to push for the er****on of new steel stands at the football field. On April 18, 1949, the Groesbeck School Board approved their request to construct the new stands. They also authorized Superintendent Whitehurst to work with this group on the project. The new stands were 160 feet long and nine rows high, had a seating capacity of about 1100, and were constructed on the north side of the field. The wooden stands on the south side remained but were repaired. To help pay for the new seating, the Booster Club sold season tickets for home athletic events. The new stands were completed just in time for the first game of the season against LaVega. Concerning the new stands, The Groesbeck Journal stated, “The boards on the new stands were barely gotten on in time for the game. A volunteer band of Goat Boosters did yeomen service in getting the stands ready Thursday and Friday, after the lumber for the seats had arrived at midnight Wednesday night.” The cost of the new stands was $4,811.24.

In 1953 new steel stands were constructed on the south side of the field to replace the wooden ones. These new stands cost $3200 and increased the seating capacity to about 2,000 at the field. The Groesbeck Journal reported, “The low-cost construction was made possible by purchase of scrap steel from dismantled steel bridges belonging to the county, plus the use of steel bridge runners and plenty of concrete.” In April 1962, the school board approved the removal of the old fence around the field. It was replaced with new chain link fencing.

When the new high school was completed in 1973, the football field remained at the site of the old campus. The Goats continued to play there until 1989. It was at that time that a new football stadium was completed as part of the new $13.5 million- high school complex. With its artificial turf, it is the envy of 3-A schools across the state.

09/22/2026

A History of Groesbeck Independent School District - Part 24

It has been a long-standing belief in the community that the original school colors for Groesbeck High School were black and gold. However, according to “The Gasser,” the first Groesbeck yearbook (published in 1916), red and white were given as the school colors, and black and gold were given as the colors of the Senior Class. If this information is correct, no one probably knows when the colors were changed to black and gold. However, it is known that the school colors became red and white in 1939. During August, a drive to raise $1200 to purchase new uniforms for the newly formed band and the football team was conducted. The new red and white uniforms arrived in mid-September in time for the first game of the season. The Groesbeck Journal reported, “Groesbeck will hardly recognize its team tonight when it takes the field. Not only will practically all of the stars from last year’s smaller team be gone, the old drab black uniforms in which the Goats have performed the past four seasons. This edition of the Goats will be garbed in brand new red and white uniforms.” Red and white have remained the school colors until the present.

09/21/2026

A History of Groesbeck Independent School District - Part 23

The mascot of Groesbeck High School is the goat. “Why the Groesbeck Goats?” is a question that has been asked many times over the years, and many theories have been suggested and many different stories have been told to explain the origin of the goat as mascot. In September 2003, The Groesbeck Journal received a letter from Mrs. Iva R. Land, a 1927 graduate of Groesbeck High School. In her letter she gave credit to a fellow student, Stanley Cox. The content of her letter follows:

“It has been amusing reading the different assumptions of the reason for the Groesbeck football team being named “Goats.” I decided it was time to speak. The year was 1925 or 1926. I graduated in 1927. It definitely was not 1927.

The naming took place in the old tall three level school located on West Trinity Street. We were in Study Hall. The teacher stepped from behind the desk and walked to the front. She said, ‘We need to give our football team a name.’ Stanley Cox was sitting even with me on two rows over. He spoke up and said, ‘Goats.’ No one else said a word. Everyone adored Stanley Cox. He was the idol of the school. Whether he said, ‘Goats’ because he had a goat as a child, no one knows. The teacher asked, ‘Are there any more suggestions?’ Still no word was said. Then the teacher said, ‘the team will be called ‘The Goats.’

I have dated the time from my graduation in 1927. I cannot recall seeing Stanley Cox in the year 1927. I know he did not graduate in 1927. I assume Stanley graduated in either 1925 or 1926. Now you know who named the team ‘Goats.’ Dr. Stanley Cox.”

Based on Mrs. Land’s letter and the fact that Stanley Cox graduated from Groesbeck High School on May 25, 1925, it appears that the Groesbeck football team could have become the “Goats” around 1925. Based on research, it can be determined that the football team was called the “Goats” in 1926. During the 1926 football season, the Groesbeck Journal made at least two references to the team as “the Goats.” Beginning in 1927, the term was used in the Journal on a regular basis.

09/20/2026

A History of Groesbeck Independent School District - Part 22

In 2008, the Enge-Washington School, which was originally built for black students and later served as a junior high, was over 50 years old, and it was becoming more and more difficult to maintain the building to meet the needs of students. The school board created the Groesbeck Public Schools Community Facility Committee, made up of citizens of the district, to evaluate the conditions and needs of all of the district’s facilities. The committee’s recommendations to the school board included adding two new science labs and making several renovations at the middle school, renovations to the H. O. Whitehurst Elementary and Groesbeck High School, upgrading technology district-wide, the construction of a new Enge-Washington Intermediate School, and demolition of the old Enge-Washington School with the exception of the four-classroom building, the gymnasium, and the office/cafeteria building.

On August 26, the school board called for a bond election in the amount of $23 million of which $18 million would be used to build a new intermediate school to house grades 4 through 6. The bond election was held as part of the general election on November 4. The bond issue passed with 1,938 votes in favor and 1,234 votes against.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the new Enge-Washington School was held in September 2009. Construction soon began but was slowed to an almost stand-still during January and February 2010 due to cold weather and heavy rains, the effects of El Nino. The new school was completed in time for the start of school in August 2011, and a dedication ceremony was held on August 21 with over 400 people in attendance.

The new intermediate school has a colorful but industrial look that features a gym, a library, a state-of-the-art kitchen, and a large cafeteria with a stage for plays, programs and assemblies. Three wings with 12 classrooms each feed off of the cafeteria. A fourth wing houses two science labs, art department, and computer lab. Multipurpose rooms are also found throughout the building. Intended to house grades 4 through 6, third grade also attended the intermediate school for the first few years.